Informed guidance in responding to rent board petitions
Local rent boards are government agencies that oversee and enforce rent laws, mediate landlord-tenant disputes, and regulate rent-related issues. The main cities in the Bay Area with rent boards are San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Richmond, East Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose. These bodies evaluate evidence and hold hearings to decide whether the petition is justified under local rent control and applicable laws.
A rent board petition is a formal request to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants, and both parties can initiate the process to air out grievances. Let’s review some common reasons housing providers find themselves in front of these boards.
Tenant Petitions
Challenge of illegal rent increases
If the landlord raises rent beyond the maximum allowed under local laws, the tenant can contest the rent hike. Housing providers are urged to engage in excellent bookkeeping and maintain records. When we go in front of a rent board, we want to know our numbers and have a forensic accounting of the tenancy.
Whenever our office peels back the books and discovers an illegal rent increase, we recommend that the money be refunded to the tenant so that the overpaying tenant does not escalate the matter. Landlording mistakes and improper rent increases can and do happen, but we’ll have to deal with them proactively.
Request a rent reduction
Commonly, the tenant will claim that there is a reduction of services, and argue that this reduction should result in a corresponding decrease in rent. This can be a loss of amenities such as laundry, parking, storage, a garage, or common areas, but there can be any number of things the tenant is stripped of.
It’s always instructive to look at the lease and what the landlord must provide to the tenant, but generally speaking, if a tenant has come to expect something - anything - and is taken away, rent boards are sympathetic to the tenant’s loss. Where it gets interesting is trying to come up with a dollar amount of the rent reduction. When a tenant loses a service or amenity, what is it worth?
This is also an opportunity for tenants to gripe about habitability issues such as broken plumbing, a lack of heating or hot water, a vermin infestation, leaks, the presence of mold, and other hazardous conditions. The rental unit need not be in pristine condition, but it must be safe, livable, and meet basic health and safety standards prescribed by California law and local building codes.
Many of these rent board petitions are frivolous, but with proper counsel, landlords can articulate that they have met their obligations to maintain the unit. It’s entirely possible that the tenant caused any damages alleged, and/or the tenant did not alert the landlord to habitability issues or request necessary repairs.
Increasingly, we see a savvy group of renters who take to the Internet, learn their rights under the law, and make bogus claims of inhabitability as an excuse not to pay rent. We provide a counternarrative.
Problematic tenants are prone to making baseless accusations that the landlord is providing substandard housing to avoid paying rent and delay the eviction. There is no shortage of tenants’ attorneys (often appointed to the tenant for free) who will fight to make this case.
Another petition the tenant can file alleges that they were wrongfully evicted. To make this argument, tenants may claim that the owner or a close relative has not fulfilled their obligations in a “no-fault” eviction, or that the eviction is retaliatory or discriminatory. If the rent board sides with the tenant, the tenant may be entitled to reinstatement or damages.
There are other grievances that tenants can air out in front of local rent boards, but proper counsel can provide a counternarrative. Whether it is losing a rental unit's exempt status, returning thousands of dollars in overcharged rent, or any number of other consequences, there is too much to risk by going it alone without representation by an attorney well-versed in landlord-tenant law.
Landlord Petitions
Like tenants, housing providers have the ability to file petitions with a local rent board.
These petitions allow landlords to request adjustments or changes to rental agreements in accordance with local regulations.
Commonly, housing providers request rent increases beyond the allowable amount because of capital improvements or increased operating costs when there is a clear link between these costs and the need for a higher rent to continue providing a safe, habitable living environment.
With proper documentation, clear communication, and legal guidance, landlords can effectively utilize rent board petitions to maintain profitable and well-managed properties while upholding tenant protections.
Experienced and knowledgeable legal representation in navigating rent board petitions.
Local rent boards are not the friends of housing providers. Having advocated for clients at rent boards for over 30 years, Bornstein Law is best positioned to help you power through your real estate challenges and reduce liability that may arise from frivolous tenant petitions.