4A Public Hearing 2016 0919 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DR A F T City of San Leandro FY 2014‐2015 CAPER 14 OMB Control No: 2506‐0117 (exp. 07/31/2015) Helping low‐income individuals and families avoid becoming homeless, especially extremely low‐ income individuals and families and those who are: likely to become homeless after being discharged from publicly funded institutions and systems of care (such as health care facilities, mental health facilities, foster care and other youth facilities, and corrections programs and institutions); and, receiving assistance from public or private agencies that address housing, health, social services, employment, education, or youth needs Objective: Create Suitable Living Environment Priority: Maintain and expand activities designed to prevent those currently housed from becoming homeless. Rental Housing Counseling Using City General Funds, the City contracted with ECHO Housing for Rental Housing Counseling services to help keep people in their housing. Information and referral services were provided to 619 landlords and tenant households. In FY 2015‐2016, ECHO Housing handled 78 cases related to eviction and succeeded in preventing 10 households from being evicted. Staff also assisted with 17 landlord‐tenant inquiries related to repairs, 13 cases regarding security deposits, 99 instances involving rent increases, 7 occurrences of unlawful entry by the landlord, and 5 cases involving retaliation by the landlord. There were also 75 miscellaneous inquiries (e.g. information on rental contracts and unlawful detainers, providing general information on tenant and landlord rights with referrals to attorneys, Fair Housing Department, Eviction Defense, Small Claims Court, and mediation services). ECHO Housing staff assisted 64 households with conciliation/mediation services including successfully conciliating 12 rent increases cases and the aforementioned 10 eviction cases that were successfully conciliated as well. Lastly, staff referred 18 households to attorneys/small claims court and 621 households to other appropriate agencies. Additionally, the City provided City General Funds to ECHO Housing to assist staff in administering the City's Rent Review Program, which provides a non‐binding arbitration board review of eligible rent increase cases in San Leandro. ECHO Housing and City staff addressed 93 tenant and 38 landlord inquiries relating to the City's policies on rent increases and its Rent Review Program, including 107 renters who applied for Rent Review Board hearings. Of these 107 hearing requests: 14 or 13% cases were ineligible for a rent review hearing; 3 or 3% cases required landlords to property re‐notice their tenants as required by the ordinance; 5 or 5% cases were scheduled for a hearing after June 30, 2016; 18 or 17% cases were settled without a hearing; 27 or 25% cases were settled prior to a scheduled hearing; and 40 or 37% cases were heard by the Rent Review Board. Of the 40 cases heard by the Rent Review Board: 27 or 68% cases were settled mutually settled; 12 or 30% cases were settled after the rent review hearings; and 1 or 2% required the landlord to property re‐notice his tenant as required by law. Furthermore, the City amended its Rent Review Ordinance to update its provisions amidst the escalating rents in San Leandro and in the San Francisco Bay Area as whole. These amendments, crafted to make the Rent Review Program more efficient and more effective, took effect on March 17, 2016. Priority: Increase the availability of service‐enriched housing for persons with special needs. Transitional or Permanent Supportive Housing EveryOne Home The Continuum is working with a number of publically funded institutions of care to ensure that persons are not discharged into homelessness. The realignment housing program has housing specialists work with persons in