Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Proposed In El Cerrito

EL CERRITO, CA — A package of measures intended to assist renters - including a rent registry and a just cause for eviction ordinance -- will be considered Tuesday by the El Cerrito City Council.

The rent registry would require property owners to annually register rents charged and provide other information on residential rental properties with the city.

El Cerrito estimates that 40 percent of its residents are renters.

The registry will be used "to collect data to better understand the trends specifically occurring in El Cerrito," according to a staff report by city Affordable Housing Analyst Aissia Ashoori and Community Development Director Melanie Mintz. "Both property owners and renters echoed that the need for local data was an important component to understanding this complex topic and to inform policy making."

The Just Cause for Eviction and Prohibition on Harassment of Tenants ordinance "establishes enumerated reasons for which a landlord can terminate tenancy for multi-family properties," according to the staff report.

It would only apply to properties with five or more rental units and only for properties issued a certificate of occupancy before Jan. 1, 2015, "in order to continue stimulating an increase in the supply of new housing through the San Pablo Avenue Specific Plan" adopted in December 2014,

Other cities that have adopted just cause eviction ordinances include Berkeley, East Palo Alto, Emeryville, Hayward, Mountain View, Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, San Jose and Union City.

The measures are an outgrowth of an affordable housing strategy adopted by El Cerrito in August 2017.

The council meets at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 10890 San Pablo Ave.

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— Bay City News