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File Number: 16-016 <br />·Assess Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS) charges, upon initial conversion, as a <br />rent increase and therefore considered as a factor toward eligibility for review by <br />the Board. RUBS is when landlords subcontract out utility billing to a third party. The <br />tenants pay their utility bills to the third party rather than to the landlord. The 2015- <br />2023 Housing Element recommended that staff evaluate RUBS charges as a rent <br />increase and consider these initial charges as eligible for Board review. <br />·Include duplexes as eligible residential properties for rent review. Under the <br />current Ordinance, only buildings with three or more rental housing units are eligible for <br />rent review. Per the 2009-2013 American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), <br />there are almost 2,000 duplex/triplex/quadruplex housing units in San Leandro, and <br />under the current Ordinance, tenants in these units are not eligible for a rent review <br />because their rental housing units are detached, separate buildings. <br />Single family homes are not recommended for inclusion for numerous reasons. Single <br />family homes are a different type of housing: owners generally own one unit, these <br />larger units are more expensive to rent because they offer more space/amenities (more <br />bedrooms, backyard, garage/parking) which renters are willing to pay for, and tenants <br />generally pay for their own utilities. There is also a risk that these units could be <br />removed from the rental market if there is increased regulation. Lastly, the number of <br />units, approximately 4,000, would overwhelm the administration of the Rent Review <br />program. <br />·Clarify that landlords must re-notice tenants with proper rent increase notices if <br />they provided improper rent increase notices. This clarifies that landlords must <br />properly re-notice a tenant prior to demanding or accepting any increase in rent. <br />·Establish a lower, 8%, rent increase threshold and maintain the threshold of <br />more than two rent increases within a twelve month period. City staff recommends <br />the elimination of a dollar threshold and adoption of a lower, 8%, threshold. Having <br />both dollar and percentage thresholds is unnecessarily confusing for both tenants and <br />landlords. Additionally, the $75 dollar threshold is inequitable as the significance of the <br />increase can range from meaningful to minor based on the monthly rent which can <br />range from $750 - $3,000 in the City of San Leandro. A percentage threshold provides <br />greater equity among all rental properties regardless of the renters, rent charged, <br />property amenities, and age and condition of the units. Also, the flexibility of a <br />percentage threshold allows the Ordinance to more appropriately adapt to future <br />fluctuations in the rental market. <br />An 8% threshold will likely result in additional cases being brought before the Rent <br />Review Board and therefore additional funding of approximately $20,000 in FY 2016-17 <br />is recommended to cover the increased administrative costs. <br />·Require tenants to submit to the City their rent review hearing request forms <br />within 21 calendar days of receiving their rent increase notice. This provision <br />extends the tenant’s deadline to submit a request for a rent review from 15 to 21 days <br />and clarifies calendar days to ensure that the requirement is not erroneously <br />interpreted as “working” days. Extending the deadline to 30 days is not recommended <br />Page 4 City of San Leandro Printed on 1/26/2016