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- • III III <br /> ' ation - Stable Rents Mean Stable Communities <br /> 8.A. - Page e 138 <br /> Some important questions and answers about rent stabilization in California <br /> What is Rent Stabilization? <br /> Rent stabilization establishes limits on the rate at which rents can rise. Under California <br /> law, a city may NOT dictate the initial rent that a landlord charges. Rent stabilization <br /> merely restricts how much rents can increase after the initial market rate rent is set. <br /> To what rental units does Rent Stabilization apply? <br /> Rent Stabilization may only apply to apartments with a certificate of occupancy prior to <br /> February 1, 1995 per the 1995 Costa - Hawkins Act. The majority of all rental units in San <br /> Mateo County were built prior to February 1995. It also does not apply to single family <br /> homes or condominiums that are for rent. <br /> How much can rents go up under Rent Stabilization? <br /> That is up to the community. Many communities with Rent Stabilization peg annual <br /> increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a reflection of growing costs <br /> across a range of expenses. <br /> What is vacancy decontrol? <br /> Under California law when a tenant in a rent - stabilized unit leaves his or her home, the <br /> unit passes through a period of "decontrol." This allows the landlord to rent the vacant <br /> unit at market rate. When a new tenant signs a lease agreement at market rate, <br /> subsequent rent increases are regulated by rent stabilization. <br /> Does Rent Stabilization constrain new construction? <br /> No! Rent Stabilization only applies to apartments built prior to February 1, 1995. It does <br /> not apply to new construction. <br /> What other laws need to be paired with Rent Stabilization? <br /> Because of things like vacancy decontrol, Rent Stabilization is often paired with other <br /> tenant protection laws to ensure that tenants are not evicted simply for the landlord to <br /> effect a rent increase. Among these policies are: <br /> • Just cause evictions - protect tenants from arbitrary, discriminatory or retaliatory <br /> evictions, while ensuring that landlords can lawfully evict tenants as long as they <br /> have a good reason. <br /> • Sufficient Relocation benefits - ensures that displaced households are able to find <br /> comparable housing that they can afford. <br /> More Questions? Please contact Joshua Hugg, Program Manager, Housing Leadership <br /> Council of San mateo County at ishucia @hlcsmc.ora, (650) 872 -4444, 2# <br /> Brought to you by: <br /> Community Legal Services of East Palo Alto, Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County, Public Advocates, San Francisco Organizing <br /> Project /Peninsula Interfaith Action, Urban Habitat <br />