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FY 2024-2025 Annual Review of the Rent Review and Tenant Relocation Assistance Programs
Rent Review Ordinance Overview
The City of San Leandro (City) adopted the Rent Review Ordinance (RRO) in May 2001 and subsequently established the Rent Review Program (Program). The Program offers mediation and non-binding arbitration of rent disputes between tenants and landlords.
Mediation/arbitration is provided by the Rent Review Board (RRB), a five-member volunteer community board appointed by the City Council and comprised of 2 renters, 2 landlords, and 1 San Leandro resident who is neither a landlord nor a tenant. The Program uses mediation/arbitration to work jointly with tenants and landlords in responding to complaints brought before the RRB and provides a neutral setting for resolving rent increase disputes.
Hearings are conducted by the RRB. Eligibility for an RRB hearing is triggered when there is a rent increase of more than 7% or there are two or more rent increases within a 12- month period for a rental unit on a parcel with at least two rental units. Single-family residences, duplexes where one of the units is owner-occupied, and most condominium and townhome rental units are exempt from the RRO. Mobile home rentals are eligible, but owner-occupied mobile homes that are leasing the space or pad below the mobile home do not qualify for the Program.
FY 2024-2025 RRO
In FY 2024-2025 (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025), the City contracted with Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity (ECHO Housing) to assist with tenant-landlord issues and inquiries, including those involving the City’s RRO. ECHO Housing received a total of 28 RRO related inquiries, 20 from tenants and 8 from landlords. Many of these inquiries involved general questions about the RRO and did not require additional follow-up. Of the 28 inquiries, 11 were not eligible for an RRB hearing. Cases that qualified for a hearing were resolved through mutual agreement between the landlord and tenant. In at least 3 cases, landlords issued revised rent increase notices after receiving education from ECHO Housing about RRO requirements.
Subsequently, there were no RRB cases or hearings during this period. The City has experienced a decrease in cases since the adoption of Assembly Bill 1482 in 2019. That California law prohibits landlords from raising the rent for most rental units by more than 5% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI), up to a maximum of 10%. As part of its tenantlandlord counseling services, ECHO Housing advises San Leandro residents on the - 2 -
applicability of AB 1482 and its noticing requirements.
Tenant Relocation Ordinance Overview
The City adopted the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance (TRO) in September 2017 and implementation began in October 2017. The TRO is triggered when a tenant's rental agreement is terminated due to a landlord-caused termination as identified in the TRO. Eligible tenants may receive relocation assistance of up to $7,000 per unit from their landlord following a landlord-caused termination to assist with relocation to a new residence. A housing unit must be located in a parcel that contains two or more tenantoccupied housing units to be eligible for the TRO. A single-family residence is exempt from the TRO.
Exceptions to landlord-caused terminations include the following:
• Tenant failure to pay rent
• Tenant breach of lease or rental contract
• Tenant illegal activities
• Failure to allow landlord access after legal notice
• Residential property uninhabitable without landlord fault (e.g., tenant's negligence or willful misconduct, earthquake, fire, flood)
• Lawful termination of employment where such employment (e.g., on-site property manager) by the landlord was a condition of the lease
• Temporary repairs where the landlord provides the tenant with short-term alternative housing during the renovation period
• Prior notice of renovations where the landlord notifies the tenant, before entering into a lease, of their intent to remodel the property. The landlord must submit plans with the City at the time they notify the tenant of the termination of tenancy. • Landlord occupancy of the rental unit, limited to the landlord, their spouse, landlord's parent or parents or landlord's spouse's parent or parents, landlord's child or children or landlord's spouse's child or children, and landlord's or landlord's spouse's grandchildren
FY 2024-2025 TRO
In FY 2024-2025, the City contracted with ECHO Housing to assist with tenant-landlord issues and inquiries, including those involving tenant relocation assistance. During that period, ECHO received 19 TRO inquiries. Of the total 19 inquiries,12 were from tenants and 7 were from landlords and property owners.
Most of the inquiries involved questions about whether the TRO applied to a specific property. Of the 19 inquires, 2 households reported receiving tenant relocation assistance, 3 were referred to legal services, and 11 were determined to be ineligible, most commonly because the household lived in a single-family home.
In one case, ECHO received an inquiry from a San Leandro tenant who had received a notice to vacate their home that did not comply with the TRO. After ECHO educated the landlord about the TRO’s noticing and relocation payment requirements, the landlord - 3 -
issued the full relocation payment and granted the tenant additional time for relocation.
FY 2024-2025 Rental Data
The following information summarizes rental market data from Yardi Matrix and RentCafe for properties located within the San Leandro city limits and Alameda County as of June 2025.
Jurisdiction Average Rent Year-over-Year
Change
Vacancy Rate
San Leandro $2,379 +3.2% 4.4%
Alameda County $2,741 +1.1% 4.5%
Jurisdiction Studio 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3 Bedroom Renter Households
San Leandro $2,000 $2,171 $2,655 $3,641 42%
Alameda
County $2,122 $2,439 $3,061 $3,821 46%