Oakland OKs proposal to pause rent increases

The original version asked for a temporary prohibition on no-cause evictions and rent increases that aren’t tied to the annual consumer price index.

The proposal, which drew more than 200 speakers to City Hall, elicited painful stories from longtime residents who stand to lose their homes.

Reinke said the moratorium, which would not apply to homes built after 1983 because of the state’s Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, would prevent mom-and-pop property owners from making a decent return on their investment.

Abigail Bornstein, a teacher and owner of a small duplex, said the moratorium would unfairly penalize small property owners who are legally mandated to keep their property up to code.

“Roofers, plumbers and electricians are not being told they can only increase their fees by (the consumer price index of) 1.7 percent,” she said.

Wayne Rowland, president of the East Bay Rental Housing Association, suggested that property owners issue a 90-day moratorium of their own — by not paying for improvements.

Supporters of the moratorium gave wrenching speeches, saying they could no longer afford to stay in a city that their families had lived in for generations.

Councilman Abel Guillen called the moratorium a “pause button” that would give city officials enough time to write a slew of new policies — like regulations on short-term Airbnb rentals that are constricting the city’s housing supply, he said.

In February, Oakland’s median monthly rent soared to $3,000 per month, the council said in staff reports, citing statistics from the real estate site Trulia.