Concord city council set to take on rent stabilization ordinance
CONCORD – The Concord City Council will again take up a possible rent stabilization ordinance on Tuesday that would also require landlords have just cause before evicting tenants.
Single-family homes would not be subject to the proposed ordinances. Neither would rented condominium units or rented accessory dwelling units. Duplexes in which the owner lives in one of the units would also not be subject to either rent stabilization or just cause for eviction regulations.
The ordinance would apply to multi-family rental complexes of two or more units built before Feb. 1, 1995.
The hearing is being continued from Jan. 30, when public comment was closed after the council heard from approximately 83 speakers, according to a staff report.
The ordinance would limit annual rent increases to 3% or 60% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is lower.
It would control the allowable rent increases upon the first date of occupancy but does not control the dollar amount for starting-of-occupancy rent (i.e., it preserves vacancy decontrol). It would include a "rent rollback" provision setting rents to the dollar amounts that were charged for rent as of January 12, 2023, plus allows for up to the ordinance-allowed rent increase of 2.52% for the 2023 calendar year (2.52% is 60% of the CPI for April 2023).
The ordinance would also establish a process utilizing a hearing officer whereby tenants could appeal their rent increases if they believed them to be inconsistent with the ordinance. Property owners could also request higher rent increases, above what the ordinance would otherwise allow, to obtain a fair return on their investment property.
Just cause for eviction would apply to most rented units in Concord, including rented single-family homes and rented condominium units. Just cause wouldn't apply to rented accessory dwelling units.
Just cause regulations wouldn't apply when a tenant is evicted for "at-fault" reasons, such as non-payment of rent, breach of a material term of the lease, or occupying the space in such a manner as to create a nuisance or criminal activity.
According to a staff report, Concord has approximately 18,100 residential rental units, 9,200 of which are fully covered units that would be subject to both the rent stabilization and the just cause for eviction provisions, and 8,900 of which are partially covered units that would be subject to just cause for eviction provisions only.
All 18,100 rental units would need to be registered in Concord's residential rent registry Program.
Everyone who owns property subject to either rent stabilization or just cause protections would be required to register their unit(s) with the city annually and pay a yet-to-be-determined annual registration and administration fee.
The Concord City council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the council chamber at city hall, 1950 Parkside Drive in Concord. The meeting can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3UDdDs3.