Policies: Ordinances
Ordinances are laws adopted by the Alameda City Council and codified in the Alameda Municipal Code. They establish the legal foundation for the Rent Program, including rent control, eviction protections, tenant rights, and related housing policies. These laws are implemented and supported by accompanying regulations and resolutions.
The Rent Ordinance is codified in Chapter VI, Article XV, Alameda Municipal Code, Sections 6-58.10 to 6-58.155. The bulk of the regulations were passed in 2019 as Ordinance No. 3250(PDF, 3MB). They have since been amended, including by ordinances No. 3315(PDF, 338KB), No. 3326(PDF, 828KB), No. 3361(PDF, 1MB), and No. 3367(PDF, 2MB).
Ordinance No. 3251(PDF, 5MB) prohibits unlawful tenant harassment, disruption of housing services, and housing discrimination including source of income.
In March 2020 the City of Alameda declared a local emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently passed a series of protections for Alameda residents and businesses. These included a moratorium on rent increases for residential rental units subject to rent control and expanded eviction protections for all residential rental units. The protections were enacted and updated via several ordinances, including:
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Ordinance No. 3267(PDF, 4MB) established the Declaration of Local Emergency.
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Ordinance No. 3275(PDF, 8MB) initially established the rent-increase moratorium, as well as a substantive defense to evictions based on a) failure to pay rent due to "substantial loss of income," b) a foreclosure of a deed of trust, and c) following certain "no fault" terminations of tenancy.
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Ordinance No. 3284(PDF, 3MB) concerns the substantive defense to evictions based on failure to pay rent. It expanded the timeframe that the defense will be available to 395 days (13 months) after the end of the local emergency, although state law may create earlier deadlines and additional requirements for tenants.
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Ordinance No. 3315(PDF, 338KB) allowed rent increases to resume as long as they do not exceed the current Annual General Adjustment (AGA).
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Ordinance No. 3330(PDF, 171KB) and Resolution 15993(PDF, 126KB) terminated the Declaration of Local Emergency as of October 18, 2022.
Certain protections have expired at this time while others will continue until at least May 2023. Rent Regulation 22-02(PDF, 187KB) clarifies rules related to these local protections following the termination of the local emergency. See the FAQs on Local COVID-19 Protections for more information.
Beginning in April 2022, the City Council passed a series of ordinances with the intent of extending most of the tenant protections in the Rent Ordinance and the temporary COVID-19 protections to those rental units lawfully docked at a floating home marina. Ordinance 3326(PDF, 828KB), adopted in September 2022, codified several revisions to Alameda Municipal Code Article XV. Among other things, the amendments update the Rent Ordinance's definitions to address floating homes and other maritime residential tenancies, and make clear that these tenancies are subject to limitations on rent increases and terminations of tenancy, temporary relocation payment regulations, and the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Policy. The ordinance and registration procedures for floating home marinas are implemented by Regulation 22-01(PDF, 74KB).
In December 2023, the City Council adopted Ordinance 3361(PDF, 1MB) establishing a revised policy for Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) The intent of the policy is to maintain the quality of the City's rental housing stock and encourage certain types of long-term improvements while providing tenant protections. By filing an application for a CIP, landlords may be able to recover the cost of eligible improvements over time by passing them on to the tenants in the form of a pass through. The policy moderates the costs of the pass throughs by spreading them over the useful life of the improvements.