​CONDO CONVERSION REFORM

Oakland has a condominium conversion ordinance that controls how property owners can legally convert rental apartment units into for-sale condominium homes in Oakland.

The current ordinance was adopted in 1981 and is woefully out of date, overly complicated, easily abused, and leaves thousands of rental units at risk of conversion into condominiums.

Oakland Tenants Union successfully advocated for major revisions to the ordinance in order to protect as many rental units as possible from being converted.

​Updates to the ordinance:

• Extend tenant protections to over 20,000 homes that are rented in 2-4 unit buildings;
• Enacts a lifetime lease option for tenants with disabilities;
• Requires landlords to provide earlier notification to existing and prospective tenants. If someone moves into a unit that is in the process of being converted to a condo and are not given notice about the conversion before they move in, they are eligible for the same relocation funds that existing tenants get;
• Tighten requirements for which rental replacement units can enable “conversion rights”—the 1:1 replacement of units converted to condominiums with new rental housing.
• Provide incentives for existing tenants to purchase their units, which creates homeownership opportunities without displacement by granting a 10% discount to existing tenants who want to purchase their unit.

Seismic Retrofit Policy

Coming soon!

​UNIVERSAL RELOCATION PAYMENTS ORDINANCE

On February 5, 2018 the Oakland City Council expanded requirements for relocation payments to tenants who are subject to a "no fault" eviction from their rental unit, following sustained advocacy by OTU and housing rights allies. Under the new law, any tenant protected under the Just Cause for Eviction law must be compensated by the landlord in cases of "no fault" eviction including for "owner move-in" evictions. More here

​CALIFORNIA TENANT PROTECTION ACT

AB 1482 (Chiu), aka the CA Tenant Protection Act of 2019, was signed into law by Governor Newsom on October 8th, 2019 and will go into effect January 1st, 2020 as California's first statewide rent control law — albeit with numerous compromises including a somewhat weak version of eviction protections. AB 1482:

• Establishes a rent cap of 5% per year, plus each area's Consumer Price Index (inflation rate) -- not to exceed 10%, max.  
• Enacts "Just Cause" eviction protections; must permit tenant the opportunity to cure a violation prior to terminating the tenancy.  
• Applies to all rentals 15 years after construction.  (Modifies a part of Costa Hawkins by providing coverage to all units 16 years after construction — rather than the C-H fixed date of 1995 (1983 in Oakland; 1980 in Berkeley & San Francisco) 
• Applies to all rentals except multi-unit rentals in specified dormitories and deed-restricted affordable housing.  
• Applies to single-family home rentals only if 10 or more homes are owned by the same owner or corporation; otherwise, single-family home rentals are exempt.  
• For a continuing tenant, the rent amount on Jan 1, 2020, cannot exceed the rent that was in-place on March 15, 2019. 
• Only one rent increase in a 12-month period.
• Landlord must provide relocation payment equal to one month's rent if the tenant is evicted for other than a just cause fault by the tenant.  The eviction is voided if landlord does not pay the relocation assistance amount. 
• Establishes the "right of tenancy" when tenant has occupied its unit for a 12-month period, after which tenancy becomes month-to-month and can only be evicted for a "just cause."  
• Requires the landlord to provide a listing of tenant's rights in a signed lease addendum at the beginning of a tenancy.     

AB 1482  "sunsets" in 10 years unless extended by the legislature. It also does not override stronger provisions of cities that have rent control programs in place. UNFORTUNATELY, in cities or jurisdictions without rent control programs, unless landlords voluntarily comply, tenants would have to file in local courts to assure their rights.

OAKLAND MEASURE Y (JUST CAUSE EXPANSION)

Oakland's Just Cause for Eviction law has been in place since 2003 and requires landlords to provide one of 11 specific "just cause" reasons for an eviction (like failure to pay rent, or major damage to the property), meaning a tenant cannot simply be evicted at the whim of their landlord. However, there was a serious loophole in the Just Cause Ordinance — ​in duplex and triplex rental buildings an owner could previously exempt all units in the building from Just Cause protections by claiming to live in one of the units. This loophole had been widely abused by landlords seeking to evict tenants who have done nothing wrong, and there are an estimated 8,000 Oakland tenants living in duplex and triplex units who are vulnerable to displacement as a result. ​​

On November 6, 2018, Oakland voters approved Measure Y by a margin of 58.36%. The measure extends Just Cause eviction protections to the thousands of renters in duplexes and triplexes who currently face displacement for no reason, thus closing a frequently abused loophole in the laws that have protected renters for years.

Just Cause protections do not prevent landlords from evicting for themselves or a relative to reside in their property, or choosing who they rent to, or evicting for “good cause."  Landlords who live in the same house or unit as their tenants continue to remain exempt under Measure Y, but the other tenants in the building are now protected.

Read the full text of Measure Y here and see this fact sheet produced by the City for more info. ​​

​​OAKLAND MEASURE W (VACANT PROPERTY TAX)

The City of Oakland estimates that at least 5,000 buildings and properties in the City lie vacant or unused. These vacant properties negatively impact our community, attracting crime, blight and illegal dumping. In addition, vacant properties ineffectively take up space that can be better used for housing and other purposes, thereby reducing potential jobs and tax revenue for our community.

On November 6, 2018, Oakland voters approved the City of Oakland Measure W, the Oakland Vacant Property Tax Act, by a margin of 70.04 percent. The Vacant Property Tax Act establishes an annual tax of up to $6,000 on vacant parcels, buildings, and real property within the City of Oakland for 20 years, with exemptions for property owners who are low-income, senior citizens, non-profits, or demonstrate other forms of hardship or can demonstrate they are in the process of improving the property. A property is considered vacant if it “is in use less than fifty (50) days in a calendar year. ​​​

These tax funds will be used to provide services and programs to homeless people, reduce homelessness, and support the protection of existing housing and production of housing affordable to lower income households. In addition, no less than 25% of the tax funds must go towards remediating blight and illegal dumping. The Measure also establishes a Commission on Homelessness, composed of City residents, which may make recommendations on how to allocate the tax funds, and shall publish an annual report regarding how this tax has been implemented.

Read the full text of Measure W here and see this powerpoint for an overview of the city's plan for implementing the new Oakland Vacant Property Tax Act. ​​

​OAKLAND MEASURE JJ (PROTECT OAKLAND RENTERS)

Rents in Oakland are among the highest in the nation and people are being forced from their homes every month through illegal rent increases and unjustified evictions. OTU worked to pass Measure JJ, which won with over 75% the vote!

Specifically, Measure JJ provides that:

• Landlords must petition the Oakland Rent Board before issuing any rent increase notice raising a tenant’s rent beyond the annual allowable limit tied to the CPI;
• The just cause eviction protections in Measure EE are expanded to include all units constructed on or before December 31, 1995;
• The City will prepare detailed reports on the number of evictions, types of evictions, and other Oakland rental data; and
• The City will provide searchable databases of Rent Board hearing decisions, appeals, and notices.