News: Rent Control
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Starting June 16, many owners of multifamily housing in Santa Rosa will face a 3 percent cap on rent increases.
The council preliminarily approved the 45-day measure May 10 and ratified it May 17, despite fierce opposition from the California Apartment Association North Coast.
Hundreds of rental owners opposed the measure through letters, emails and phone calls. Members and staff testified against the moratorium at council meetings, saying it would hurt small businesses and drive a wedge between property owners and the city. Click here to see video of testimony against the moratorium.
Renter advocates said it will keep rents… Read More
Stricter rent control limits in San Jose will take effect June 17 – many months earlier than expected.
Under the changes, owners can raise rents on rent-controlled units by 5 percent per year. That’s down from the current 8 percent.
The council ratified the June start date on a 9-2 vote at its May 17 meeting.
The lower rent cap is among sweeping changes to the city’s 40-year-old rent control law. The council approved the revisions in April on a 6-5 vote, despite strong opposition from CAA and hundreds of rental owners over the past year.
At the time of… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control
Stricter rent control in San Jose is now scheduled to take effect next month, but much unfinished business remains in revising the city’s long-standing rent law.
On Tuesday, the council voted 9-2 to implement its upcoming 5 percent annual cap on rent increases beginning June 17. The current limit is 8 percent.
The changes will affect about 44,000 apartments already under rent control through the city’s Apartment Rent Ordinance. While a June implementation date is sooner than many property owners expected, it could have been worse.
One councilman, Raul Peralez, attempted to implement the changes immediately, a move that CAA… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
In mid-June, the city of Santa Rosa is expected to impose a moratorium on rent increases of more than 3 percent on the city’s older multifamily housing.
The measure, which won preliminary approval from the council Tuesday, May 10, is intended to limit rent increases while city staff drafts a permanent rent control and just-cause eviction ordinance, a process that could take several months.
Greenlighted on a 4-2 vote, the temporary ordinance applies the 3 percent rent cap cumulatively over a 12-month period. So, while the moratorium is in effect, a landlord who’s already increased rent by 3 percent or… Read More
The San Jose City Council next week will consider an aggressive timeline for rolling out harsher rent control policies.
The implementation date and other issues related to San Jose’s Apartment Rent Ordinance will come up when the council meets Tuesday, May 10.
Two weeks ago, the City Council voted 6-5 to lower maximum annual rent increases on rent controlled units from 8 percent to 5 percent.
City officials had been considering a moratorium on rent growth until the harsher rules take effect, but according to the San Jose Mercury News, that idea is being shelved.
“We decided that it might… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
Despite over six hours of public comment from stakeholders and strong opposition from local rental owners, the Santa Rosa City Council on May 3 voted 4-3 to direct city staff to draft a rent control and just-cause eviction ordinance.
“CAA North Coast would like to thank our members that attended the meeting and spoke out against rent control and just-cause evictions,” said Mallori Spilker, local CAA executive director. “Your advocacy efforts are greatly appreciated.”
A rent control ordinance would prohibit rent increases from exceeding a fixed percentage annually, which was determined to be 3 percent.
Rent control would only apply… Read More
The Santa Rosa City Council next week will discuss rent control, just cause for eviction — and a possible moratorium on rent increases.
The discussion, scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, at City Hall, comes one month after the Santa Rosa Rent Stabilization Subcommittee voted 2-1 to recommend the measures.
Owners and managers of rental units in Santa Rosa are urged to attend Tuesday’s meeting, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.
If the council follows the subcommittee’s recommendations, the most immediate impact would be an urgency ordinance halting any rent increases for 45 days.
The subcommittee votes for… Read More
San Jose’s long-standing cap on rent increases will soon get tighter.
On a 6-5 vote, the San Jose City Council early Wednesday approved lowering the maximum annual increase on rent-controlled units from 8 percent to 5 percent. This will affect about 43,000 units, or one-third of the city’s rental housing supply. The changes are expected to be ratified later this year and take effect no later than Jan. 1, 2017.
While not as onerous as the housing department’s proposal to tie rent control to inflation, lowering the price ceiling to 5 percent remains a bad policy change.
“The council found… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday is expected to vote on proposed changes to its rent control ordinance that could bring economic instability to renters and property owners while failing to address the underlying causes of rising market rents.
Possibilities include lowering the current 8 percent annual cap on rent increases, a move favored by Mayor Sam Liccardo. On the other hand, the city’s housing department recommends tying allowable rent increases to inflation, using the consumer price index.
The California Apartment Association opposes both options and encourages its members to speak out at next week’s council meeting, scheduled for… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Tri-County
Once again, the San Mateo City Council has rejected a rent control proposal — this time in the form of an onerous relocation-assistance program.
The City Council’s decision Monday came after three hours of public testimony from local property owners, managers and real estate professionals about the dangers of the proposal.
The relocation-assistance ordinance would have forced rental housing providers to keep rent increases below 10 percent or face paying up to $21,500 for residents to vacate the unit – even after the end of a lease term.
“This proposal takes from one group and gives to another; taking rights… Read More