Resolution 15660CITY OF ALAMEDA RESOLUTION NO. 15660
ADOPTING A TIER-STRUCTURED ANNUAL RENT PROGRAM FEE
FOR THE CITY'S RENT CONTROL, LIMITATIONS ON EVICTIONS
AND RELOCATION PAYMENTS ORDINANCE AND IMPLEMENTING
REGULATIONS
WHEREAS, in September 2019, the Alameda City Council adopted a revised and
restated Rent Control, Limitations on Evictions and Relocation Payment to Certain
Tenants Ordinance (Ordinance No. 3250) to protect tenants from the rapidly increasing
cost of rental housing that is the result of rising rents and a tight rental market; and
WHEREAS, adoption of Ordinance No. 3250 resulted in significant changes to the Rent
Program services provided by the Housing Authority of the City of Alameda (that serves
as the City's Rent Program Administrator) and by City staff including requiring a rent
registry, establishing an Annual General Adjustment of rent based on 70% of the
percentage change of the Consumers Price Index, revising how relocation payments are
calculated, eliminating no cause terminations of tenancies, and extending protection to
tenants with Section 8 vouchers; and
WHEREAS, because of these enhanced services, the City contracted with SCI Consulting
Group (SCI) to conduct a Fee Study to determine (a) the program costs for Fiscal Year
2020-2021 (and beyond) and (b) the per rental unit fee amount ("the Program Fee") that
would need to be imposed on rental property owners in order to fund the various services
and programs; and
WHEREAS, as part of the Fee Study, SCI worked closely with the Housing Authority of
the City of Alameda (Housing Authority), the City's Finance and the Community
Development Departments, and the City Attorney's Office to understand all of the direct
and indirect costs necessary to administer the Ordinance and implement Regulations to
carry out the Ordinance; and
WHEREAS, the Fee Study demonstrates that the amount of the fee to be imposed on
rental property owners is a function of:
• The number of applicable rental units
• The amount of necessary staffing to administer the programs
• Contracted services (e.g. Housing Authority staff, hearing officers, etc.)
• Materials and supplies to support the administration of the programs (including
office space and utilities, program software, printing, postage, office equipment,
etc.); and
WHEREAS, SCI, by conducting a rigorous analysis of data collected by the Housing
Authority and the Finance Department, determined that there are an (a) estimated 11,195
Fully Regulated Units, i.e., multi-unit properties for which a certificate of occupancy was
issued prior to February 1995, which units are subject to all provisions, (e.g. rent control,
just cause for eviction, etc.) of Ordinance No. 3250 and (b) estimated 2,697 Partially
Regulated Units, e.g., single family homes, condominiums, certain privately owned rent-
subsidized rental units, which units are subject to all provisions of Ordinance No. 3250
except rent control; and
WHEREAS, the costs associated with the administration of Ordinance No. 3250 include
direct and indirect labor costs, contracted services, and supply cost and the Fee Study
confirms that the tasks and estimated associated labor hours, as developed by the City
and the Housing Authoring staff, are reasonable and accurate; and
WHEREAS, the Fee Study determined the overall costs attributable to Ordinance No.
3250 (rent control, just cause/relocation payments) are estimated to be $2.02 million but
costs associated with administering the rent control provisions of Ordinance No. 3250
should be allocated solely to the Fully Regulated Units, resulting in a Program Fee for
landlords of those units higher than for landlords of Partially Regulated Units; and
WHEREAS, based on the Fee Study, a Program Fee of $154 for Fully Regulated Units
and a Program Fee of $106 for Partially Regulated Units could be justified; and
WHEREAS, there is a Rent Program fund balance, primarily due to the Rent Program not
being fully staffed, and staff has _recommended that $300,000 of that fund balance be
applied to the costs of the Program for Fiscal Year 2020-2021, thereby reducing the
Program Fee for Fully Regulated Units from $154 to $132 and reducing the Program Fee
for Partially Regulated Units from $106 to $84; and
WHEREAS, the Program Fee would be charged annually to rental property owners on a
per rental unit basis and billed July _1; and
WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 3250 provides that fifty percent (50%) of the Program Fee
may be passed on to the tenant in equal installments over the course of twelve (12)
months ($5.50 per month for tenants in Fully Regulated Units and $3.50 per month for
tenants in Partially Regulated Units), which amount is not to be included as rent when
calculating the percentage rent increase; and
WHEREAS, if this Program Fee were not imposed on rental property owners and their
tenants, the City's General Fund would absorb the cost to administer the various
programs and services which would be an unfair burden on taxpayers of the community
who neither own rental property nor are renters; and
WHEREAS, for the reasons stated in the agenda report of June 16, 2020, adoption of this
resolution is not subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of
Alameda as follows:
Section 1. A Program Fee of $132 is imposed on every rental property owner in the City
of Alameda for each Fully Regulated Unit owned.
Section 2. A Program Fee of $84 is imposed on every rental property owner in the City
of Alameda for each Partially Regulated Unit owned.
Section 3. Notwithstanding Section 2 of this Resolution, the Program Fee shall not be
imposed on any landlord of a privately owned rent-subsidized rental unit as determined
by the Program Administrator.
Section 4. For Fiscal Year 2020-2021, the due date for all Program Fees will be
September 1, 2020, and landlords' paying the Program Fee after September 30, 2020,
shall pay, in addition to the Program Fee, a late charge of 1 0% for each month (including
any partial month) up to a maximum of 60%.
Section 5. For the fiscal years following Fiscal Year 2020-2021, the due date for all
Program Fees shall be July 1, and landlords paying the Program Fee after July 31 shall
pay, in addition to the Program Fee, a late charge of 1 0% of each month (including any
partial month) up to a maximum of 60%.
Section 6. This Program Fee shall be evaluated from time to time and, in the absence of
material and substantive changes to the Ordinance, at least once every five years to
ensure that the Program Fee reflects the cost to administer the various services and
programs under the Ordinance.
Section 7. This Resolution is effective immediately upon its adoption.
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I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was adopted by the
City Council of the City of Alameda at a regular meeting on the 16th day of June, 2020 by
the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Knox White, Oddie, Vella and Mayor Ezzy
Ashcraft-4.
NOES: Councilmember Daysog-1.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTENTIONS: None.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the
City of Alameda on the 17th day of June, 2020.
Approved as to form:
Yibin Shen, City Attorney
City of Alameda
Lara Weisiger, Cit
City of Alameda