Anti-Displacement Strategies and Rental Registries
Research from Other Jurisdictions
Anti-Displacement Strategies
Staff researched cities in the Bay Area with anti-displacement strategies and reached out to 21 Elements to provide an overview of research covering the Bay Area. The following provides an overview of programs.
Table 1. Relocation Assistance Programs, San Mateo County Jurisdiction Relocation Assistance Provisions
Redwood City Three to four months of Fair Market Rent
Menlo Park Three months of rent and four for certain circumstances Mountain View The cash equivalent of three (3) months' rent, based on the median monthly rent for a similar-sized unit with the same number of bedrooms and bathrooms as determined by a survey taken at least once a year of apartment rents in Mountain View.
An additional eight thousand dollars ($8,000.00) per rental unit for special-circumstances households adjusted annually for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco Bay Area. The adjustment shall be made at the beginning of the calendar year.
Palo Alto Specific amounts: $7,000 for a studio; $9,000 for a one-bedroom unit; $13,000 for a two-bedroom unit; $17,000 for units with three or more bedrooms
San Jose $6,925 for a studio; $8,400 for a one-bedroom; $10,353 for a three bedroom; $12,414 for three or more bedrooms. Additional assistance from $1,2770 to $4,966 and special assistance of between $1,200 and $2,000 may also apply under certain
circumstances
Half Moon Bay Three months rent equal to the tenant’s rent that was in effect when the landlord issued the notice to terminate the tenancy.
Source: Municipal codes, City websites
Attachment 3
Anti-Displacement Strategies and Rental Registries
Research from Other Jurisdictions
Table 2: Cities with Anti-Displacement Policies and Programs Fair Housing
Enforcement
Daly City
County of San Mateo
Woodside
Redwood City
Portola Valley
San Carlos
Colma
South San Francisco
Campbell
Cupertino
Milpitas
Gilroy
Sunnyvale
Los Gatos
Landlord and Tenant
Mediation
East Palo Alto
San Mateo County
Woodside
Redwood City
Hillsborough
Half Moon Bay
Campbell
Cupertino
Milpitas
Gilroy
Sunnyvale
Los Gatos
Santa Clara City
Rental Assistance
Program
East Palo Alto
Daly City
San Mateo County
Brisbane
South San Francisco
Milpitas
Gilroy
Sunnyvale
Santa Clara City
Tenant Bill of Rights
East Palo Alto
San Mateo County
Menlo Park
Burlingame
Half Moon Bay
Sunnyvale
Los Gatos
Tenant Legal
Assistance
East Palo Alto
Daly City
San Mateo County
Woodside
San Mateo City
Campbell
Milpitas
Gilroy
Sunnyvale
Los Gatos
Tenant Relocation
Assistance
San Mateo City
San Carlos
Colma
Half Moon Bay
South San Francisco
Milpitas
Sunnyvale
Tenant Anti-
Harassment/
Retaliation
Woodside
Half Moon Bay
Los Gatos
Just Cause
East Palo Alto
Half Moon Bay
Cupertino
Sunnyvale
Anti-Displacement
Tenant Preference
San Mateo City
San Carlos
Foster City
Milpitas
Gilroy
Los Gatos
Rent Stabilization
East Palo Alto
Half Moon Bay
Los Gatos
Rental Registry
San Carlos
Half Moon Bay
Los Gatos
Morgan Hill
East Palo Alto
Tenant Commission
East Palo Alto
Source: 21 Elements
Anti-Displacement Strategies and Rental Registries
Research from Other Jurisdictions
Summaries of strategies include:
1.Redwood City’s Anti-Displacement Strategy was adopted in 2022 ( see link). The City has the following local ordinances in place: Minimum Lease Term Ordinance that requires landlords to offer a 12-month lease for both initial leases and renewals. Tenants are not required to accept a 12-month lease once offered; it is the tenant’s choice whether they enter into a 12-month lease (see link). Relocation Assistance Ordinance (RAO) requires certain eligible households that were forced to relocate through no fault of their own to receive financial assistance to ease their transition. The RAO requires landlords to pay eligible tenants three to four months of Fair Market Rent (FMR) in some eviction circumstances (see link).
2.San Jose’s Anti-Displacement Strategy was approved in 2020 ( see link) and included measures like establishing neighborhood tenant preference for affordable housing, exploring a community opportunity to purchase Program/Ordinance, establishing new sources of funding for affordable housing and Anti-Displacement, etc.
3.Menlo Park: The ordinance for “Residential Leases for Rental Units” only applies to multi-family, boarding house, and lodging houses and includes a requirement for a minimum one (1) year lease term, but the landlord and tenant may agree to other rental terms. (see link). Menlo Park also has a Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance that requires any landlord that causes the permanent displacement of residential households to provide eligible residential households with relocation assistance of three months of rent and four for certain circumstances (see link).
4.Mountain View: The Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance requires landlords to provide relocation assistance if renovations, redevelopment, or similar activities have displaced eligible tenants. The program applies to rental properties with three or more units (see link).
5.East Palo Alto has an affordable housing plan that includes several anti- displacement provisions, including identifying and maintaining a list of at-risk units and substandard buildings throughout the City to ensure property owners comply with the State Preservation Notice Law; actively engaging with property owners to reach agreements to preserve at-risk units and properly maintain their properties implementing an effective and fair housing compliant Local Preference Policy.
6.Concord requires the Landlord to offer the tenant a 12-month lease. If the tenant rejects the 12-month lease, the landlord must offer the tenant a 6-month lease. If the tenant rejects the 6-month lease, the tenant and landlord can negotiate a Anti-Displacement Strategies and Rental Registries
Research from Other Jurisdictions
shorter-term lease. The landlord does not have to accept a lease term of less than six (6) months.
