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8.A. - Page 7 of 24 single family homes unless owned by corporations or REITs, subsidized units and units built in the last 15 years). Prior to approval of AB 1482, most cities that have adopted a rent stabilization or rent control ordinances have also adopted provisions for just cause eviction protections, such as the cities of Berkeley, Hayward, Mountain View, Oakland, Richmond, San Jose, East Palo Alto, Alameda, and San Francisco. Although AB 1482 will go into effect on January 1, 2020, after hearing public testimony at the October 14, 2019 City Council meeting and receiving subsequent statements of excessive rent increases in Redwood City, the City Council may desire to prohibit evictions without just cause sooner than January 1, 2020. City staff has prepared an ordinance consistent with AB 1482 to prohibit eviction without just cause and the ordinance would be effective October 29, 2019 through December 31, 2019. This could help prevent displacement of tenants. The draft Urgency Ordinance provides for enforcement by way of a private cause of action (enforce by civil action). The proposed ordinance also provides for a one-month relocation assistance payment for any tenant who is evicted for no fault of their own, regardless of the tenant's income, similar to the provisions in AB 1482. The City's current tenant protection ordinance provides for a three month relocation assistance payment for tenants who meet income requirements. The proposed Urgency Ordinance states that, should an issue arise where a tenant would receive more benefits under the City's existing ordinance instead of the proposed Urgency Ordinance, then the ordinance most advantageous to the tenant would govern. City Urgency Ordinance to Provide for Local Rent Stabilization In order to reduce potential economic evictions between now and January 1, 2020 when AB 1482 goes into effect, City staff has drafted rent stabilization measures in the Urgency Ordinance in Attachment B that would set rent caps on increases October 29, 2019 through December 31, 2019. The rent stabilization ordinance would establish a 9.0% maximum rent cap. This maximum was established by using the Bay Area CPI (4.0%) for April 1, 2019 plus 5%. This is similar to the provisions in AB 1482, however, the proposed ordinance is retroactive for two months, instead of being retroactive for ten months, as is the case for AB 1482. The legislative process that led to AB 1482 allowed for substantial discussion among stakeholders. Adopting an urgency ordinance does not provide for that same opportunity. Staff recognizes that recent steep rate increases may result in significant hardships for tenants, and recommends that the City inform these tenants of legal services available to them. To date, staff is not aware of any other cities adopting an urgency ordinance for rent stabilization. To implement rent stabilization for a two month period would be a significant unplanned activity for staff. It would mean that other housing -related initiatives such as conducting verifications of below market rate units and administering a request for proposals process for relocation assistance firms would have to be deferred until January. The draft rent stabilization measures in the Urgency Ordinance are compliant with the Costa -Hawkins Act and apply to all housing units allowed under that Act. Given the short timeframe, staff has not had time to determine what proportion of rental property in Redwood City would be affected by the proposed City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.org 127