Tag: rent freeze

By Posted on Posted in Issues

CL-aptsDespite the bad news from Richmond, folks all over the Bay, the State – even the World – are clamoring for an end to extreme profits and astronomical rent increases. The owners have kept us on the defensive for three decades — how many fronts can they fight on, even with all their money?

RICHMOND

The CA Apartment Association – the landlord statewide group – applied all their massive resources to suspend the new Richmond laws, the first new rent control in California in 30 years. Berkeley Property Owners Association put out a “Red Alert” just days before the law was to go into effect, asking Berkeley landlords to support this effort, which reportedly paid gathers over $20 per signature.
http://kron4.com/2015/09/03/apartment-association-files-petition-to-repeal-richmond-rent-control-policy-suspended-until-council-repeals-or-residents-vote/

SAN MATEO

Efforts in San Mateo to create just cause eviction protections for renters have also been stalled through efforts from the California Apartment Association.
“Dozens of property owners, real estate agents and representatives from trade associations spoke in opposition noting there are already existing laws governing tenant-landlord contracts. Many noted it can be very difficult to evict a bad tenant — one told an anecdote of it costing nearly $8,000 in legal fees — and requested the city focus on constructing new housing units. Others also feared there would be unintended consequences of such an ordinance, including harming good tenants.”
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2015-09-10/city-stalls-on-renter-protection-san-mateo-council-to-wait-for-stakeholder-input-on-affordable-housing-crisis/1776425149923.html
“Additionally, the CAA is urging it’s members to appear and bring other members from the rental housing industry to the council meeting/s to oppose renter protections. This is the same thing they do when other cities in California consider renter protections…. Painting the working class as possible criminals in the effort to conceal their real activities, such as raking in billions of dollars hand over fist, the CAA knows how to stir up wealthy property owners and the rental housing industry, when humane solutions such as renter protections are being proposed.”
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2015/09/09/18777335.php

ALAMEDA

Alameda is the only place I know of with a rent board but no rent control. City officials are discussing changing some of the rent regulations, but tenants are discussing a ballot measure to get some real protections!
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/09/04/rising-rents-and-evictions-in-alameda-get-attention-of-city-council

SAN JOSE

Nine of the eleven City Council members voted to “look into” just cause eviction protections, expanding rent control to cover duplexes, eliminating rules that new owners can pass their mortgage costs on to renters, and lowering the annual rent increase from the current eight percent. Berkeley tenants already enjoy these protections.
“San Jose’s rent control only covers about 43,000 units built before 1979 and excludes duplexes. Housing built after 1995 is exempt from rent control under the state’s Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, so that leaves apartments built from 1979 to 1995 and all duplexes with no protections.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_28741872/san-jose-council-approves-plan-strengthen-rent-control
“Approval of the staff report and work plan would create a timeline where the Council would consider potential changes to the ARO (apartment-rent ordinance) in December 2015.”
http://spartandaily.com/143341/san-jose-considers-expanding-rent-control

MOUNTAIN VIEW

Tenants in Silicon Valley march for rent control – three times!
“Most of the affected residents make $12-$18 per hour, far below what it takes to afford local rents that have in some cases doubled over the past few years.”
http://www.losaltosonline.com/news/sections/inside-mountain-view/51099-
Mountain View Tenants Coalition
https://www.facebook.com/MVTenantsCoalition

SANTA ROSA

Council members who opposed rent control said the city just needs to build more housing. All over the world, landlords and developers – often the same people – claim that allowing unbridled development will lower rents. Sound familiar, Berkeley?
“We spent $800,000 on a fish fountain. We can spend some money to help renters in Santa Rosa.”
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4419072-181/santa-rosa-city-council-sides?gallery=4418739

HEALDSBURG

Owners in Healdsburg pledged to limit rent increases to “only” 10 percent in order to stop the city from discussing rent control.
“It’s nonbinding. It’s pointless,” said Christine Webster, a disabled woman facing a 65 percent increase in rent for the one-bedroom duplex close to downtown that she’s lived in for the past decade.”
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/4394331-181/healdsburg-rent-advisory-polarizing

