Half Moon Bay grows protections for tenants

The City Council will vote on its implementation Feb. 6.

The goal is to further tenant protections, including relocation assistance and limiting rent increases between 3% to 5% for multifamily buildings built prior to 1995, in accordance to the Costa Hawkins Act, by June, Doughty said.

The introduction of the ordinance Jan. 16 would make changes to municipal code — creating a new title section for housing, adding the new regulations within the section and removing outdated code. It passed unanimously, with all but one councilmember supporting broader rent control ordinance initiatives.

“I’m going to support this tonight solely because I think it’s important to have the data,” Councilmember Debbie Ruddock said. “I don’t want my vote in the affirmative tonight to be construed that I support rent control, because I think I made it pretty clear when we were discussing the issue of rent control that I was not going there with you.”

Having a strong database of rental units will help the city connect both to landlords and their tenants to resources like mediation processes and lease information, Doughty said.

“We have very little way sometimes, particularly under the information we have, to link tenants and landlords of all types of rental situations to resources,” he said.

On Feb. 6, staff will also ask the council to establish a fee for the registration of each unit, initiate work with consultant to create an online registration portal, online payment and secure database. Staff will be developing a mailing list for all known rental units with the goal to commence registration July 1, 2024, Doughty said.

Vice Mayor Harvey Rarback, who supports rent control, said registration efforts could also help the city get a handle on subtenancy issues plaguing lower-income renters who do not have official leases and often rent out only portions of a unit.

“A lot of it is these subtenancies, these people that don’t have a lease, many people sharing a bedroom or small house,” he said of ongoing tenant abuses. “I think this registration procedure will help us getting on board, understanding where we’re coming from.”

Data from the registration can also be used to better understand which units will fall under the standards of the 1995 Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act, to enforce yearly rent increase limits typically between 3% to 5% for multifamily buildings built prior to 1995.

Councilmembers decided to pursue a Costa Hawkins rent control ordinance over other ordinance model options like the 2019 Tenant Protections Act at a Nov. 20, 2023, City Council meeting when they originally discussed the issue.

Three spoke at public forum to voice support for broader affordable housing and rent control goals, including Shauna Pickett-Gordon, a Faith in Action member, asked the council to prioritize the voices of those affected by high rents.

“My concern is that … we keep in mind the fact that we have tremendous income disparities,” she said. “I hope that the voices that those are affected can be heard as often as possible in these hearings and we can start seeing realities through others’ actual experience, rather than our own filters.”