DATE: September 2, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Development Services
SUBJECT
Title
Work Session Regarding the Feasibility of a Rental Registration System
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That, due to current fiscal and staffing constraints, the City Council wait a year to reevaluate the feasibility of implementing a Rental Registration System (RRS). An RRS would proactively enforce the Residential Rent Stabilization & Tenant Protection Ordinance and facilitate the collection of rental housing market data.
End
SUMMARY
This report provides an analysis of a Rental Registration System (RRS), which could improve enforcement of the City's Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance (RRSO) by creating a database to proactively track the rental market, landlords, tenants, rent changes, unit information, and terminations. The City's FY 2025 Strategic Plan included a special project to evaluate the option of creating an RRS. Staff presented an analysis to the Housing Policy & Resource Committee (HPRC) in March of 2025. The HPRC recommended that the full City Council deliberate whether the City should pursue an RRS.
Staff's analysis concludes that an RRS would increase the fairness and compliance of the RRSO and support policymakers and staff with data-driven insights into rental market trends and housing stability. At the same time, staff has determined that it is essential to design a program with sufficient resources, especially since the Housing Division is at workload capacity. Based on a survey of other jurisdictions, under-resourcing an RRS increases the burden on landlords and provides ineffective results.
To effectively implement and administer an RRS, staff recommends 1) adding an additional 2.5 additional full-time employees (FTEs) to the Rent Review Program, funded by Rent Program Fees, and 2) restructuring the Housing Division to bring back the Housing Manager, wh...
Click here for full text