OAKLAND — In a victory for tenants, the Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to cap rent increases at 3% instead of 6.7%, which the current law would have allowed come July. “Tenants are …
OAKLAND — In a victory for tenants, the Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to cap rent increases at 3% instead of 6.7%, which the current law would have allowed come July.
Fife’s ordinance — which was approved by six members of the council, excluding Noel Gallo, who voted “no,” and Loren Taylor, who abstained — changes the allowable rent increase under Oakland’s charter either 60% of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index or 3%, whichever is lower. For more than two hours, dozens of people called in to the council meeting to comment on the proposal. Tenants pleaded with the council to pass the ordinance, with many explaining that a 6.7% rent increase would push them out of their homes.
“As a nonprofit worker, I would not be able to continue to afford living in Oakland without my rent-controlled unit,” resident Lauren Chiarulli said during the meeting.