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City council steers away from regulation; staff to pursue rental assistance and legal clinics
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Summary
Following debate over rent-regulation repeal, the council directed staff to pursue service-based tenant supports: emergency rental assistance and expanded legal clinics in partnership with local nonprofits; inspection programs were discussed but not advanced.
The council spent substantial time on April 21 examining alternatives to regulatory tenant protections after receiving staffs recommendation to pivot toward service-based supports. City Manager's Office staff presented three options: emergency rental assistance, a rental-inspection program, and expanding tenant legal services through a partnership with Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLASPA).
Irma Acosta summarized the options and implementation trade-offs, noting a 2020 emergency rental assistance effort supported about 123 households through local nonprofit partners. She said a CLASPA partnership to provide monthly legal clinics and tenant workshops would cost "approximately $40,000 annually," based on preliminary discussions with local partners. "These approaches address tenant support from different angles...they can work independently or in combination," Acosta said.
Public comments strongly supported rental assistance and legal help; Rocio Avila (via interpreter Victor Hernandez) said rental assistance with legal support is "a necessity" for vulnerable residents facing eviction. Council members broadly supported moving forward on rental assistance and legal clinics while asking staff to return with detailed program designs and budgets. Several members suggested larger one-time rental assistance allocations could be considered; one councilmember proposed $100,000 as an initial option for the coming fiscal year while several members expressed comfort considering $40,000 to sustain legal clinics.
Councilmembers were divided on inspection programs. Some favored voluntary or incentive-based inspection models to avoid overburdening staff and landlords; others said voluntary programs would not reach bad actors and urged stronger complaint-driven inspection capacity. The council directed staff to consult further with Coastside/CoSight Hope, CLASPA, other service providers and to bring back program designs, cost estimates, and funding options for FY 2026-27 budget consideration.
No binding appropriations were approved at the meeting; council asked staff to return with details and recommended funding scenarios.
