The City of Alameda Rent Program has now adopted Rent Control Ordinance Regulation 25-01 [1], aimed at ensuring compliance with rent control laws while balancing fairness for both tenants and landlords. The new regulation, effective April 1, 2025, outlines steps for landlords to correct invalid rent increases without facing excessive penalties.
[2]
The policy update comes after two community workshops held on December 10 and 18, 2024, when more than 40 participants gathered to discuss proposed changes to the reimbursement policy for invalid rent increases.
To gather additional input, the City launched an online feedback form in January 2025, which was shared with over 3,000 newsletter subscribers and workshop attendees. Within 30 days, the form received 72 responses, with 71% of respondents supporting the proposed update.
What landlords must do
The new regulation introduces a revised approach to rent increase violations that occur on or after April 1, 2025, and clarifies specific steps for addressing invalid rent increases that occurred before that date, as follows:
- New rent increases with effective dates on or after April 1, 2025. Landlords must reset the rent to what the Annual General Adjustment (AGA) would have permitted at the time the increase took effect and reimburse tenants for any rent paid in excess of that corrected amount.
- Older rent increases. For rent increases with effective dates that predate the new regulation, landlords must follow the policy that was in place at the time of the increase. In most cases, this means landlords must reset the rent to the last valid rent amount prior to the invalid increase and provide full reimbursement for all excess rent collected. This requirement maintains consistency with the Rent Program’s long-standing enforcement practices.
Once the Landlord has addressed and corrected an invalid rent increase and has reimbursed or provided a rent credit (if either is applicable) to the tenant, a landlord may serve notice of a new rent increase that complies with the Rent Ordinance and State Law requirements.
More info
More information is available on the City’s Rent Increase FAQ [3] web page. For any questions, please email Rent Program staff at [email protected] [4], call 510-747-7520, or fax 510-865-4028.
The Alameda Rent Program office is located at City Hall West, 950 West Mall Square (Alameda Point). Hours are Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Mailing address is Alameda Rent Program, 950 W. Mall Square, Room 17, Alameda CA 94501. Also, 24-hour drop boxes are available in downtown Alameda, on Oak Street between City Hall and the Alameda Police Department.