The San Leandro Rent Registry Requirement
What is the Rental Registry Component of the San Leandro Rent Ordinance?
The City of San Leandro established the rental registry component to facilitate the collection of important data regarding the rental market in San Leandro. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-45-100.
What Rental Units Are Covered by the Rent Registry Component?
The law defines Rental Unit as any unit in any real property that is leased or available for rent for residential use or occupancy, together with all housing services connected with use or occupancy of such property that the tenant may use. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-45-115. This includes single-family homes. Id. However, certain units are exempt from this component of the San Leandro Rent Ordinance. These units are:
• Subsidized or federally regulated rental units, including by statute or regulatory agreement;
• Rental units owned by a public agency;
• Rental units that are rented or leased to transient guests for thirty (30) or fewer consecutive days;
• Rooms in hotels, motels, inns, tourist homes, short-term rentals, rooming or boarding houses, provided that such rooms are not occupied by the same occupant or occupants for more than thirty (30) consecutive days;
• Rooms in any hospital or in a facility for assisted living, skilled nursery, convalescence or extended care;
• Rooms in a convent, monastery, fraternity or sorority house, or in a building owned, occupied or managed by a bona fide education institution for occupancy by students;
• Rooms in a building or in a rental unit where the primary use is providing short-term treatment, assistance or therapy for alcohol, drug or other substance abuse and the room is provided incident to the recovery program and where the occupant has been informed in writing of the temporary or transitional nature of the arrangement at the inception of the occupancy;
• Rooms in a building or in a rental unit that provide a structured living environment that has the primary purpose of helping formerly homeless persons obtain the skills necessary for independent living in permanent housing and where occupancy is limited to a specific period of time and where the occupant has been informed in writing of the temporary nature of the arrangement at the inception of the occupancy;
• Mobile homes or mobile home lots that are subject to Municipal Code section 4-39-240’s registration requirements;
• Rooms in a facility that require, as part of the person’s occupancy and use of the room and the facility, some or all of the following; Intake, case management, counseling, and an occupancy agreement;
• Rental units in which the landlord owns the rental unit, occupies the rental unit as the landlord’s primary residence and shares kitchen or bath facilities with one or more tenants; or,
• Any part of the rental unit in which a tenant has allowed or permitted a person to use or occupy such part of the rental unit but that person does not meet the definition of a tenant as defined in this Chapter. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-45-135.
What Information Must the Landlord File With the City of San Leandro?
On or before January 31 each year, every San Leandro landlord must file with the City an annual registration statement for each of the landlord’s rental units. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-45-120. The City shall publish a form for the filing. Id. The annual registration statement shall include the following information:
• The site address and APN;
• Current owner;
• Purchase date;
• Year built;
• Housing type (SFH, Duplex, Triplex, MFU, etc.);
• Total number of rental units;
• Total number of rental units exempt from the San Leandro Rent Ordinance;
• Owner type;
• The name(s), business address(es), and business telephone number(s) of each person or legal entity possessing an ownership interest in the rental unit and the nature of such interest;
• The name(s), business address(es), and business telephone number(s) of the person responsible for managing the rental unit;
• The rent for the rental unit effective on January 1 of the current year;
• The rent for the rental unit effective on January 1 of the previous year;
• A listing of all other charges, including utilities not included in rent, paid by tenant, and the approximate amount of each such charge if such amount was established by the landlord; and,
• All other information required by the City of San Leandro. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-45-125.
They must also pay a program fee when submitting their annual registration statement to the City of San Leandro. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-45-155.
What Happens if the Landlord Fails to Comply With the San Leandro Rent Ordinance’s Rent Registry Component?
If the landlord does not comply with this portion of the San Leandro Rent Ordinance, each and every day the completed document remains outstanding shall be considered a new violation. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-45-145. The continued operation of the rental unit in violation of the rent registry requirement constitutes a public nuisance. Id. The landlord also may not increase a tenant’s rent so long as they are not in compliance with this portion of the law. San Leandro Municipal Code § 4-46-115(G).
