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Annual Rent Review Program Evaluation (July 2013 – June 2014) <br /> <br />From July 2013 through June 2014, there were thirty-seven (37) tenant and thirty-four (34) <br />landlord inquiries for a total of seventy-one (71) inquiries addressed by staff. See attached <br />Landlord and Tenant Inquiries logs. <br /> <br />There were two (2) cases heard by the Rent Review Board (Board) this year. See attached <br />“Monthly Status Report of Rent Review Activities”. Of the two (2) cases that were heard, the <br />Board upheld the rent increase in one (1) case, while the other case was mutually resolved prior <br />to a scheduled Continuance Hearing. Table 1 below is a summary of the number of cases <br />reviewed by the Board since 2006. <br /> <br /> <br />Table 1: Rent Review Board (RRB) Case Summary <br /> <br />Period (June – May) Cases <br />2006-2007 1 <br />2007-2008 6 <br />2008-2009 4 <br />2009-2010 0 <br />2010-2011 0 <br />2011-2012 0 <br />2012-2013 3 <br />2013-2014 2 <br /> <br />The remaining cases are as follows. One (1) case was dismissed due to legal matters in Civil <br />Court. Three (3) cases involved the landlords agreeing to properly re-notice their respective <br />tenants. Seven (7) cases involved the landlords agreeing to reduce the rent increase amount to <br />$75 to close and resolve the cases rather than move forward with a rent review hearing. One (1) <br />case was mutually resolved prior to the scheduled hearing taking place. <br /> <br />ECHO Housing, a full service and nonprofit housing counseling organization that already <br />provides fair housing and tenant-landlord counseling services for the City, administered the <br />City’s Rent Review Program in fiscal year 2013-2014. ECHO Housing staff was instrumental in <br />processing the renters’ rent review request applications, communicating with the landlords to <br />obtain their rent review response forms, facilitating the rent review board hearings, and <br />educating both tenants and landlords about the City’s Rent Review Ordinance. The City has <br />contracted with ECHO Housing to administer the Rent Review Program through fiscal year <br />2014-2015. <br /> <br />While there has been an increase in the number of tenant and landlord inquiries compared to the <br />67 total inquiries last year, the average annual rents in the City remain the lowest among <br />Alameda County cities. See Table 2 below. <br />