Hayward rent and eviction controls reach a finality
The writing has long been on the wall for landlords in Hayward who have witnessed an emergency "just cause" eviction ordinance evolve into a more comprehensive package of tenants' protections.
As expected, the 39-year old Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance (RRSO) has been brought up to modern times. Its amendments include:
- Expanding the properties covered by the ordinance.
- Prohibitions against tenant harassment and retaliation.
- Codifies the reasons for which a tenancy can be terminated.
- Cap rent increases at 5% for the newly expanded pool of covered units.
- Bans discrimination on source of income, which includes tenants who participate in Section 8 housing.
- Mandatory mediation and binding arbitration when the landlord seeks to raise the rent north of 5%.
Our takeaways
"Just cause" eviction protections have become standard fair for many locales throughout the Bay Area, and the annual rent increase limitation of 5% is with little surprise - this benchmark is fairly consistent with other cities that have done some soul searching on rent control.
What is notable is the requirement for binding arbitration. While some cities attempt to bring landlords and tenants to the table to air out their grievances, Hayward's dialog between the two parties is more than an informal chat. An Administrative Law Judge will oversee the negotiations and issue a ruling up or down when rent hikes of 5% or more is imposed.
In what is becoming a non-event, Hayward has banned discrimination against housing voucher holders. Many other municipalities throughout California has taken this stance and indeed, a state law proposed would prohibit Section 8 discrimination statewide. Bornstein Law hastens to say that while rental housing providers would be in violation of the ordinance when citing Section 8 participation as a reason to deny a tenancy, landlords are not obligated to accept housing voucher holders.
There are a host of reasons to accept other applicants if they gain the favor of the landlord, and at any rate, applications can be turned down based on a blemished rental history, poor credit and other factors which would not indicate any bias toward Section 8. When it comes to this type of communication, less is more.
What Hayward landlords need to be concerned about now is notice requirements
Both existing and new tenants must be furnished a written notice that apprise residents of what provisions the RRSO applies to their units or a copy of the city's RRSO Summary. For any laggards, these notices must be made by August 25. Do not fret - Bornstein Law has the notices prepared.
We also remind landlords with one or more covered units that under the RRSO, signage must be plastered alerting tenants to the fact that the units are subject to the ordinance. The city will treat the lack of prominent signage as an infraction.
Of course, you can lean on the landlord attorneys of Bornstein Law to stay compliant and to impart informed legal advice to survive and thrive in an ever-expanding regulatory regime in Hayward and throughout the Bay Area.