SANTA MONICA

Santa Monica is the California city with a tenant protection ordinance most like Berkeley’s own. Ellis Act evictions are on the rise in Berkeley, with landlord advocate Michael St. John actively encouraging them in a recent BPOA newsletter, but in Santa Monica, there are so many that the City Council is discussing a moratorium.
http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2015/Aug-2015/08_24_2015_Three_on_Santa_Monica_Council_Back_Effort_Urging_Halt_to_Ellis_Act_Evictions.html#st_refDomain=t.co&st_refQuery=/8ojEpjhhPF

SEATTLE

Seattle City Council is discussing asking the state of Washington to end the state ban on rent control. Washington is one of at least 30 states in the US which do not allow any municipalities to create rent control laws.
http://www.king5.com/story/news/politics/2015/08/12/seattle-rent-control-legislature-debate/31513621/

VERMONT

Burlington citizens debate rent control, supply-and-demand, in the press.
“Of course, as long as the city is run by developers and landlords, rent control will not even be discussed.”
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/opinion/readers/letters/2015/09/04/opinion-burlington-needs-rent-control/71726064/

NEW JERSEY

Jersey City tenants call for changes to preserve their rent control.
“Real estate investors… are aggressively using the vacancy capital improvement provision in Chapter 260 of the rent control ordnance to increase the rent of vacated apartments by over 30 percent.”
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/rent_control_under_seige_in_jersey_city_opinion.html

SINGAPORE

Tenants Together has been warning about the securitization of rents here in California, but Singapore is way ahead of us, with leaders not only calling for rent control but also a limit to land holdings by REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts).
http://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/limited-by-land-rent-control-floating-real-estate-limiting-reits-might-solve-singapores-realty-woes-11633/

SCOTLAND

Scotland had rent control until the Thatcher years; leaders are preparing to introduce laws which would allow rent regulation in places where the rents are rising most rapidly.
“Rent controls enjoy broad popular support, with a Survation poll conducted in January this year finding that only 6.8 per cent of the public are “somewhat” or “strongly” against the controls. 59 per cent of those polls said they somewhat or strongly supported the state being able to control what landlords take from tenants each month.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-scottish-government-is-going-to-introduce-rent-controls-10481469.html

GERMANY

Berlin got rent control on June 1st. Rents dropped immediately.
“The average cost of new Berlin rental contracts has dropped 3.1 percent within a month. This can’t be written off as an example of a general countrywide downward trend. In other German cities where such laws haven’t yet been introduced, rents have remained more or less static.”
http://www.citylab.com/housing/2015/07/berlins-brand-new-rent-control-laws-are-already-working/398087/

By Posted on Posted in Actions
Short-term rentals are more lucrative than permanent housing. Image courtesy of http://www.beyondchron.org
Short-term rentals are more lucrative than permanent housing. Image courtesy of http://www.beyondchron.org

Berkeley City Council Continues Discussion of Short Term Rentals Tuesday June 9th
7 PM @ Longfellow Middle School Auditorium, 1500 Derby

  • Please join BTU in supporting Councilmember Arreguin’s amendments to the Mayor’s proposal.
  • Ask that Council does not lift the ban on renting whole, empty units on Airbnb and other vacation platforms.
  • Say that we need rent controlled units and other empty apartments to be offered for Berkeley residents.
  • Ask the law be written so that it can be easily enforced!
  • Ask them to include the Rent Board in the referral so that the new law is in harmony with existing state and local laws on rental units.

