10B Action 2016 0119 - Laserfiche WebLink

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5  Notice of availability of rent review in the predominant three spoken languages in the City – The Required Notice is currently already available in English, Spanish, and Chinese. The City’s current policy allows San Leandro landlords to provide the Required Notice in the language most appropriate for their tenants. The rent review hearing requests forms submitted to the City indicate that landlords are using all 3 translated versions of the Required Notice. Concentration of Recent Caseload As noted during the staff presentations to City Council in Spring 2015 and on December 7th, 2015 there has been a sharp rise in Rent Review Board hearings since FY 2014-15. However, it is important to note that the majority of the hearing cases have come from ten apartment properties and landlords. This concentration of cases in a smaller number of properties may reflect that the Rent Review Program has achieved its purpose of being self-regulatory in nature where both the tenants and landlords are incentivized to work together towards a resolution. A recent Rent Review case from this year highlights how the Ordinance has assisted tenants. An 81- year old renter who had been residing in her unit for over 20 years called and came to the City in distress to speak several times with City and ECHO Housing staff about two rent increases she received totaling $400 dollars. She requested a rent review for the $300 rent increase she received in November 2015, but did not contact the City when she received the $100 rent increase in July 2015. While the increases were accompanied by the proper notification, this $300 rent increase met all the rent increase thresholds including two rent increases in a 12-month period. Staff determined that she had an eligible Rent Review Board case as well as potential legal claims against her landlord. Staff processed her application for Board review and also referred her to ECHO Housing to evaluate her legal claims. The Board uniformly and publicly chastised the landlord at the hearing and continued her case for a second hearing. The Board Chair also publicly offered to find her a more affordable unit in one of his properties after the hearing and to assist her in qualifying for a project- based Section 8 unit in one of his properties which would reduce her rent to 30% of her income. Her landlord relented prior to the second continuance hearing and reduced her November 2015 rent increase by $100. The renter accepted the reduced rent increase and declined the Section 8 housing opportunity due to the difficulty of moving and health concerns around living in a building where smoking is allowed in the common areas. Future Housing Development The regional, long-term Plan Bay Area (adopted by the Association of Bay Area Governments and Metropolitan Transportation Commission) acknowledges the need for the 9 county San Francisco Bay Area to increase the supply of new housing for all income levels from market rate to affordable housing. The City’s recently adopted Housing Element Update also emphasizes the need for new affordable housing construction. New housing supply in the region and in San Leandro should help to mitigate the current rising rent issues that existing tenants in the City currently face. The completion of 115 units of affordable family and workforce housing in Phase 1 of Marea Alta in Spring 2016 along with approximately 800 new housing units proposed by private developers will assist by supplying addition units to meet demand. Of the 800 units, 500 are proposed rental units and 300 are for sale units. About 45 of the 300 for sale units are required to be affordable under the Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance.