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Mountain View returned from the brink of approving binding arbitration — a form of rent control — during the City Council’s Tuesday night meeting.
The California Apartment Association played a pivotal role in mobilizing property owners to speak at the meeting and advocate for sensible landlord-tenant measures.
Mountain View had been considering binding arbitration, which allows a third party to decide how much rent can increase — if at all — making it a form of rent control. The city of Alameda formally approved such a policy March 1.
CAA succeeded in fending off this type of rent control in… Read More
Tagged: NewsRent Control Tri-County
The window is quickly closing for rental housing owners to voice their opposition to stricter rent control in San Jose.
The San Jose City Council is expected to vote on a harsher version of its current policy April 19.
Before it does, the city next week will hold one more committee meeting on the issue.
The California Apartment Association is calling on its members to speak out at this meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at San Jose City Hall, 200 East Santa Clara St.
San Jose’s Housing Department will review its recommendations for the city’s rent control… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
A second Bay Area city is on the verge of approving binding arbitration – basically rent control in disguise.
The Mountain View City Council will take up the proposal at its Tuesday, March 15, meeting. The session starts at 6 p.m. in council chambers, 500 Castro St.
Mountain View’s consideration of binding arbitration comes on the heels of Alameda’s approval of the same policy, which it formally adopted Tuesday, March. 1.
Under this approach to settling rent disputes, a tenant can have a mediator decide how much rent can go up — if at all. This plainly puts a control… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
Rental property owners in San Jose would face a more stringent cap on annual rent increases under draft recommendations released by the city’s housing department.
Housing officials Tuesday recommended moving from the current 8 percent limit on annual rent increases to a model based on the rate of inflation.
Under the Housing Department’s recommendations, the annual allowable rent increase would be 100 percent of the consumer price index with a floor of 2 percent and a ceiling of 8 percent.
“City staff is proposing the most punitive form of rent control possible … that will only make the (housing) problem… Read More
Tenant advocates in Richmond and Alameda have filed preliminary paperwork to place rent control initiatives on the November ballot.
In both East Bay cities, the initiative efforts are in the early stages, and in neither case has signature-gathering begun.
The California Apartment Association, which remains opposed to rent control, is studying the filings and working to determine the best response in each city.
The pursuit of initiatives follows months of wrangling over how to address housing shortages in the East Bay and other areas of Northern California.
Last year, the Richmond City Council approved a rent control measure, but a… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-CountyContra Costa
On Dec. 1, 2015, the Mountain View City Council approved a “right to a lease” law. Owners are required to provide notice of the law and to offer residents the option of a 6- or 12-month fixed-term lease.
Specifically,
New tenants and tenants currently on lease: A written lease must be offered to every prospective tenant renting a rental beginning Jan. 7, 2016, and to tenants whose pre-existing leases expire after Jan. 7, 2016.
Month-to-month tenants: For rental units not under a written lease (month-to-month) on Jan. 7, 2016, the landlord has until March 1, 2016, to offer a written… Read More
Tagged: News Tri-County
Over strong objections from the California Apartment Association, the Alameda City Council has given preliminary approval to a rent ordinance that includes binding arbitration to settle rent disputes.
Under Alameda’s ordinance, owners must justify rent increases over 5 percent through a mediation process. Should this process fail, rent disputes will be decided during binding arbitration, which is effectively a form of rent control.
With binding arbitration, the city — not the owner or free market — is placed in charge of how much rents can go up.
Following this week’s tentative approval, the council will take a second and final… Read More
The Alameda City Council next week will consider placing disputes over rent increases into binding arbitration, a move that effectively imposes rent control in the local market.
Under such a system, owners would have to justify any rent increase over 5 percent and participate in a process in which the city — not the owner or market — determines how much rents can go up.
The California Apartment Association is calling on its members to attend the meeting, scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 16, and speak out against the proposal. The city’s strategy would add layers of red… Read More
About 200 people received an economic and political forecast Wednesday from a premiere economist, several elected officials and representatives from the rental housing industry.
They all came together for the California Apartment Association’s Outlook 2016, held at the Oshman Family JCC in Palo Alto.
The event included a panel discussion with Rose Herrera, vice mayor of San Jose; Jeff Gee, a city councilman in Redwood City; and Mike Kasperzak, a city councilman in Mountain View.
Economically, Herrera said, San Jose has emerged from a strong 12 months, with more good news to come. She pointed to the city’s approval this… Read More
Tagged: Economy Tri-County
In a victory for the California Apartment Association, a pair of Northern California cities rejected rent control Monday night.
In Pacifica, the city scrapped rent control on a 2-3 vote before opting to instead pursue a more collaborative approach.
Instead of rent control, Pacifica will pursue an advisory program encouraging landlords to implement “best practices” that could include moderating rent increases and giving longer notice before raising rents. The council approved this approach on a 4-1 vote about 1 a.m.
The city will now assemble a group of landlords, tenants and homeowners to work with the city manager on creating… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Contra CostaTri-County