7.Palo Alto has a Rental Housing Stabilization Ordinance requiring relocation assistance of $7,000 for a studio and $17,000 for a three-bedroom unit. (see link).
8.Half Moon Bay has a Tenant Protection Ordinance ( see link) that includes just cause provisions, relocation requirements, notice provisions, dispute resolution procedures, and minimum lease terms of one year. The ordinance was implemented on May 7, 2024.
Rental Registries
Staff reviewed city websites and found that the following Bay Area cities have Rental Registry software in place or pending: Alameda, Berkeley, Burlingame, Concord, Half Moon Bay, East Palo Alto, El Cerrito, Mountain View, Monterey, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Francisco, San Jose, San Pablo, and Burlingame. It should be noted that all rental registries for these cities apply to both BMR and market rate units. Examples of how these cities use the software include:
•The City of Concord has had a Rental Registry program for four (4) years as part of its Residential Tenant Protection Program. In addition to rent, the registry collects data on property address, size of unit, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, parking spaces, and lease terms. The City’s annual Rental Registry report provides a rent analysis, tenant-initiated termination analysis, analysis of unit sizes, and registry registration analysis. The City also provides data by neighborhood to help identify areas of higher risk for displacement. Registration is required for all rental units, including single-family homes. Registration fees are $29 to $47 per unit. •The City of Half Moon Bay states the following on its Rental Registry website page:
“This annual registration process is crucial to efforts to better understand rental housing characteristics in Half Moon Bay, which will help inform future policy decisions regarding rental housing.” The program is required for all rental units, including ADUs, single-family homes, and those who rent rooms. The costs to landlords/owners is $75 per unit. The following information is required for the registration of a residential rental unit:
oThe name, mailing address, phone number, and email of the owner, landlord, and property manager as applicable;
oThe street address (and unit number where applicable) of each residential rental unit or portion thereof for rent or lease;
Anti-Displacement Strategies and Rental Registries
Research from Other Jurisdictions
oThe assessor’s parcel number (APN) that each residential rental unit for rent or lease is located;
oThe number of bedrooms and bathrooms in each residential rental unit, including square footage, for rent or lease;
oThe occupancy status of each residential rental unit (e.g., vacant or occupied); oReason for vacancy (e.g., lease expiration, voluntary move-out or eviction); oThe number of individuals currently residing in the unit, if occupied; oWhere applicable, the number of rooms individually rented; oThe current amount of the monthly rent charged for each residential rental unit, identifying whether the monthly rent includes specified utilities (e.g., water, sewer, solid waste disposal, natural gas, electricity, etc.); oWhether or not the unit’s monthly rent is subsidized (e.g., such as through a housing voucher or another subsidy).
•The City of Palo Alto recently adopted the Residential Registry Program effective from July 1, 2024. Registration is required for all rental properties with three or more units. As per their website, The Rental Registry Program will collect the following information:
oResidential rental property contact information, such as property owner and property manager contact information;
oResidential rental property characteristics, such as property address, property type, year purchased, number of rental units at the property, and year built; oResidential rental unit characteristics, such as rental unit address, size (indoor/outdoor), number of bedrooms and bathrooms, year of any remodel, and owner or property manager occupancy;
oTenancy information, such as rental unit tenancy status as occupied or vacant, date of vacancy, reason for vacancy, date of tenancy, initial lease length, date of 1-year lease renewal, and date of last lease renewal; oRent information, such as initial security deposit amount, base rent amount, current rent amount, presence of rental assistance/subsidy/deed restriction/incentive, and rental unit amenities/services; oAffidavit information, such as attestation of accuracy, submittal date, name/contact information for registrant;
oOptional information, such as open-ended opportunity to provide feedback. oEvents, such as when there is any increase in rent, when a notice to quit is sent to a renter, when an unlawful detainer complaint is filed, and when there is an eviction.
See City of Palo Alto, Rental Registry FAQs.
The City of Palo Alto adopted a phased implementation, which initially required registration for multi-family rental units (properties with 3 or more rental units).
Anti-Displacement Strategies and Rental Registries
Research from Other Jurisdictions
The staff has been directed to evaluate if/when to require registering and potentially charging the RRP participation fees for all remaining rental units (including rented single-family residences, J/ADUs, and duplexes). There is no fee for owners/landlords to register units in the first year. •The City of East Palo Alto is in the process of implementing a rental registry that will apply to market rate and BMR units. The rental registry is anticipated to go into effect later in 2025.
•The City of Alameda has a Rental Registry program that also allows tenants and landlords to file petitions. The City collects the following data:
oType of property – ADU, Condo, mixed-use built before 1995, mixed use built after 1995, multi-family built before 1995, multi-family built after 1995, single- family residence, single-family residence + ADU, townhouse oLandlord/property manager contact information – mailing address, phone, email
oAddress of unit
oYear built
oAssessor’s parcel number
oNumber of bedrooms
oOccupant type – tenant, rent-subsidized tenant, vacant, manager, owner, non-residential commercial, short-term rental, work/live oReason for vacancy
oMonthly rent
oUtilities charged to tenant
oIncrease in rent
oCase type – tenant petitions, landlord petitions, annual program fee payments, annual registration status, capital improvement plans, no fault terminations, temporary relocation, buyout agreements, invalid rent increase The City of Alameda charges $148 for Fully Regulated Units: subject to all Ordinance 3250 provisions; $100 for Partially Regulated Units: subject to all Ordinance 3250 provisions except rent control; and $0 for Rental units occupied by rent subsidized tenants (e.g. Housing Choice Voucher Section 8),