8E Consent 2008 0707 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Annual Rent Review Program Evaluation (June 2007 -May 2008) From June 2007 to May 2008, there were 52 tenant and landlord inquiries addressed by staff (see Attachment A) which was a decrease from the previous year when staff responded to 81 tenant and landlord inquiries. Of the 52 inquiries, the majority (33 inquiries) were from tenants. Due to the current downturn in the for sale housing market and consequent impact on rental rate increases, staff expects to continue seeing a steady number of landlord and tenant inquiries in the coming year. While the City received a lower number of tenantllandlord inquiries in the last twelve months, there were significantly more RRB cases, six (6), in 2008 than the three previous years, one (1). Of the 52 inquiries received and addressed by staff from June 2007 through May 2008, six (6) became RRB cases (see Table 1 below). Of the six cases this year, one was settled privately between tenant and landlord just prior to the RRB hearing, while the other five were reviewed by the Board. There were two RRB hearings this year as well which heard two cases on the same night involving tenants from the same two apartment complexes: Woodside Apartments and Parkside Commons. Table 1. Rent Review Board (RRB) Case Summary Period June - Ma RRB Cases 2004-OS 0 2005-06 0 2006-07 1 2007-08 6 Attachment B shows the average rent (for all bedroom sizes) in San Leandro during first quarter (January through March) of 2008 increased noticeably by just over 6% and the vacancy rate fell from 3.5%, 2.8% in the last year. Staff conducts an informal, point-in-time rental survey annually based on mass circulated listings in local and regional newspapers and on the Internet as displayed in Table 2 below. Attachment B and Table 2 help affirm that rising rents City-wide in 2008 are a consequence from the recent for sale housing market downturn. Table 2 in particular shows the more substantial increase in rents for 1 bedroom/1 bath and larger rental units (2 or more bedrooms). Table 2. Average San Leandro Rents By Bedroom Size '% Year Studio Ch 1 Br/1 Ba Ch 2 Br/I Ba Ch 2 Br/1.5 Ba Ch 2 Br/2 Ba Ch 3 Br Ch 2008 X882 1.1% $1,005 8.3% X1,278 4.5% X1,334 11.4% X1,385 9.4% .8'1,560 12.7% 2007 $872 ~~=_~_ $928 $1,223 ___~; $1,198 ~- $1,266 $1,384 ~-_ -; Source: City informal survey, June 2008