I was interested in the parts affecting Oakland:
Oakland voters opted to expand existing protections in four ways.
- Measure JJ requires landlords to obtain prior Rent Board approval if they want to increase rent by more than 100% of the Consumer Price Index. (Previously, the only way for tenants to stop an illegal rent increase was to file a petition protesting it within sixty days of the notice. And if tenants missed this sixty-day window, they were out of luck. This perversely incentivized landlords to try to “get away” with illegal rent hikes, whereas the new law gives the city the ability to enforce rent control laws without relying on tenants’ prompt reporting.)
- The city’s just cause eviction law now applies to all units built on or before December 31, 1995. (This is a substantial expansion from the previous law, which only covered units built prior to 1980. It’s also substantially broader than San Francisco’s own just cause laws, which apply only to units built prior to June 1979.)
- Measure JJ expanded the Rent Board’s duties to educate the public. The Rent Board will now mail out an annual notice to all landlords and tenants of covered units, which will specify the allowable rent increases for that year and inform recipients of how to file petitions with the Rent Board.
- Measure JJ also expanded the city’s duties to monitor Rent Board activities and gather data regarding landlord-tenant issues in the city. The City Administrator will now report annually to City Council regarding Rent Board petitions and eviction statistics. Also, the Administrator will maintain a searchable public database with information on Rent Board decisions, notices, petitions and appeals.
I am trying to pay more attention to what is happening in my city of residence. The full article talks about other Bay Area cities as well.