Title
Recommendation to Receive the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Rent Program Regulatory Fee Study; and
Adoption of Resolution Adopting a Tier-Structured Annual Rent Program Fee for the City's Rent Control, Limitation on Evictions and Relocation Payments Ordinance and Implementing Regulations: $132 for "Fully Regulated Units" and $84 for "Partially Regulated Units." (Community Development 265)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
After City Council's adoption of the revised Rent Ordinance (Ordinance No. 3250) in 2019, staff secured services from SCI Consulting Group (SCI) to complete a Fee Study for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21, in order to determine the program costs under the revised Ordinance. The Fee Study (Exhibit 1) found that program costs have increased based on the additional services required under the revised Ordinance. The revised Ordinance imposes rent control on the majority of rental units. All rental units are subject to the just cause termination provisions of the Ordinance, including payment of relocation benefits. Multi-family units built before February 1995 are subject to an annual general adjustment and maximum allowable rents.
Based on the Fee Study, staff recommends the City Council adopt a tiered fee structure for FY 2020-21 as follows: a $132 fee for rental units subject to all provisions of the Ordinance ("Fully Regulated Units") and a $84 fee for rental units exempt for the rent control provisions ("Partially Regulated Units"). The proposed fee has been off-set by $300,000 in Rent Program fund balance revenue being applied to the fee calculation. Additionally, in order to provide a financial incentive to property owners to become landlords of privately owned rent-subsidized units, primarily in the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Program, staff also recommends eliminating the Program Fee for those landlords. If that were to occur, funds from the General Fund would need to be allocated to the Rent P...
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