Title
Staff Report for Proposed Amendments to the City of San Leandro Rent Review Ordinance
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On December 21, 2015, the City Council tabled the second reading of the Rent Review Ordinance Amendments and requested the Ordinance be scheduled for a City Council meeting in early 2016.
Staff recommends that the City Council waive the full reading and adopt the Ordinance amending Title 4, Chapter 32 of the San Leandro Municipal Code relating to the Rent Review Board. The attached ordinance amendments reflect staff recommendation based upon the City Council's revisions and discussions at the December 7, 2015 and December 21, 2015 City Council meetings.
BACKGROUND
On December 7, 2015, following staff presentation, public comment, and deliberation, the City Council conducted a first reading and introduction of an Ordinance Amending title 4, Chapter 32 of the San Leandro Municipal Code Relating to the Rent Review Ordinance (the "Ordinance").
The Ordinance, as presented by staff and including comments and suggestions from the public and the Rent Review Board as part of the Rent Review Board's annual review, included the following amendments:
* Assess Ratio Utility Billing System (RUBS) charges, upon initial conversion, as a rent increase and therefore considered as a factor toward eligibility for review by the Board. RUBS is when landlords subcontract out utility billing to a third party. The tenants pay their utility bills to the third party rather than to the landlord. The 2015-2023 Housing Element recommended that staff evaluate RUBS charges as a rent increase and consider these initial charges as eligible for Board review.
* Include duplexes as eligible residential properties for rent review. Under the current Ordinance, only buildings with three or more rental housing units are eligible for rent review. Per the 2009-2013 American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), there are almost 2,000 du...
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