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Home My WebLink AboutHC 12-8-2025 PresentationHC 12-08-2025 Item No.2 Tenant Protections Presentations Nicky Vu, Senior Housing Coordinator December 8, 2025 Tenant Protection/Anti-Displacement Study and Housing Program Funding Increase Request Tenant Protection Study Agenda ●Background on displacement in market rental units ●Studies included ●Strategies considered ●Commission recommendation for consideration Housing Element Strategy HE 3.3.6 ●Study rent stabilization and tenant protection ordinances in California and displacement in Cupertino due to rising rents and evictions ●Present implementation plan to City Council Background ●6,500 rental units ●Average rent in 2025 is $3,900 ●Studio $2,300 ●1-bedroom $3,200 ●2-bedroom $4,100 ●3-bedroom $5,100 ●4-bedroom $6,300 ●17.9% of renters pay 30-50% of income on housing ●16.2% of renters pay 50%+ of income on housing Rent Distribution Cost Burden Eviction and Causes 4,053 evictions in Santa Clara County Santa Clara County Planning Collaborative Survey ●Open Oct 1 – Nov 31 Top Responses 1st 2nd 3rd Housing instability concern Lack of affordable housing (30%) Rising costs (27%)Overcrowded living conditions (13%) Displacement concern Neighborhood stability (36%) Community culture loss (33%) Neighbors forced to move (31% Factors to Displacement Lack of affordable housing (61%) High income people moving in (42%) Homes sold to investors (39%) Why were you displaced? Rent increase Strategies Explored Acquisition Preservation ●Rental units cannot be individually sold ●Buy buildings to preserve ●Whole buildings would be income restricted ●McClellan Terrace $66.7 million ●Not financially feasible Purchase units and re-restrict as BMR Rent Stabilization ●AB1482 includes rent control of 5% + CPI increase limit or 10% ●Costa-Hawkins bans cities from enacting rent control on SFH, condos, TH, and apartments after 1995 ●57% of City’s multifamily housing ●Several Bay Area cities have local rent control ordinances ●If pursued, then pursue in tandem with other strategies Price control - Limit rent increases Bay Area Cities Rent Control City Rent Increase Limitation Unit Type Commission AB 1482 5% of rent + CPI or 10%Rental units 15+ years old (with exceptions) No San Jose 5% of rent 3+ units before 1979 No Mountain View 5% of rent or 100% of CPI 3+ units before 1995 Yes Los Gatos 5% of rent or 70% of CPI 3+ units before 1995 No Hayward 5% of rent 5+ units before 1979 No Alameda 5% of rent 2+ units before 1995 No Berkeley 5% of rent or 65% of CPI Apartments before 1980 Yes East Palo Alto 80% of CPI 2+ units before 1988 Yes Oakland 3% of rent or 60% of CPI Rental units before 1983 Yes Richmond 3% of rent or 60% of CPI 2+ units before 1995 Yes San Francisco 60% of CPI 2+ units before 1979 Yes Cupertino (potential) 60% of CPI 2+ units before 1995 No Rent Mediation/Review ●Expand housing program for rent mediation and enforce housing law ●Some cities add a rent review board – this is less effective as it is advisory ●Expand contract with Project Sentinel or similar organization for rent mediation Facilitate compromise for rent increase disputes Eviction/Legal Defense ●Add new housing program to fund low- income legal aid orgs to represent tenants ●Move to settlement rather than eviction ●San Francisco and San Mateo counties saw a 31% decrease in court ordered evictions when legal aid was offered ●Serve 1,260 households in Santa Clara ●Add contract with Bay Area Legal Aid, Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara County, or other similar organization. Prevent eviction and defend tenants Current Attorney Capacity Just Cause Terminations ●3 types of eviction: at-fault, no-fault, no-cause ●AB 1482 limits no-cause terminations, requires 1 month of Fair Market Rent as relocation assistance for no-fault evictions (with loopholes), expressly encourages cities to adopt a more protective ordinance ●Most cities have gone forward, would be a necessary component in TPO to close loopholes and ensure enforceability Limit owner-caused displacement Santa Clara Cities Just Cause City Relocation Assistance Occupation Minimum Exemption for SFH, TH, Condos Restriction on Remodel Eviction Notice for Ellis Act Family/Sublease Protection Restriction on Owner Move in AB 1482 1 month FMR 12 months Yes (no corporations) No None None Owner