The past two weeks have brought some positive developments in efforts to protect Alameda property owners from the ill effects of rent control and related policies.
Just this Tuesday, local rental owners and members of the California Apartment Association helped persuade the Alameda City Council to back away from plans to make landlords subsidize the city’s new binding arbitration ordinance, a form of rent control it approved earlier this year.
The council had been expected to levy a $130-per unit annual fee on rental property owners. But after hearing from local CAA members, officials agreed to wait until city staff performs more research, analysis and outreach — a process that could take until December.
In another positive development, the Alameda Community Preservation Coalition on June 14 submitted 7,491 signatures to the city clerk in efforts to qualify homeowner and rental owner protections for the November ballot.
The Alameda Homeowner & Private Property Rights Act, a simple, one-page law, would limit the city’s ability to impose restrictions on the price for which one sells or rents property in Alameda.
The county registrar of voters is now counting and verifying the signatures. If voters ultimately approve the measure in November, it would ban rent control in Alameda, including the binding arbitration.
Meanwhile, tenant advocates turned in signatures for their own initiative, asking voters to approve a harsher form of rent control — based on the rate of inflation. If the registrar certifies this measure as well, Alameda could see two rent control related measures on November’s ballot.
Related content:
- Proposed fees for funding Alameda’s rent stabilization program find little support (EBCitizen, June 22)
- Alameda rent program will cost nearly $2 million (East Bay Times, June 16)
- Alameda landlords submit signatures for ballot measure banning rent control (EBCitizen.com, June 16)