Why We Need a Rent Registry
In order to be a environmentally and fiscally successful city, Palo Alto must provide abundant and affordable housing for all – including current renters. Yet many Palo Alto renters are at risk of displacement due to skyrocketing rents and no-fault evictions. In addition to building more homes, which will reduce upward pressure on rents - further steps are needed to ensure housing stability for renters.
If Palo Alto had a rent registry (something at least 13 other California cities have implemented, including East Palo Alto, Mountain View, and San Jose), landlords would have to register the units they rent. They would also have to regularly report rent increases and tenancy changes. This would help tenants in two ways.
First, a rent registry would facilitate enforcement of existing renter protections. For example, the registry might expose a landlord’s failure to pay relocation assistance to tenants evicted without fault, as required by city ordinance.
Second, a rent registry would facilitate future policymaking by making timely and complete data about the challenges facing Palo Alto’s renters available. Currently, policymakers often must rely on rent aggregator websites, which don’t cover all units, and census surveys, which are often years out-of-date.
We urgently need to better protect renters. About half of Palo Alto’s housing stock is rental units. About one-third of Palo Alto’s renting households earn less than $75,000 per year, which is about half of the area median income in Santa Clara County. The vast majority of these households are “cost burdened,” meaning that rent is more than 30% of their income. (These figures are from a September 2022 report from city staff.)
The idea has been percolating in Palo Alto for years. In 2002, a barebones ordinance required landlords to register their contact information with the city, but this program has never been enforced and is too narrow. In April 2021, city staff recommended a rental survey program (RSP), and the city’s Planning and Transportation Commission endorsed it. In November 2021, the City Council referred the design of an RSP to the Policy & Services Committee. In September 2022, city staff recommended, and that Committee approved, several RSP design features. City staff suggested further meetings to develop an RSP through summer 2023.
Several design features must be resolved, including:
Who should register? The city’s previous registry applies to the landlords of each residential rental property. So should the new and improved registry.
When should landlords register? Landlords should register their rental properties when the new registry goes into effect. Then landlords should update the registry upon qualifying events (like rent increases or vacancies), or annually if no such events occur. Policymakers need timely data.
What information should landlords submit? The registry should include a description of the rental unit (such as the number of bedrooms), the property manager’s contact information, rent increases, and evictions. Tenants should be able to verify and supplement the information submitted by landlords.
How should renter privacy be protected? A policy memo submitted by SV@Home to the city suggests privacy safeguards. Registry information should only be used for tenant protection. Registry information should only be disclosed in aggregate form, and without information that can identify tenants. Of course, the best way to protect tenant privacy is to minimize the initial collection of tenant information.
Moving FORWARD together
A strong Palo Alto rent registry is a priority for Palo Alto Forward, the Palo Alto Renters’ Association, and Peninsula for Everyone.
But this is just a start. To avoid displacement, our community’s renters need other protections, too. These include a ban on landlord harassment of tenants, as in Los Angeles; a cap on the size of security deposits; and a “fair chance” ordinance that bars discrimination against tenants based on their criminal history. We also must build more homes, which will help everyone, including current renters!