2 22-0377 Subject: Ordinance To Modify The CPI Rent Adjustment
From: Councilmember Fife
Recommendation: Adopt An Ordinance Amending Chapter 8.22 Of The Oakland Municipal Code (Residential Rent Adjustments And Evictions) To (1) Make The Annual Permissible Rent Increase For Covered Units 60% Of The Percentage Increase In The Consumer Price Index Or 3%, Whichever Is Lower And (2) Align Annual Adjustment Period With State Law
I am a small local housing provider in your city, and I urge you to vote NO on changing the formula to the Oakland Residential Rent Adjustments. Operating costs have risen significantly and it is becoming more and more difficult to be a Landlord in Oakland. Utilities (electricity for the building, gas for heat and appliances, trash) that are provided by the Landlord in my leases have all been increased greatly while more residents are working from home and using more services than ever! Services (landscaping, laundry, repair & maintenance) have also risen. It is wrong to not allow me to raise rents to the CPI that is issued for our area to compensate for the increase in these expenses. Tenants should be responsible to pay their share of these increases and Landlords need to be allowed to increase the rent to keep up with these rising costs.
Dear Oakland City Councilmember,
I urge you to vote NO on changing the formula to the Oakland Residential Rent Adjustments.
I am a local housing provider, and also have long been an advocate and architect for affordable housing, devoting countless volunteer hours to fight for the cause.
Your policies have consistently attacked the livelihood of landlords for years. Additionally, I am gravely concerned that your policies will only result in less affordable housing for the tenants who need it most, as you make it financially infeasible and nonsensical for small landlords to stay in business.
Given that our system largely relies on private businesses to provide rental housing, it makes no sense to make providing housing non-viable as a business. Some large landlords will be able to weather such intractable laws; most small landlords will personally lose their livelihoods and their savings, and the community will lose much of its relatively affordable housing as these properties get sold to larger investors who will find ways to raise rents or convert properties to other uses.
This proposal is further evidence that this city does not value its housing providers, nor does it logically account for the likely loss of affordable housing that your policies will result in as you push small landlords out of business.
Please consider the barrage of regulations we have endured and reject Councilmember Fife’s proposal.
Please pass this item as is, it is ridiculous to allow such a high rent controlled increase. Wages have not gone up, therefore rents should not be going up, especially as inflation continues to rise. Cap at 3% max!
Please do not cap the cpi increase. Please leave the cpi increase as it is.
I'm a small rental property owner. I pay the garbage bill for both of my tenants in a duplex.
In April 2020 my garbage bill was $281.42. In April 2022 my garbage bill was $295.47.
I've had a 4.99% increase in my garbage bill. I took it upon myself not to raise rents on my tenants at any time during the pandemic up to this point. As July 2022 gets here, I find that I need to try and catch up with the increase in my expenses.
It seems that the council plans to increase the taxes small property owners pay today, and then reduce our monthly income while inflation soars.
Homelessness and displacement are crises in Oakland. This is known, visible, well-documented, and unacceptable. If the recommended rent increase were to be allowed, these crises would be exacerbated - particularly for our Black, Brown, and Indigenous neighbors who are disproportionately impacted. Any council member who claims to be a champion of equity and justice should support this measure to CAP the rent increase at 3%.
I am a small landlord and have complied with all the city rent ordinances. The current program and amendments were carefully thought out & debated with much public comment. In contrast, the proposal before the CC changes the agreed upon rules at the last minute without proper debate -- this is unfair and irresponsible. Overregulation ultimately will lead to more gentrification and fewer rental housing units -- small landlords will leave the business and sell to homeowners. We cant compete with the hedge fund backed corporate landlords with 1000s of units. This last minute proposal to reduce the CPI rent increase amount is just another slap in the face. Further, continuing eviction moratorium for non-paying tenants, (especially absent means testing or hardship verification) and the City & State's failure to distribute funds to landlords (me at least) has left me struggling to meet my monthly overhead (mortgage, insurance, property tax, utilities, etc.) We all agree that a wave of evictions is not be good for Oakland, however, the cost of preventing these evictions has been borne entirely by property owners. The pain should be shared fairly. The proposal before the CC further exacerbates this trend. Politically standing up for the rights of landlords is hard and takes courage. I am also your constituent. I urge you to consider my point of view. Think about what is fair for everyone. I have not increased rents in over 4 years and my operating costs have increased over 23%.
Where is the City Attorney approved Ordinance? I don't see the ordinance, I don't see the notice and digest....We are six days out and no documentation, staff report or analysis. This is a violation of the sunshine ordinance. This item needs to be withdrawn.
As a family landlord, I urge you not to change the rent ordinance at this time. I have been a responsible landlord and have complied with the rent ordinance since it was implemented. It is patently unfair to to unilaterally change the ordinance last minute in order to benefit tenants. The increased CPI affects everyone, not just tenants. If you feel that the rent ordinance needs changing then you should engage the voices of both sides and thoughtfully consider it at a future date but not in this rushed manner. BTW my family was born and raised in Oakland since 1961.