Revised Council Item 32: 2015-06-09 Item 32 Short-Term Rental

Berkeleyside: Short Term Rentals
“The conversion of apartments into a short-term rentals, where guests come and go, is part of a trend that is sweeping Berkeley. While renting out apartments to anyone for less than 14 days is prohibited under Berkeley law, hundreds of homeowners are renting out rooms, suites, whole houses, cottages — even a tent and a yurt — according to listings posted on Airbnb, VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner), Home Away and other short-term rental websites… Property owners who rent out for short terms often stand to make a substantial amount of money, certainly more than if they rented month to month.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/05/26/short-term-rentals-are-squeezing-out-berkeley-renters/

Berkeley Tenants Union Public Comment
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2015-06-05/article/43372?headline=The-Problem-with-Short-Term-Rentals-Perspective-of-Berkeley-Tenants-Union

State Won’t Force Airbnb to Share Information for Enforcement
“Legislation aimed at forcing Airbnb Inc. and other short-term rental sites to ensure collection of local taxes stalled in the state Senate on Thursday.
SB 593 would have required short-term housing platforms to report quarterly to cities and counties the addresses that were rented out on their sites as well as the number of nights those properties were rented and for what prices. Local governments could have used the information to ensure transient occupancy taxes were paid and to ferret out vacation rentals operating in cities that bar them. The bill had the backing of various cities, hotel lobbies and organized labor. But Airbnb fought back against the proposed regulations, hiring its first contract lobbyist in Sacramento and rallying its users with emails and phone calls. The company, along with its allied tech lobbies and the Santa Monica group Consumer Watchdog, framed the debate as a battle over its customers’ privacy.”
http://www.therecorder.com/id=1202728452451/Airbnb-Bill-Halted-By-Lobby-Blitz?slreturn=20150505224830

Should New Backyard Cottages Be Allowed as Short Term Rentals?
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/03/25/officials-to-relax-rules-for-berkeley-granny-flats/

“Airbnb Will Probably Get You Evicted and Priced Out of the City”
“If you look at the economics of it, Airbnb is ruining your life. Or, at least, your chances at a lasting life in the city. In an attempt to make an extra buck, you may be slowly screwing yourself out of the market…Every unit that’s being used for illegal hotel activity is a unit that’s not on the residential housing market.”
https://news.vice.com/article/airbnb-will-probably-get-you-evicted-and-priced-out-of-the-city

In Other News

Fun Protest! Saturday June 6 @ 10 AM
“…To fly large red, black and white balloons, three feet in diameter, to a height of 194 feet, near the planned site of The Residences at Berkeley Plaza, also known by its street address 2211 Harold Way. The building would be 180 feet high — or 194 feet, with the addition of an elevator housing and other infrastructure on top.”
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_28244224/berkeley-activists-plan-visual-protest-downtown-proposal

Berkeley Rents Too Damn High
“The last time rents rose so crazily was 15 years ago during the last technology boom, and history seems to be repeating itself.” In 2000, the dotcom boom market, rents skyrocketed and now we are dealing with some of the same issues,” said Nick Traylor, a manager at the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board. Some landlords are even increasing rents by $400 to $1,000 a month if they have a tenant vacate a unit, said Traylor. He stressed these substantial increases are on top of the already high market rates being charged to the previous tenant. Elaine Perkins, who runs the Cal Rentals office at UC Berkeley, said students are living in cramped conditions to afford decent accommodation.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/05/28/berkeley-rental-rates-skyrocket-causing-problems-for-students-and-those-on-middle-incomes/

German Rent Freeze; Berlin Rent Ceilings
“Berlin is limiting rent increases to 10 percent of average rents in neighborhoods suffering housing shortages. Landlords often jack up rents by as much as 40 percent to take advantage of well-heeled newcomers who are flocking to the city from the around the world, said Reiner Wild, managing director of the Berlin Tenants Association.
“The rent ceiling is very important for Berlin because the difference between the rent paid in existing contracts and new contracts is so high,” Wild told The Guardian.”
https://news.vice.com/article/berlin-imposes-rent-caps-as-worlds-most-desirable-cities-become-gated-communities
Law allowing rent controls on Berlin’s inner-city property prevents landlords charging new tenants more than 10 per cent above the local average
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/news/11645625/berlin-rent-control-law-housing-crisis.html
“Berlin is pioneering the rent cap after the national parliament approved the law, aimed at areas with housing shortages, in March… “We don’t want a situation like in London or Paris,” said Wild. “The reality in Paris or London is that people with low income have to live in the further-out districts of the city.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/01/rent-cap-legislation-in-force-berlin-germany

By Posted on Posted in Actions

City Council continues discussion on #1 (Airbnb) on June 9.

