San Leandro adopted a rent stabilization ordinance during the Feb. 2 city council meeting.
Twenty-six people spoke for and against the ordinance.
One property manager owns a small trailer park in the city. She said out of the 18 available spaces, only six spaces are rented out.
“We desperately need to upgrade the park,” she said during the council meeting. “We’re not able to rent the spaces. So currently, our community is suffering by not having this affordable housing. We cannot rent these spaces until we upgrade our electrical, our plumbing, our sewer, new fencing and paving,”
Another property owner said the rent cap is too restrictive. “For over 20 years, I’ve managed properties for small landlords who typically own just one home or a small, multi-unit property. These are not large corporations. They keep rents modest and address issues responsibly as they arise. I’ve seen firsthand how extreme rent control pushes owners to sell, often removing those homes from the rental market and making the housing shortage worse.”
One renter is a government employee and a Bay Area union leader who lived in San Leandro for almost 30 years. “I have followed this process from the beginning, and I’m here to say something simple and important. I believe in you,” she said. “You did not come into public service for comfort or applause. You came because you understand that leadership means standing for people, even when the stance is tested by pressure, money and threats.”
The city of Hayward passed amendments to their Rent Stabilization ordinance, called the Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance (RRSO). The administrative related changes include extending the arbitration process for rent disputes from 20 days to 30 days.
The other change involves creating a penalty for property owners who don’t pay their annual RRSO fee. Property owners are charged fees per rental unit every year. The amendment will include placing assessments on rental properties when the annual RRSO fees are not paid. The assessment process involves the city possibly increasing a landlord’s property taxes.
The RRSO was passed in 2019 to prevent discrimination against Section 8 voucher holders, requiring landlords to notify the city of rent increases and eviction notices, tenant retaliation protection and just cause evictions.
