Council introduces amendment to Rent Stabilization Ordinance to extend arbitration deadline and align fee recovery

The council introduced and approved the introduction of a technical amendment to Hayward's Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) that would extend arbitrators' decision deadlines and align fee collection for the RSO with the Residential Rental Inspection Program.

Development Services staff (Director Bowser and Ayush Patel) said arbitrators currently have 20 days to issue decisions and that other jurisdictions use a 30-day window; staff recommended changing the deadline to 30 days to allow time for more complex cases. Staff also said the city collected about $900,000 in annual RSO fees in fiscal year 2025 but had a roughly $160,000 shortfall, and proposed adopting a cost-recovery collection process consistent with the RIP to address delinquencies.

"My understanding is that if right now we have a fund balance ... we can draw down from the fund balance. But if that goes negative, my understanding is that the council would need to authorize a loan from another fund such as a general fund," staff said when asked about budget backup for unpaid fees.

Mayor Pro Tem Sairup moved the item and Councilmember Roach seconded; the clerk reported the motion passed. No amendments were adopted during the meeting; staff will return with final ordinance language and any required amendments through the standard public-noticing and adoption process.

Why it matters: The change is administrative in scope but affects dispute-resolution timing for tenants and landlords and clarifies how the city recovers program costs. Staff said the proposal aims to better align RSO administration with similar local programs and reduce the chance of long-term subsidization of the RSO by other city funds.

Next steps: Staff will prepare the ordinance language for subsequent consideration and final vote in a noticed meeting.