South San Francisco seeks methods to additional defend tenants | Native Information
Mark Addiego
South San Francisco, a city of roughly 40% renters, half of whom pay more than 30% or more of their income in rent, is looking for new ways to improve tenant protection as the statewide eviction moratorium expires.
The city council discussed options during its session on Wednesday, including creating a rental register to keep track of housing metrics, which could eventually be used to draw up a new city rent policy. Also on the table is the implementation of guidelines for referring tenants and landlords, rules that landlords could potentially require to meet with tenants if rents go up or other problems arise.
“I don’t think we should be surprised that there has been so much interest in these rental protection topics,” Mayor Mark Addiego said after dozens of citizens spoke during the meeting.
To the frustration of some, the proposals discussed represent a preliminary work policy on which one could build in order to strengthen tenant protection in the city, but on their own there are no teeth for meaningful change.
The average rent for available one-bedroom apartments in the city is $ 2,717, up from the pre-COVID average of $ 2,883, according to the city.
Although the statewide moratorium, Assembly Bill 883, expires on September 30, its protection does not expire until March next year, and local jurisdictions cannot issue their own moratoriums until the protection of state rule has expired. According to the rule, 91 households in South San Francisco were awarded $ 1.5 million in assistance, but as of August 25, an additional 339 applications had been considered, which the city said was more than $ 4 million in assistance requested.
The state has also already passed some laws to stabilize rent in the form of the Assembly Bill 1482, signed in 2019. The law limits the annual rent increases in buildings from the age of 15 to 5%. It also offers some protection against evictions for no good reason.
But some proponents believe that this bill does not go far enough, and more aggressive versions of the rent brake are needed in South San Francisco, where recent employment growth has far outstripped housing developments.
Establishing a rent register would allow the city to keep track of rent increases, including those that are illegal under state law. It could also answer questions about vacancy rates and make development decisions with information about potential evictions.
“As any good social scientist will tell you, good data is the cornerstone of good public order,” said Jordan Grimes, a senior member of the Peninsula for Everyone housing association. “When it comes to information on the rental market, however, we have anything but.”
According to a presentation by city officials, creating a rental register would cost nearly $ 1 million or more and would require new employees and new or customized database software. The full implementation can take several years. The staff cited a register set up in El Cerrito and stated that setting up a register was a considerable undertaking.
Attention was also drawn to the availability of potentially similar information from commercial sources. CoStar, for example, can provide data on occupancy and rental rates for a fee and has historically been used by South San Francisco to generate reports.
El Cerrito reported that information from commercial sources matches information they received through their registration, according to the city’s presentation.
Paul Beaudreau, a San Mateo real estate agent, called to express concern about the register.
“I really don’t see how it can effectively help tenants,” said Beaudreau. “The way I see it, it’s only a $ 1 million loss, $ 1.5 million, and that money could be better served by housing people.”
The discussion on the matter resulted in no action during Wednesday’s meeting and the Board agreed to continue deliberations at a later date.
The city urged anyone who had difficulty paying rent to visit Housingiskey.com or stop by the YMCA on Huntington Avenue for personal help.
