OAKLAND RENT CONTROL LAWS
Bracamontes & Vlasak is one of the few law firms in California representing only tenants in its landlord-tenant practice and we know Oakland rent control laws. We never represent landlords. In the Bay Area, rent ordinances in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward, and East Palo Alto protect tenants from eviction and/or unlawful rent increases.
The concept of just cause eviction means that the landlord must have good cause to evict a tenant based on one of the enumerated grounds in the Oakland Rent Ordinance. There is also rent control in Oakland, which sets the maximum amount the landlord can increase the rent each year in apartments subject to the Ordinance.
If you have questions about Oakland rent control laws call Bracamontes & Vlasak, P.C., to schedule a free consultation at 415-835-6777.
Rent Control And Rent Adjustment
If your apartment is subject to the Oakland Rent Ordinance, then you have rent control in Oakland. That means that the landlord cannot raise the rent beyond the annual CPI increase rate for any given year. Tenants can only be given one increase in any one 12-month period. For any tenancy (even not covered by rent control) thirty-day notice is required (for increases of 10 percent or less), while 60 days’ notice is required for increases greater than 10 percent. For units covered by Oakland rent control, landlords cannot increase rent more than three times the current year’s CPI, even if the increase was “banked” from years before in which the landlord did not raise the rent. The CPI increase rate effective July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017, in Oakland is 2.0 percent.
Oftentimes, landlords attempt to unlawfully increase rent with the hope that tenants do not know their rights and will move out of their rent-controlled units. In those cases, tenants can forgo substantial rent control they’ve built up over the years and landlords can get away with raising the rent to market rate and violating the Oakland Rent Ordinance.
Fighting Pretextual Evictions
With the rental market in the Bay Area getting more and more competitive and expensive, landlords are more incentivized than ever to break the rules and pretextually evict tenants in order to raise the rent substantially. The Bay Area rent ordinances are fairly unique in affording tenants substantial rights in these situations.
If you are unsure about whether your Oakland apartment is rent-controlled or have any questions about what protections you have against eviction, please feel free to call our Bay Area tenant attorneys at BV Law today at 415-835-6777 or Contact us online for a free consultation about your landlord-tenant matter.