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Landlords losing the ability to use Ratio Utility Billing Systems on San Jose’s rent-controlled housing will want to read a newly published paper from the California Apartment Association.
The Industry Insight paper, just for CAA members, reviews the petition process underway to offset losses from the banning of RUBS in the city’s rent-controlled units. If landlords currently using RUBS are granted an offset, they’ll be permitted to add a portion of their RUBS charge to the tenant’s monthly base rent.
The paper covers everything from eligibility for the pass-through to notifying tenants of plans to file the petition to offset… Read More
Tagged: Utility Rates Tri-County
San Jose has opened a petition period for landlords hoping to offset losses after discontinuing the use of Ratio Utility Billing Systems.
The petition period opened today, July 5, and runs until Oct. 31. Any petition received after Oct. 31 will not be considered.
If granted an offset, landlords with existing tenants who are paying a RUBS charge can petition for a portion of that charge to be added to the tenant’s monthly base rent.
This spring, the City Council voted to ban the use of RUBS in the city’s rent controlled housing, defined as buildings constructed before 1979 with… Read More
Tagged: Utility Rates Tri-County
An initiative that would bring rent control to the city of Santa Cruz has qualified for November’s ballot.
Santa Cruz County election officials confirmed Thursday that the Movement for Housing Justice had filed the necessary 5,661 valid voter signatures to place the measure before voters.
The California Apartment Association is fully engaged in a campaign to defeat the measure, which would go further than existing rent control ordinances in Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland. In the event that Costa-Hawkins is repealed, the measure is likely to apply rent control to single-family homes.
The initiative threatens to:
Limit rent increases to… Read More
The California Apartment Association is turning to its members for help thwarting what could become Santa Rosa’s second rent control measure in 17 months.
Less than one year after voters rejected rent control in Santa Rosa, the North Bay Organizing Project and a group of local activists are collecting signatures in hopes of placing an even more burdensome rent control “just cause” eviction ordinance on the November 2018 ballot.
The group has until late June to collect over 8,500 signatures to get their proposed law on the November ballot.
“We are dismayed that the North Bay Organizing Project is rushing… Read More
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday approved guidelines for property owners to phase out the use of ratio-utility billing systems, also known as RUBS, to charge tenants for utilities.
The council greenlighted the phase-out process one month after voting to ban the use of RUBS in the city’s rent controlled housing, defined as buildings constructed before 1979 with three units or more.
Some property owners use RUBS to divide utility bills among tenants based on the number of renters in the building or square footage.
Tagged: News Tri-County
Rent control activists in the city of Santa Cruz filed signatures in hopes of qualifying a rent control measure for the November ballot.
The Movement for Housing Justice submitted over 10,000 signatures, significantly more than the 5,600 required to qualify the measure.
The Santa Cruz County Registrar of Voters will now count and check the validity of the signatures, a process that the California Apartment Association will monitor closely.
After hours of public testimony and debate, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday voted to eliminate RUBS in rent-controlled housing.
RUBS is short for ratio-utility-billing systems, which some property owners use to divide utility bills among tenants based on the number of renters in the building or square footage.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the council also approved changes to the city’s “just cause” eviction ordinance and an ordinance related to the Ellis Act. The council is expected to formally approve the changes with a another reading of the ordinances May 8.
A proposal going before the Redwood City Council on Monday would guarantee that tenants of multifamily housing be offered leases of at least one year.
Under a related proposal, rental property owners would need to off relocation assistance to tenants when certain conditions are met.
The California Apartment Association generally supports the concept of these two policies, as they provide predictability and stability for housing providers and residents, without imposing overly burdensome regulations.
Tagged: Leases Tri-County
The city of San Jose has given residential landlords more time to register their properties with the city and to pay the related business tax, a move applauded by the California Apartment Association.
The new deadline for residential rental property owners is June 30, 2018. After that date, interest and late fees will apply. Businesses can register with the city here.
Tagged: Taxes Tri-County
San Mateo County supervisors Tuesday adopted an ordinance aimed at tackling substandard housing in unincorporated areas of the county.
The ordinance makes permanent a one-year pilot program adopted by the Board of Supervisors last spring. That program required landlords to pay relocation assistance to tenants forced to vacate substandard housing units.
Tagged: News Tri-County