must be a “natural person” with at least 25% recorded ownership interest Milpitas 1 month rent 12 months Yes (no corporations) No None No Authorizes move-in by an “owner” Mountain View 3 months FMR None Yes Yes 120 days or 1 year for special circumstances Yes Owner must be a “natural person” with at least 50% recorded ownership interest Palo Alto Unique calculation, similar to 3 months FMR 6 months Yes (no corporations) No None No Owner must be a “natural person” San Jose Unique calculation, similar to 3 months FMR 7 days Yes Yes 120 days or 1 year for special circumstances Yes Owner must be a “fee owner” with at least 50% recorded ownership interest Sunnyvale 3 months FMR 12 months No No None No Owner must be a “natural person” with at least 25% recorded ownership interest Santa Clara County 3 months FMR None No Yes 120 days or 1 year for special circumstances Yes Owner must be a “natural person” with at least 50% recorded ownership interest Cupertino (potential) 3 months FMR None No Yes 120 days or 1 year for special circumstances Yes Owner must be a “natural person” with at least 50% recorded ownership interest Relocation Assistance (rent increase) ●Previously studied for BMR rental expirations due to rent stabilization being unavailable ●Functions similarly to limit rent control, but is less protective due to being an incentive rather than a price control ●Not widely pursued by other cities ●Relocation assistance is more suited as a function of just cause eviction protection, rather than related to rent increases Disincentive rent hikes, prevent homelessness Per Unit Assistance Payment 2025 Santa Clara County Fair Market Rent Unit Size Studio 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3 Bedroom 5 Bedroom 6 Bedroom Fair Market Rent $2,608 $2,975 $3,446 $4,477 $4,878 $5,610 $6,341 3x $7,824 $8,925 $10,338 $13,431 $14,634 $16,830 $19,023 Deposit/Fee Regulations ●Require primary source documentation before charging tenants maintenance costs ●Could lower housing costs overall ●Potentially include in TPO Add requirements for charging unexpected fees Staff Analysis ●Housing Programs – Rent Mediation and Legal Defense are both strategies worth pursuing but will require funding commitments ●Tenant Protection Ordinance – Rent Stabilization, Just Cause Protections, and Fee Regulations are strategies worth studying to include ●Present City Council with implementation plan Motion Recommend strategies to pursue for inclusion in tenant protection implementation plan Human Services Grant Funding Increase Federal Budget Proposals ●May 2, 2025 White House discretionary budget request proposed elimination of CDBG and HOME ●July 17 and July 24, appropriations committees of the House and Senate passed conflicting bills that funded CDBG but did not fund HOME Federal Government Shutdown ●Oct 1, 2025 federal government entered a shutdown after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for FY26 ●As of Nov 2025, the City has still not received its FY 25-26 CDBG allocation of $354,559 CDBG Funding Gap Program Average Contract Annual Households Served Live Oak Adult Day Care $19,000 15 West Valley Community Services (CARE)$37,000 100 Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley $96,000 7 Total $152,000 122 HOME Funding Gap ●The City indirectly receives its funding through the Santa Clara County Consortium, which administers the program as a lump sum with other participating cities ●It is more administratively feasible to implement a funding increase for HOME through the County HSG Impacts ●City currently provides local funds – HSG in amount of $129,000 plus CPI increase to supplement housing program funding ●Without CDBG, all applicants would have to compete for HSG ●Impact all housing programs with reduction in deliverables and clients served Other local response ●Either use local funding to replace CDBG public services ●(County Santa Clara, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, Mountain View) ●Stop contracts ●(City Santa Clara) Increase ●To stabilize the City’s housing programs: ●Increase the annual HSG allocation by $152,000 for a grand total of $281,000 with an annual CPI increase Motion I motion to approve the resolution to City Council to recommend an annual funding increase of $152,000 for a grand total of $281,000 with an annual CPI increase to the Human Services Grant