STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: June 21, 2022
To: Honorable Mayor & City Council
From: Helen Morales, DPA, Deputy Director of Rent Stabilization Subject: Housing Assistance Ad Hoc Committee Meeting Update Attachments: None
INTRODUCTION
The City Council established the Housing Assistance Ad Hoc Committee (Committee) on April 26, 2022 and assigned Vice Mayor Gold and Councilmember Wunderlich as committee members. This report is for information purposes only and provides the City Council an update on the first Committee meeting held on June 13, 2022.
DISCUSSION
The Committee discussed the two objectives for providing Housing Assistance. The first objective is to provide tenants with a monthly housing assistance payment over a 12- month period to mitigate the current inflationary conditions, subject to future extension by City Council. The second objective is to assist Mom-and-Pop housing providers with assistance to cover unpaid back rent.
Staff presented the following definition of Mom-and-Pop housing providers:
• Owns no more than four (4) units (as defined in section 4-5-202 and 4-6-0) and a single family dwelling; or
• Owns no more than six (6) units (as defined in section 4-5-202 and 4-6-0) and resides at the property; and
• Provided that a Mom-and-Pop landlord shall not include (a) a real estate investment trust, as defined in Section 856 of the Internal Revenue Code, (b) a corporation, (c) a limited liability company in which at least one member is, or is controlled by, a corporation, or (d) a partnership in which at least one partner is, or is controlled by, a corporation.
At the request of City Council, staff conducted a housing provider survey to obtain data on outstanding back rents. Staff provided some data obtained from the housing provider survey to the Committee.
Meeting Date: June 21, 2022
The Committee discussed the Housing Assistance program framework and parameters, including the definition of Mom-and Pop housing providers. The Committee requested that staff provide more information regarding the outstanding back rent owed to housing providers and additional information related to the housing provider need. The Committee requested that staff issue a new housing provider survey with instruction to housing providers of the requirement to provide the information in order to be included in the first batch of housing assistance payments to housing providers.
Staff will return to the Committee with a report on all requested information for further discussion, and will return to the City Council in the future with further updates as appropriate.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City has an approximate budget of $700,000 remaining from the Rent Subsidy program previously appropriated by the City Council. It is anticipated that this amount will roughly align with the actual costs of implementing the program as outlined above. Staff will return to the Council with program updates in the future, and in the event that the actual costs exceed budgeted funds staff will notify the Council so that there is an opportunity to discuss the possibility of appropriating additional funds.
RECOMMENDATION
This report is to inform City Council of the status of the Housing Assistance Ad Hoc Committee meeting regarding the RSO Housing Assistance Program.
Ryan Gohlich, AICP,
Director of Community Development
Approved By