Council Enacts Moratorium on Large-Property Capital Improvement Plans

Published on June 07, 2023

On June 6, 2023, City Council approved Ordinance 3341(PDF, 530KB) to impose a temporary moratorium on submitting Capital Improvement Plan applications for properties with 25 or more rental units.  This ordinance directs the Rent Program staff to suspend and not approve any such applications filed on or after July 12, 2022 and reject any such applications filed on or after April 27, 2023.

The City first adopted a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) policy in 2016. Established by Resolution 15138 and implemented by Regulation 23-01, the policy's purpose is to help maintain the quality of the City's rental housing stock while providing certain tenant protections.

City staff proposed a moratorium on CIP applications on properties with 25 or more rental units, based on the following:

• Gives City Council time to consider revisions to the CIP Policy
• The context of ongoing housing supply concerns and affordability crisis in the region
• Potential displacement of vulnerable residents
• End of Declaration of Local Emergency provides that most landlords have banked amounts, leading to valid rent increases that exceed the AGA. 
• Only 2.5% of rental properties in Alameda contain 25+ units
• Larger properties are more likely to have units at or above Fair Market Rents
• Landlords may still increase rent via other methods, including Fair Return petitions, through which capital improvement expenditures may be considered. 

Rent Program staff will be reaching out to various landlord and tenant stakeholder groups this summer to get insight on a revised CIP policy before its presented to council in the fall.

Meanwhile, properties with less than 25 rental units can still file Capital Improvement Plan applications. For more information on Capital Improvements, please visit our FAQ page.