One of our followers quipped that before renting out their unit, they would have a bookshelf on the premises to store all of the notices required for incoming tenants.
Of course, Oakland tenants must be made aware of the Rent Adjustment Program (RAP), along with the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO), but it doesn’t stop there. There are numerous other addendums to be provided to those given the welcome mat.
Interestingly, while Oakland’s eviction moratorium has ended, the notice requirements did not. We are erring on the side of caution by providing an abundance of information in the lease with regard to the rights and protections afforded to tenants for rent accrued during COVID.
We are also alerting tenants in certain buildings about, for example, the detrimental effects of, lead-based paint, educating the tenants on bed bug identification and controlling these pests, and discussing dampness and mold. The list goes on.
Our strong recommendation is to join an industry trade group that provides the most up-to-date lease agreements. In Oakland, for example, there is a wonderful organization called the East Bay Rental Housing Association.
An overarching point we want to convey to our community is that lease agreements must take into account local rules in some jurisdictions. Take San Francisco, where there are flood map advisory and disclosure forms. There, landlords can be tethered to the San Francisco Apartment Association.
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So, we are hard-pressed to go through the reams of necessary language, but when in doubt, contact our office or lean on a locale-specific trade group that is scouring ever-changing laws to keep leases modernized.
We want to point out that Oakland politicians, when discussing the wind-down of the eviction moratorium, availed the opportunity to usher in new regulations that outlived the eviction ban. We discuss them in this webinar.
In yesteryears, rental property owners and their agents could download a generic lease agreement off the Internet, but those days are over. Rest assured, there will be new items to embed in the lease, so please keep abreast.
We are always happy to offer guidance on topics germane to rental housing providers and the professionals who serve them. If you have a suggestion on what we can take on, submit a topic here.