Guide to Oakland Rental Housing Laws

Download Guide
Guide to Oakland Rental Laws
Download Guide
Guide to Oakland Rental Laws (Chinese)/ 屋崙 (奧克蘭)市租屋法指南
Download Guide
Guide to Oakland Rental Laws (Spanish)/ Guía De La Ley De Viviendas En Alquiler De Oakland

Posted: May 30th, 2019 12:11 PM

Last Updated: May 15th, 2023 12:44 PM

Oakland Eviction Moratorium Phase-Out

Eviction Moratorium Phase Out Postcard

The Eviction Moratorium ends on July 15, 2023. However, that does not mean that you will be evicted! There are several permanent tenant protections that will remain.

Need Rental Assistance?

Check out Alameda Housing Secure:

www.ac-housingsecure.org

Need Eviction Defense Services?

Bay Area Legal Aid: 800-551-5554

Centro Legal de la Raza: 510-437-1554

East Bay Community Law Center: 510-548-4040, ext. 201

Eviction Defense Center: 510-452-4541

Legal Assistance for Seniors: 510-832-3040

Learn more about the Residential Rental Property Laws in Oakland. The Rent Adjustment Program has released packets of information for both tenants and property owners. These packets contain specific information about the Rent Adjustment Ordinance, local housing laws and other useful information.

Tenant

Tenant Information Packet (English)
Información Para Inquilinos/Tenant Information Packet (Spanish)

租戶資料袋/Tenant Information Packet (Chinese)


Property Owner

Property Owner Information Packet (English)

Información Para Propietarios/Property Owner Information Packet (Spanish)

物業業主資料袋/Property Owner Information Packet (Chinese)

Information Sheets

Below you will find general information sheets covering covering specific topics regarding local and state rules and regulations. To learn more, please also visit the Housing Laws and Regulations section found under Topics.

Emergency Moratorium on Rent Increases and Evictions Information Sheet

Information Sheets in English

Information Sheets in Spanish

Information Sheets in Chinese

ABOUT THE RENT ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM

The Oakland City Council adopted the Rent Adjustment Program Ordinance (OMC Chapter 8.22) in 1980. This ordinance sets the maximum annual rent increase based on the annual CPI increase and handles rent adjustments for claims of decreases in housing services and handles other rent-related matters. The purpose of this program is to foster fair housing for a diverse population of renters and enforce the Rent Adjustment Ordinance set out by the City of Oakland.

Contact Us

Since March 2020, we have moved our services from in-person to online. Please read the information below carefully to find the best way to contact us.

By Phone

Phone: (510) 238-3721 | Fax: (510) 238-6181

The Rent Adjustment Program’s Housing Counselors are available from Monday to Thursday, 9:30am to 4:30pm to answer any RAP or housing-related questions you might have. Topics can be, but are not limited to, tenant and property owner issues and concerns, Oakland rental housing laws, or how to file a petition with RAP. Calls are generally limited to 10 minutes per person.

By E-mail

If you would prefer an e-mail response, you can e-mail us. RAP strives to return all e-mails within a twenty-four-hour timeframe.

Contact a RAP Housing Counselor: rap@oaklandca.gov. Please include in your e-mail: your full name, your telephone number, and your address.

Hearings Unit: hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov. If you have Hearings Unit-related issues or questions related to your pending case, you must contact your Case Analyst directly. If you do not know who your Case Analyst is, you can e-mail hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov to find that information.

Petition Review/Filing: You have the option to schedule an appointment for review of your petition before filing. To schedule an appointment for review e-mail rap@oaklandca.gov. If you do not want your petition reviewed and want to file, please submit your petition to hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov .

Eviction Notices: All eviction notices should be scanned and submitted via e-mail to evictionnotices@oaklandca.gov.

By Mail

Address: 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 5313

Oakland, CA 94612

Due to the Shelter-in-Place Order, we are no longer accepting in-person petition applications and related materials. All new petitions and petition-related documents can be submitted by mail to the address above, electronically submitted to rap@oaklandca.gov, or the online portal.

All documents for Ellis Act cases must be mailed to 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 5313, Oakland, CA 94612.

Online Petition Filing

We also offer an online portal where you can submit your petitions and all petition-related forms online. Click here to access the portal.

For a full list of documents, click here to access all tenant forms and here for all property owner forms.

Request a Form

General forms can be found on our website. For property owner forms, click here. For tenant forms, click here. If you cannot find the form you want, you can e-mail the Rent Adjustment Program at rap@oaklandca.gov to obtain it.

To request documents related to a case, you can either complete the Request for Copies form and email it to rap@oaklandca.gov or make a Public Records Request (PRR) here. Please note that all PRRs are considered public information. You can also look up information related to cases through the RAP database.

Join the E-mail List

If you would like to receive e-mails about upcoming events or updates from the Rent Adjustment Program, please sign up! Please use the link below to add your name and e-mail to our list for future updates.

Join the RAP e-mail list!