The City Council is considering an ordinance designed to protect low income tenants, but several council members worry that it might have "unintended consequences."
"This incentivizes landlords not to rent to very low income people, and I don't want to do that," said council member Jac Siegel. Siegel strongly opposed it along with council member John Inks, who said language in the ordinance would discourage landlords from making improvements to properties.
Under the proposal for dealing with displaced low income tenants -- a proposal the council declined to approve last Tuesday, Nov. 17 pending changes made by the city attorney certain landlords would be required to help tenants relocate when a rental is demolished, redeveloped or converted to condos.
Under those circumstances, landlords must pay very low income tenants the equivalent of two months rent, while an additional $2,000 would go towards households with "special needs" such as children, seniors or a disability. Tenants would also get a full refund of their security deposit, a 180-day notice to vacate, a subscription to a rental agency and bilingual assistance, if needed. A third party, such as the Community Services Agency, would have to be retained by the landlord to administer the requirements and verify income.
The ordinance would apply to buildings with two units or more where the majority of the tenants are of "very low income," which means 50 percent or less of the county's median household income -- $105,500 for a family of four last year.
The proposal is the city's response to a situation in 2007 when 64 households were displaced from the Summerhill apartment complex at 291 Evandale Ave. The city spent $127,000 of its own below market rate housing funds to relocate 33 of the households.
Affordable housing advocates were pleased to see that, under this proposal, the cost would be placed on landlords instead of on the city. Meanwhile, the Silicon Valley Realtors Association and the Tri County Apartment Association announced that they agreed with the principle of the ordinance, but had concerns with its language, which they say that might deter landlords from making improvements to their properties.
Council member Mike Kasperzak said Tuesday that he shared those concerns, and that those "issues are being resolved" with new language in the ordinance written by city attorney Michael Martello. Council members also directed staff to shorten the notification period required in the ordinance.
"I believe you'll have a policy that gets it right," said Joshua Howard, executive director of the California Apartment Association's Tri County Division, at the meeting.
Council members Laura Macias and Ronit Bryant supported the ordinance, with Macias saying the ordinance wasn't enough to be a "game changer" for the rental market.
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