Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 10/16/2025

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, OCTOBER 16, 2025 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA

Public participation

This meeting will be conducted in a hybrid model with both in-person and remote participation, and in accordance with Government Code Section 54953 and all current state and local requirements allowing public participation in meetings of legislative bodies. Any member of the public may attend this meeting at the posted location(s). Questions regarding this matter may be addressed to DéSeana Williams, Executive Director of the Rent Board, at 510-981-7368 (981-RENT). The Committee may take action related to any subject listed on the Agenda.

To access this meeting by Zoom

Join the meeting from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or Android device. If you do not want your name to appear on the screen, use the drop-down menu and click on "Rename" to rename yourself to be anonymous. To request to speak, use the “Raise Hand” icon by rolling over the bottom of the screen.

To join by phone

Dial 1-669-444-9171, enter Webinar ID: 832 5640 1607 and Passcode: 157031. To comment during the public comment part of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Committee Chair.

Email comments

Email comments must be submitted to doliver@berkeleyca.gov by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting in order to be considered by the Committee and included in the public record. Format your subject line: “RENT BOARD MEETING PUBLIC COMMENT ITEM.” Please observe a 150-word limit. Time limits on public comments will apply.

Decorum

All rules of procedure and decorum apply for both in-person attendees and those participating remotely. Attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various scents. Please help the City respect these needs.

Communications access information

This meeting is being held in a wheelchair accessible location. To request disability-related accommodation(s) to participate in the meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please contact the Disability Services Specialist at (510) 981-6418 (voice) or (510) 981-6347 (TDD) at least three (3) business days before the meeting date.

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD
Regular Meeting
Thursday, OCTOBER 16, 2025 – 7:00 p.m.
School District Board Room – 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA

Video Archive (1:26)

AGENDA

*Times allotted for each item are approximate and may be changed at the Board’s discretion
  during the course of this meeting.

1. Roll call – 1 min.*
2. Approval of Agenda – 1 min.*
3. Land Acknowledgment Statement: The Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board recognizes that the rental housing units we regulate are built on the territory of xučyun (Huchiun-(Hooch-yoon)), the ancestral and unceded land of the Chochenyo (Cho-chen-yo)-speaking Ohlone (Oh-low-nee) people, the ancestors and descendants of the sovereign Verona Band of Alameda County. This land was and continues to be of great importance to all of the Ohlone Tribes and descendants of the Verona Band. As we begin our meeting tonight, we acknowledge and honor the original inhabitants of Berkeley, the documented 5,000-year history of a vibrant community at the West Berkeley Shellmound, and the Ohlone people who continue to reside in the East Bay. We recognize that Berkeley’s landlords and tenants have and continue to benefit from the use and occupation of this unceded stolen land since the City of Berkeley’s incorporation in 1878 and since the Rent Stabilization Board’s creation in 1980. As stewards of the laws regulating rental housing, it is not only vital that we recognize the history of this land but also recognize that the Ohlone people are present members of Berkeley and other East Bay communities today. – 2 min.*
4. Introduction of new Rent Board staff - Andrew Chang, Principal Program Manager – 5 min.*
5. Public Comment for Unions representing Rent Board staff – 5 min.*
6. Public Comment – 2 min.*
7. Consent Items – 1 min.*
   1. Approval of the September 18, 2025 Regular Meeting minutes
   2. Approval of the October 10, 2025 Special Meeting minutes - To be Delivered
   3. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit Manager) – Please see attachment 7.c for a list of all addresses with discretionary waivers that will be considered by the Board.
8. Action Items
   1. Chair Update: Update on City Council Public Hearing on Proposed Amendments to Title 21 (Subdivisions) to Allow Separate Sale of ADUs (Chair Alpert) - 5 min *
   2. Chair Update: Update on passage of State Legislation regulating algorithmic price setting of rents (Chair Alpert) – 5 min*
   3. Special Presentation: Fall Legislative Update (Brian Augusta, Rent Board Legislative Analyst) – 15 min.*
   4. Discussion and possible action for the Board to take a position on state legislative bills discussed in the meeting (Chair Alpert) – 15 min.*
   5. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 25-27 confirming the 2026 Annual General Adjustment (AGA) of 1.0 percent and order that the 2026 AGA be published as Regulation 1148 (General Counsel) – 5 min.*
   6. Recommendation to adopt Resolution 25-28 confirming that the 2026 relocation assistance payments for Owner Move-In and Ellis Act evictions shall increase by 1.5 percent effective January 1, 2026, and publishing the 2026 relocation payment amounts (General Counsel) – 5 min.*
   7. Discussion and possible action on the update to Rent Board Social Media Policy (Executive Director and Digital Media Coordinator) – 5 min.*
9. Information, Announcements and Articles/Media
   NOTE:  The Board may vote to move Information Items to the Action calendar.
   1. Special Presentation: Web content accessibility: Upcoming Changes to Federal Requirements (Jen Fabish) – 10 min.*
   2. Deadline to submit agenda items/topics for the November regular Rent Board meeting: Friday, November 14th by 12:00 p.m. – Verbal (Board Secretary)
10. COMMITTEE/BOARD MEETING UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
    1. Ad Hoc Committee to Consider Rent Ordinance Amendments at the November 2026 Election (Chair to be elected) – 5 min.*
    2. Budget & Personnel Committee (Vice-Chair Walker, Chair) – 5 min.*
    3. Climate Resilience & Habitability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair) – 5 min.*
    4. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair) – 5 min.*
    5. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Chair Alpert, Chair) – 5 min.*
    6. Outreach Committee (Commissioner Kelley, Chair) – 5 min.*
    7. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District (Commissioner Marrero, Chair) – 5 min.*
    8. 4 x 4 Joint Task Force Committee on Housing: City Council/Rent (Councilmember Lunaparra & Chair Alpert, Co-Chairs) Board – 5 min.*
    9. Updates and Announcements – 5 min.*
    10. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda – 5 min.*
11. Adjournment