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City of San Leandro <br />Meeting Date: December 7, 2015 <br />Staff Report <br />File Number: 15-582 Agenda Section: ACTION ITEMS <br />Agenda Number: 10.A. <br />TO: City Council <br />FROM: Chris Zapata <br />City Manager <br />BY: Cynthia Battenberg <br />Community Development Director <br />FINANCE REVIEW: Not Applicable <br />TITLE: Staff Report for Proposed Amendments to the City of San Leandro Rent <br />Review Ordinance <br />SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS <br />Amendments to the San Leandro Rent Review Ordinance are proposed to update the 2001 <br />ordinance, respond to the current rental market and to more effectively administer the Rent <br />Review Program that coordinates rent dispute hearings between tenants and landlords. <br />Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached Ordinance amending Title 4, <br />Chapter 32 of the San Leandro Municipal Code relating to the Rent Review Board. <br />In 2001, the City Council established a Rent Review Program 1) to respond to increasing <br />residential rents in the City and throughout the Bay Area, and 2) to create a public forum for <br />rent disputes between tenants and landlords that is presided over by a balanced Rent Review <br />Board to achieve mutually agreeable rent resolutions. The Rent Review Board consists of five <br />members: 2 tenant, 2 landlord, and 1 non-landlord/non-tenant (e.g., homeowner). <br />The Ordinance was originally created through input from a variety of local rental housing <br />stakeholders such as the Rental Housing Association of Southern Alameda County (RHA), <br />ECHO Housing (an experienced nonprofit housing agency with expertise in housing law), <br />Davis Street Family Resource Center, and tenants. From its onset, the Ordinance sought to <br />balance the needs of both renters and landlords with an emphasis on a mutually satisfactory <br />resolution. The Ordinance applies primarily to any housing unit for rent in a building with three <br />or more units. The Ordinance provides that: <br />All landlords must provide a notice informing each tenant of the City's Rent Review <br />Program with any rent increase notification. If a tenant does not receive the program <br />City of San Leandro Page 1 Printed on 12/1/2015 <br />