San Leandro council sets rent‑program fees, introduces ordinance to ban fee pass‑throughs

The San Leandro City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance and adopted a resolution on Tuesday to set fees and fund startup costs for the city's combined rent registry and rent stabilization program.

Assistant community development director Avalon Schultz told the council the program will launch in coordination in January 2027 and that staff proposes a short-term general‑fund loan to cover start-up costs. Schultz said staff updated the proposed loan terms to a 4.3% interest rate (the average of the 5‑ and 7‑year treasury daily par yields), with a projected payback window of three to six years and first‑year interest of roughly $90,000.

Schultz also described the updated fee structure and a fee study staff shared with council. She said the registry covers 9,500 total units (including the 6,500 units expected to be rent stabilized) and that the combined fees for rent‑stabilized units would amount to about $258 annually when both registry and stabilization fees apply. City staff told the council they had removed separate petition filing fees and would recover petition‑hearing costs through general program fees.

Supporters who spoke during the public hearing said the changes would help tenants. Ginny Madsen, an in‑person commenter, thanked the council for removing the 50% pass‑through option and said it meant a lot to renters.

Opponents included Jennifer Rizzo of the California Apartment Association, who said the fees under consideration were substantially higher than earlier staff presentations and higher than comparable Bay Area programs; she urged the council to demand fiscal restraint and said the Association opposed eliminating the pass‑through because tenants are primary beneficiaries of the program.

Vice Mayor Viveiros Walton moved to adopt the resolution establishing the rent program fees and to introduce an ordinance prohibiting the pass‑through of rent stabilization program fees to tenants; Councilmember James Aguilar seconded. The clerk recorded the motion as carrying unanimously.

Schultz said the ordinance's first reading was held Tuesday, the second reading and adoption are tentatively scheduled for June 15, and the fee changes would appear in the master fee schedule, with the ordinance set to take effect July 15 ahead of registration in January.

On enforcement and collections, staff said they plan a tiered penalty structure to encourage timely registration (including up to a 150% penalty for accounts 120 days late) and that the city could recommend special assessments through the county tax collection process for rent‑stabilized apartment properties that do not comply. Staff said pursuing levies against non‑rent‑stabilized single‑family homes would be difficult without proof that the property is rented.