City Council Alters Rent Increase Moratorium

Published on March 16, 2022

Local COVID-19 Protections Changing; as of May 1, Landlords of Units Subject to Rent Control May Serve Limited Increases

Beginning May 1, 2022, landlords of most Alameda rental units may serve their tenant with rent increase notices of no more than 2.7%, after the Alameda City Council adopted new legislation(PDF, 338KB) altering the moratorium on rent increases.

The change applies to multi-unit properties built prior to February 1995, which are subject to a cap on the annual amount of a rent increase, known as the Annual General Adjustment, or AGA. Units exempt from rent control under state law, including single-family homes and condos rented to tenants, are not subject to local limits on rent increases.

The moratorium began in April 2020, when the City Council passed a number of tenant protections in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council’s Declaration of Local Emergency remains in effect.

The new ordinance, adopted at the March 15, 2022, council meeting, allows landlords to begin implementing rent increases equal to the current AGA; however, use of previous years’ “banked” rent increases remains prohibited. Landlords cannot serve tenants with a rent increase notice prior to May 1, 2022. Landlords must follow the normal state requirements for serving rent increases, including the amount of notice landlords are required to give. Local limits on “no fault” terminations of tenancy also remain in effect.

For more information on tenant protections and changes to the moratorium, see the new FAQ page.

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