 AirBnB in BerkeleyAirBnB in Berkeley

1) CHANGE Council Item 21: Short-Term Rental Regulations:
This Tuesday, Berkeley City Council will outline their directive for legalizing short-term rentals in Berkeley. Right now, rentals of less than 14 days are prohibited, but over 1,000 such illegal rentals are listed online.

Mayor Bates, who co-sponsored the item with new Councilperson Droste, assured Rent Board Commissioners at Thursday’s 4×4 Committee that his proposal will protect rent controlled units by continuing the ban on short-term rentals in unoccupied housing. The Mayor seemed surprised when Rent Board folks told him that about 400 rent controlled units were currently used only for vacation rentals, and that several large landlords are renting multiple units on Airbnb.

However, the Mayor and Councilman Capitelli were noncommittal when the Commissioners asked to be included in the Council referral and pointed out that proposals such as requiring the owner’s permission before a tenant rents their unit on Airbnb may conflict with state and local laws.

Councilman Arreguin and Rent Board Commissioners also raised the importance of enforcing the existing law and considering enforcement when creating the new law.

BTU is still formatting our position on the issue, which must have at least one public hearing at the Planning Commission before it becomes law, but we stand with the Rent Board in believing that short-term rentals are taking away needed housing.

We call for continuation of the ban on renting whole, empty apartments only for short stays. We need those homes for Berkeley students, Berkeley families, and Berkeley workers! We call for the elected Rent Board to be included in the process of making the new laws, and we call for enforcement of the existing laws when large landlords rent multiple units only for short term guests.

2) SUPPORT Council Item 19, State Short-Term Rentals Regulation:
The Council will also vote regarding support for a state bill which would compel hosting platforms like Home Away and Airbnb to share information with local governments. California Senate Bill 593, by McGuire and Leno, is essential to regulating vacation rentals.

3) SUPPORT Council Item 25: Amend the Housing Element
Councilmember Arreguin has introduced changes to the Housing Element that BTU members and friends called for at the Planning Commission in February, but City Council left out of the draft they approved. The proposal returns essential language about Berkeley values that was taken out of the Housing Element, such as, “Ensure rent control and/or other tenant protections for all tenants, including vulnerable populations,” and “All Berkeley residents should have access to decent housing at a range of prices and rents in pleasant neighborhoods that meet standards of quality.”
Most importantly, Arreguin’s amendments put back the priority that we should protect rent controlled housing from demolition and enforce those laws!

4) CHANGE Council Item 35, Community Benefits from Tall Buildings
Downtown developers must contribute more toward affordable housing.

TO LEARN MORE:

City Council Agenda
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2015/05_May/City_Council__05-26-2015_-_Regular_Meeting_Agenda.aspx

Rent Board on Short Term Rentals, Item 21:
“A summary of our major Rent Board concerns are as follows:
1) Loss of Housing: We hope that any Council policy recommendations to the Housing Advisory Commission and Planning Commission will focus on ensuring that whole units with kitchens that are not occupied by the host most of the year will remain available for permanent residents. Owners of multiple rental units in Berkeley should not be allowed to go into the hotel business.
2) Enforcement: Regulations must provide a workable enforcement mechanism with adequate funding and staffing. Penalties and remedies should be clear.
3) Tenants Rights: Berkeley’s new regulations must preserve rights tenants currently hold, such as the right to quiet enjoyment of their home as well as the right to sublet if they already hold that privilege. Council should include the Rent Board for input in their referral.”
Letter from the Rent Board regarding Short-Term Rentals

