City Council extends rent increase moratorium

Published on December 17, 2020

(Updated December 8, 2021) -- On Tuesday, December 15, 2020, the Alameda City Council approved an extension to the moratorium on rent increases in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium prohibits landlords from increasing rent on fully regulated units until 60 days after the rescission of the declaration of the Local Emergency or June 30, 2021, whichever is later. Any notice of a rent increase served prior to December 15, 2020 (and which was to take effect anytime on or after April 22, 2020) is void and has no force or effect. (See council agenda item 2020-8557.)

The freeze does not apply to rental units exempt from local rent control (generally, single-family homes, condominiums, and privately owned rental units participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Section 8 program).

Previous Legislation and Resources

Ordinance No. 3275(PDF, 8MB), adopted April 21, 2020, is part of a series of protections for Alameda residents and businesses that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through income loss, child care needs, and medical expenses. Among other things, the urgency ordinance expanded eviction protections to prohibit no fault evictions based on an owner move-in or capital improvement project for all residential rental units.

For questions about unpaid rent owed since March 1, 2020, see COVID-19 Urgency Ordinance Regulation 20-01(PDF, 430KB) . This regulation has been revised following the state legislature's passage of AB 3088, which leaves in place many protections provided by local ordinances but imposes new requirements on tenants in order to avoid eviction for failure to pay rent.

More resources for tenants are available here, including information on the current status of the Emergency Rent Relief Program. For additional information, please contact the Alameda City Attorney’s Office at emartinez@alamedacityattorney.org or 510-747-4772.

 

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