Title
Motion to Accept the FY 2024-2025 Annual Review of the Rent Review and Tenant Relocation Assistance Programs
Staffreport
COUNCIL PRIORITY
• Housing and Homelessness
SUMMARY
The City of San Leandro's (City) Rent Review Ordinance (RRO) and Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance (TRO) require the preparation and submittal of an Annual Review to City Council. The FY 2024-2025 Annual Review includes both the RRO and TRO.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Annual Review is a report that assesses the effectiveness of the RRO and TRO programs. Staff recommend that the City Council review and accept the FY 2024-2025 Annual Review.
Rent Review Board
On October 28, 2025, the Rent Review Board (RRB) voted to recommend acceptance of the FY 2024-2025 Annual Review to the City Council. The RRB voted to include one comment: “Due to Assembly Bill 1482, the RRB is unlikely to hear any rent increase petitions between August 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026. This State law limits rent increases in Alameda County to 6.3%, which is below the RRB hearing threshold of 7%.”
BACKGROUND
In April 2001, the City adopted the RRO, San Leandro Municipal Code Title 4, Chapter 4-32, to provide a public forum for both housing providers and tenants to mutually resolve proposed rent increases. The RRO was amended in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2015, and 2016.
The RRB is utilized by the community as a rent dispute forum for tenants and housing providers and is applicable to rental housing units on parcels that contain at least two tenant-occupied housing units that receive a rent increase greater than 7% or two or more rent increases within a 12-month period.
In September 2017, the City adopted the TRO, San Leandro Municipal Code Title 4, Chapter 4-37, to mitigate the adverse health, safety, and economic impacts of displacement from a landlord-caused termination of tenancy or by a rent increase of greater than 12% within a 12-month period. Under such circumstances, the tenant is entitled to a relocation payment from the landlord of up to $7,000.
Analysis
At its meeting on October 22, 2024, RRB members requested that future reports provide additional information when available. The FY 2024-2025 Annual Review includes the following information:
• Counts of tenants and landlords who made RRO and TRO inquiries
• Outcomes of inquiries
• Commercially available rental market data
The Annual Review shows that rent review cases in the City have continued to decline since Assembly Bill AB 1482 was adopted in 2019. AB 1482 prohibits landlords from raising the rent for most rental units by more than 5% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI), up to a maximum of 10%. This trend is expected to continue in FY 2025-2026 due to the RRO eligibility threshold exceeding rent limits established by State law.
In FY 2024-2025, the City contracted with ECHO Housing to assist with education and mediation on tenant-landlord issues. Most of the inquiries related to the RRO that qualified for an RRB hearing were settled with a mutual agreement between the landlord and the tenant after receiving housing counseling.
ATTACHMENT
A: FY 2024-2025 Annual Review of the Rent Review & Tenant Relocation Assistance Programs
PREPARED BY: Grace Streltzov, Senior Housing Specialist, Community Development Department
REVIEWED BY: Kerri Heusler, Housing Manager, Community Development Department