The Rent Stabilization Study has ended and a position has been crafted.

On March 31, 2018 the Rent Stabilization Study group held a consensus meeting for all League members to discuss the consensus questions that would inform our new position on rent stabilization as it applies to Mountain View. Subsequently, study committee members and board members met to craft a position. The position was approved by our Board of Directors at its April 17, 2018 board meeting.  Our position is as follows:

Support rent stabilization and just cause programs that are fair and reasonable to landlords, tenants and the community.

The League finds that:

  1. The community benefits when people have stable housing and can afford to live near their work, when businesses have access to workers of all skill and socioeconomic levels, and when rent stabilization is cost neutral to the city.
  2. These programs benefit current and future tenants in units subject to rent control by minimizing displacement and providing stable and predictable housing costs, while also providing a fair rate of return to landlords because of vacancy decontrol.
  3. These programs benefit tenants in units covered by just cause from arbitrary evictions but allow landlords to evict tenants for nonpayment of rent, breach of the lease, and other specified causes.
  4. Banking is fair and reasonable to tenants and landlords so long as tenants receive an annual notification explaining that the landlord is banking the allowed rent increase.
  5. Tenants should have the right to petition if their units are not kept in proper repair or their services are decreased or new costs, such as utilities, are charged.
  6. Landlords should have the right to petition if they are not making a fair rate of return.
  7. The fair rate of return should be based upon a non-volatile index to benefit both tenants and landlords.
  8. It is appropriate that the fees to operate the program shall be cost-neutral to the city.

Study Materials for the Los Altos-Mountain View Area League study on Rent Stabilization are below.

Consensus Meeting Presentation

Consensus Questions Worksheet

Study Pros and Cons

To view the full Rent Stabilization Glossary click here.

As part of this study, the Rent Stabilization Study Committee researched six jurisdictions with long standing rent stabilization programs and compared them to the rent stabilization program in Mountain View.  This research included Berkeley, East Palo Alto, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose and Santa Monica.  Click here to view the rent stabilization program comparison research takeaways or view the full research (Excel, PDF).

Primary Reading for Study Consensus:

Additional Reading: