Rental Housing Committee Upholds Hearing Officer: $2,500 "Lawful Rent" Confirmed; Pest‑related Reductions and Refunds Ordered

The Mountain View Rental Housing Committee on Oct. 23 upheld a hearing officer’s findings in two petitions (C242536 and C242537), reaffirming that the landlord failed to register the property in 2022 and that the resulting rent increases were unlawful. The committee affirmed ordered rent reductions tied to rat and cockroach infestations and confirmed the unit’s lawful rent at $2,500.

The hearing officer had found the landlord or its predecessor did not register the property in 2022 and imposed a rent increase during the unregistered period; that initial unlawful increase triggered subsequent unlawful increases that must be rolled back. The tentative appeal decision, which the committee adopted, reaffirmed the hearing officer’s allocation of responsibility for the pest conditions and the resulting financial remedies.

The hearing officer’s orders upheld by the committee include a 20 percent rent reduction tied to a rat infestation for the period April 20, 2023, through Sept. 30, 2024; a 4.2 percent reduction for a cockroach infestation from April 15, 2023 through the date of the hearing plus an ongoing $105 per month rent reduction until the condition is corrected; and an order that excess rents collected above the lawful rent ($2,500) be refunded. The hearing…