Oxnard staff seek council committee review of administrative rules for fair rate-of-return petitions under rent-stabilization

Alba Marshall, the rent stabilization and mobile home rent stabilization program supervisor in the Housing Department, told the Oxnard City Council that staff is recommending a resolution to adopt administrative regulations for the city's fair rate-of-return petition process under the rent stabilization ordinance. "This item is regarding a resolution establishing an administrative regulation regarding the fair rate of return petition regulation to implement the city's rent stabilization ordinance," Marshall said.

Marshall summarized the legal and procedural background: the council adopted the just-cause evictions and tenant protections ordinance on April 13, 2022 (effective June 2, 2022), and later amended it on Jan. 25, 2024 and July 30, 2024. Staff introduced amendments and four administrative regulations to a committee on March 25, 2025 but deferred the fair rate-of-return regulation for further stakeholder refinement. She said staff later worked with community stakeholders including CAUSE, attorney Barbara Macriertis, and the Ventura County Association of Realtors and held online meetings on April 18 and July 17, 2025; "This process continued through October at which time consensus was achieved," Marshall said.

The proposed administrative regulations make a number of substantive changes to how owners file and how the city reviews fair rate-of-return petitions, Marshall said. Key changes described by staff include: expanded definitions (Regulation 1.02) that define the base year and broaden the definition of operating income with detailed steps to calculate a fair return; updated petition procedures (Regulation 1.03) clarifying what a petitioner's financial report must demonstrate and giving the presiding officer authority to request additional supporting information; revisions to timelines so tenants receive a copy of a complete petition rather than relying on a submission-date deadline; new timelines and rules for withdrawal of petitions and cancellation of hearings (section 3) and clearer documentation requirements for a petition to be deemed complete (section 4); and an expanded Regulation 1.04 describing hearing officers' decision process and timeframes for issuing a determination.

Marshall also described a renaming of a provision formerly titled "limitation on rent increases granted under this part" to "hardship appeal" (Regulation 1.07) and said the section now includes language to inform low- and moderate-income households about the timeline, documentation, and steps to file a claim of severe economic hardship resulting from an approved rent increase.

Marshall concluded by asking that the Community Services, Public Safety, Housing and Development Committee review the draft administrative regulations and recommend that the full city council approve the proposed resolution. The presentation did not record a council vote; staff recommended the committee review and return a recommendation to council.

What happens next: staff recommended committee review and a recommendation back to the council; no council vote was recorded in the provided transcript.