Click here for the full text of Measure V, also known as the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act.

Below are the key components of Measure V.

Many hours went into drafting it with help from experts at San Francisco-based Tenants Together, the Stanford Community Law Clinic.

Rent Stabilization

• Once a tenant moves in, rent increase limited to “Annual General Adjustment” of the year’s consumer price index (CPI, an inflation measuring tool), with floor of 2% increase and ceiling of 5% increase
• No more than 1 rent increase in a 12-month period
• Permits landlord to set initial rent at market rate
• Permits “banking” from years with no rent increase, but with a cap of 10% rent increase in any given year

Just Cause for Eviction & Relocation

Tenants can only be evicted (“termination of tenancy”) if the landlord has a good reason:

• Tenant has done something wrong: nonpayment of rent, breach of the lease, nuisance, criminal activity/disorderly conduct, or failure to permit landlord access to the unit when required by law.
• Tenant has NOT done anything wrong: landlord needs to make substantial repairs to bring unit into compliance with code, owner or family member intends to move in to unit, withdrawing unit from rental market, or demolition
• If termination is based NO fault of the tenant, the tenant is eligible for relocation assistance and gets first right of return to the unit if it comes back on market.

Exemptions

Some rental housing is NOT covered by either Just Cause or Rent Stabilization: Single family homes, condos, units first occupied after 2/1/1995, units built after effective date of the ordinance, granny (“in law”) units, duplexes, hotels, hospitals, dorms, subsidized housing, etc.

Turn the Law Off if No Longer Necessary

If the market for rental housing returns to less crisis conditions (if more than a 5% vacancy rate averaged over a full year), rent stabilization and just cause could be “turned off” by the Rent Committee because they are no longer necessary to prevent displacement of our community members.

Petitions for Adjustment to Rent (Upward or Downward)

Petition for Upward Adjustment: Landlord can petition for higher increase to ensure a fair rate of return if he/she is in compliance with the ordinance

Petition for Downward Adjustment: Tenant can petition for lower rent/increase if unit is not maintained in habitable condition or if services are taken away (e.g., remove parking place or close the pool)

Rental Housing  Committee

• 5 members appointed by city council serving staggered 4-year terms
• no more than 2 can be landlords or developers
• publicize each year’s Annual General Adjustment
• hold hearings to determine upward or downward adjustments