Text of the SB593 for Item 19: https://legiscan.com/CA/text/SB593/2015

Also on Item 19, SB 593: “This legislation is simple…It makes online vacation rental businesses follow local laws just like the rest of us.”  With concerns “about loud parties, traffic and other problems,” on the rise, this move could not come at a better time….If passed, Senate Bill 593 will help ensure short-term online rental companies follow some simple rules and regulations to preserve our neighborhoods, ensure consumer safety, and protect the well-being of longtime residents in communities across California.”
http://www.overnightoversight.com/ca-legislation-addresses-short-term-online-rental-concerns/

On Item 25, the Housing Element: https://www.berkeleytenants.org/?p=1195

On Item 35, Community Benefits from Downtown Buildings:
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2015-05-22/article/43322?headline=Significant-Community-Benefits-an-open-letter-to-the-Berkeley-City-Council

In Other News

Thanks to BTU Members Who Sent in Most of These Stories

Windfall Profits Tax On High Rents (Fund Affordable Housing)
“The only way off the treadmill is to build or buy housing that will be owned by non-profit organizations, land trusts and limited-equity cooperatives. And that takes money, a lot of money. So let’s tax the rising rents that increase the need for affordable housing in the first place.”
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2015-05-22/article/43326?headline=Fund-Affordable-Housing-with-Windfall-Profits-Tax-on-Rising-Rents-News-Analysis—Stephen-Barton

Berkeley Development: Call for Moratorium on Luxury Construction
“…while the City is fully caught up and already ahead on its higher income units, we haven’t even made our quota for moderate or lower income units for 2006 yet. This makes the big push to build block after block of high rent homes and apartments unfathomable.”
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2015-05-15/article/43314?headline=Berkeley-Needs-a-Moratorium-on-High-Rent-Units–Rhiannon 

California: Rents Go Up Fast, Income Goes Up Slow
“Since the end of 2010, rental prices have surged at nearly twice the pace of average hourly wages, according to data from the real estate firm Zillow and the Labor Department.
More than 30 percent of renters in California, Florida, New Jersey and New York state devote at least half their incomes to housing and utilities, according to the analysis.”
http://m.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/1-in-4-us-renters-must-use-half-their-pay-for-housing-costs/Content?oid=2928601

California: Wall Street Invests in Single-Family Home Rentals
“California tenants renting single-family homes from the three biggest Wall Street landlords in the state, Blackstone/Invitation Homes, Waypoint Homes, and Colony American Homes, pay higher rents than their neighbors and face challenges getting repairs,” according to a new research report by Tenants Together.
http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5247/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=9191

SF: Mission Renters in NY Times
“When a family in a rent-controlled apartment leaves or is forced out, the rent is jacked up to market rate, apartments become condominiums or are advertised by the landlord on Airbnb as a good place for short-term visits.”
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/23/us/high-rents-elbow-latinos-from-san-franciscos-mission-district.html

City of Alameda Considers Eviction Protections
“Advocates for local renters, who make up about half the Island’s population, have pressed for rent control and other protections. But at least three members of the council have questioned whether rent control would be an effective solution to renters’ woes, or whether the city should get involved in rents issues at all.”
http://thealamedan.org/news/rents-blog-just-cause-eviction

San Jose Renters Hold Rally
http://kron4.com/2015/05/13/activists-hold-rally-in-support-of-san-jose-renter-protections/

Lafayette Considers Rent Control or Rent Freeze May 26
“…City Council acknowledged that high rents are a problem all over the Bay Area, but also expressed sympathy for the renters, saying that 90% increases were “crazy” and “beyond the pale.”   In the end, the Council asked for more information from small towns similar to Lafayette that have adopted rent control or stabilization policies (such as Los Gatos).  It also asked the City Attorney to investigate whether the City could impose a temporary moratorium on rent increases.”
http://lovelafayette.org/Home/Components/News/News/966/18?backlist=%2Fhome