Rent Adjustment Program

Announcement

City of Oakland Rent Adjustment Program Tenant/Property Owner COVID-19 Impact Survey Results

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department’s Rent Adjustment Program (RAP) administered its first “pulse survey” to assess the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on tenants and property owners from late March to September 2020. The survey was designed to capture a snapshot, or pulse, from Oaklanders as they manage through the pandemic. The survey was translated into Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese; posted on the City’s website; and socialized throughout the community using outreach efforts that included partnering with key stakeholder agencies to distribute to and share with their communities.

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On October 20, 2020, Oakland City Council passed an Efficiency Ordinance which amended the Rent Adjustment Ordinance to better support the goal of fair and timely case resolutions. Among other elements, the ordinance requires all parties to serve their petition and petition related documents to the opposing side and to file a proof of service with the Rent Adjustment Program. In addition, the ordinance allows a speaking time for each party in appeal hearings to 3 minutes each, and institutes attendance requirements for the Rent Adjustment Board members.

On July 21, 2020 Oakland City Council adopted amendments to the Tenant Protection Ordinance. Among other elements, the ordinance limits the overall maximum rent increase consistent with recent state law, limits late fees, prohibits unilateral changes to the terms of tenancy, allows one for one replacement of roommates, provides a 5% rent increase for new roommates, and strengthens the enforcement of tenant protections.

Services

Tenant Information Landlord Information Mediate Landlord/Tenant Issues Find Case Related Information Housing, Residential Rent and Relocation Board Rent Adjustment Program Workshops

Resources

Important COVID-19 Information Guide to Oakland Rental Housing Laws Housing Laws and Regulations CPI and Allowable Rent Increases Guidebook to Oakland ADUs Reports and Data

About

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

*Due to the Shelter-in-Place Order issued on March 16, 2020, all in-person counseling and form drop-offs have been canceled. 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 Email

Contact a RAP Housing Counselor: rap@oaklandca.gov.

If you would prefer an email response, you can email us here. RAP strives to return all emails within a twenty-four-hour timeframe.

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 email hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov to find that information.

If you are submitting a new petition, you may email rap@oaklandca.gov. RAP staff will reach out to you once the petition has been accepted.

All eviction notices should be scanned and submitted via email 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 email 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 Email List

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

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VDB6CLX