Oakland is the only city in the bay area that has proposed such a high rent increase. The reason for CPI has raised so high is because of the gentrification, which has taken place in the past several years. This has already created the AMI for Oakland to be adjusted by HUD in January 2022 (median income from $79,000. to $110,000). The 3% should be the cap. If not passed it will create homelessness. Landlords have not been addressing preventive maintenance and repairs during the pandemic and using it as an excuse. We already have too many speculators whose goal is just to make money. Please vote for only 3%!
I am a small local housing provider in your city, and I urge you to vote NO on changing the formula to the Oakland Residential Rent Adjustments. Operating costs have risen significantly and it is becoming more and more difficult to be a Landlord in Oakland. Utilities (electricity for the building, gas for heat and appliances, trash) that are provided by the Landlord in my leases have all been increased greatly while more residents are working from home and using more services than ever! Services (landscaping, laundry, repair & maintenance) have also risen. It is wrong to not allow me to raise rents to the CPI that is issued for our area to compensate for the increase in these expenses. Tenants should be responsible to pay their share of these increases and Landlords need to be allowed to increase the rent to keep up with these rising costs.
Dear Oakland City Councilmember,
I urge you to vote NO on changing the formula to the Oakland Residential Rent Adjustments.
I am a local housing provider, and also have long been an advocate and architect for affordable housing, devoting countless volunteer hours to fight for the cause.
Your policies have consistently attacked the livelihood of landlords for years. Additionally, I am gravely concerned that your policies will only result in less affordable housing for the tenants who need it most, as you make it financially infeasible and nonsensical for small landlords to stay in business.
Given that our system largely relies on private businesses to provide rental housing, it makes no sense to make providing housing non-viable as a business. Some large landlords will be able to weather such intractable laws; most small landlords will personally lose their livelihoods and their savings, and the community will lose much of its relatively affordable housing as these properties get sold to larger investors who will find ways to raise rents or convert properties to other uses.
This proposal is further evidence that this city does not value its housing providers, nor does it logically account for the likely loss of affordable housing that your policies will result in as you push small landlords out of business.
Please consider the barrage of regulations we have endured and reject Councilmember Fife’s proposal.
Please pass this item as is, it is ridiculous to allow such a high rent controlled increase. Wages have not gone up, therefore rents should not be going up, especially as inflation continues to rise. Cap at 3% max!
Please do not cap the cpi increase. Please leave the cpi increase as it is.
I'm a small rental property owner. I pay the garbage bill for both of my tenants in a duplex.
In April 2020 my garbage bill was $281.42. In April 2022 my garbage bill was $295.47.
I've had a 4.99% increase in my garbage bill. I took it upon myself not to raise rents on my tenants at any time during the pandemic up to this point. As July 2022 gets here, I find that I need to try and catch up with the increase in my expenses.
It seems that the council plans to increase the taxes small property owners pay today, and then reduce our monthly income while inflation soars.
Homelessness and displacement are crises in Oakland. This is known, visible, well-documented, and unacceptable. If the recommended rent increase were to be allowed, these crises would be exacerbated - particularly for our Black, Brown, and Indigenous neighbors who are disproportionately impacted. Any council member who claims to be a champion of equity and justice should support this measure to CAP the rent increase at 3%.
I am a small landlord and have complied with all the city rent ordinances. The current program and amendments were carefully thought out & debated with much public comment. In contrast, the proposal before the CC changes the agreed upon rules at the last minute without proper debate -- this is unfair and irresponsible. Overregulation ultimately will lead to more gentrification and fewer rental housing units -- small landlords will leave the business and sell to homeowners. We cant compete with the hedge fund backed corporate landlords with 1000s of units. This last minute proposal to reduce the CPI rent increase amount is just another slap in the face. Further, continuing eviction moratorium for non-paying tenants, (especially absent means testing or hardship verification) and the City & State's failure to distribute funds to landlords (me at least) has left me struggling to meet my monthly overhead (mortgage, insurance, property tax, utilities, etc.) We all agree that a wave of evictions is not be good for Oakland, however, the cost of preventing these evictions has been borne entirely by property owners. The pain should be shared fairly. The proposal before the CC further exacerbates this trend. Politically standing up for the rights of landlords is hard and takes courage. I am also your constituent. I urge you to consider my point of view. Think about what is fair for everyone. I have not increased rents in over 4 years and my operating costs have increased over 23%.
Where is the City Attorney approved Ordinance? I don't see the ordinance, I don't see the notice and digest....We are six days out and no documentation, staff report or analysis. This is a violation of the sunshine ordinance. This item needs to be withdrawn.
As a family landlord, I urge you not to change the rent ordinance at this time. I have been a responsible landlord and have complied with the rent ordinance since it was implemented. It is patently unfair to to unilaterally change the ordinance last minute in order to benefit tenants. The increased CPI affects everyone, not just tenants. If you feel that the rent ordinance needs changing then you should engage the voices of both sides and thoughtfully consider it at a future date but not in this rushed manner. BTW my family was born and raised in Oakland since 1961.
Oakland is the only city in the bay area that has proposed such a high rent increase. The reason for CPI has raised so high is because of the gentrification, which has taken place in the past several years. This has already created the AMI for Oakland to be adjusted by HUD in January 2022 (median income from $79,000. to $110,000). The 3% should be the cap. If not passed it will create homelessness. Landlords have not been addressing preventive maintenance and repairs during the pandemic and using it as an excuse. We already have too many speculators whose goal is just to make money. Please vote for only 3%!