Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Meeting Agenda: 11/20/2025

RENT STABILIZATION BOARD 
REGULAR MEETING
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2025 – 7:00 p.m.
SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD ROOM – 1231 ADDISON STREET, BERKELEY, CA
Teleconference Location – Chome-1-5 Hamadera Ishizuchonishi, Nishi Ward, Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, 592-8333, Japan

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 Board 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: 811 2273 9966 and Passcode: 157031. To comment during the public comment part of the agenda, Press *9 and wait to be recognized by the Chair.

Email comments

Email comments must be submitted to amueller@berkeleyca.gov by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting in order to be considered by the Board 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, NOVEMBER 20, 2025 – 7:00 p.m.
SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD ROOM – 1231 ADDISON STREET, BERKELEY, CA
Teleconference Location – Chome-1-5 Hamadera Ishizuchonishi, Nishi Ward, Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, 592-8333, Japan

Video Archive (pending)

AGENDA
 

1. Roll call
2. Approval of Agenda
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.
4. Public Comment for Unions representing Rent Board staff – 5 min. per union
5. Public Comment – 2 min. per speaker
6. Consent Items
   1. Approval of the October 16th regular meeting minutes
   2. Proposal to approve staff recommendations on requests for waivers of late registration penalties (Executive Director/Registration Unit Manager) – Please see attachment 6.b. for a list of all addresses with discretionary waivers that will be considered by the Board.
7. Action Items
   1. Chair Update: Empty Homes Tax Program Update Update (Senior Planner Lief Bursell)
   2. Special Ceremonial Act: Recommendation to adopt Resolution 25-29 Honoring Urban Compassion Project (Chair Alpert)
8. Information, Announcements and Articles/Media
   NOTE:  The Board may vote to move Information Items to the Action calendar.
   1. Copy of the Rent Board’s Fall 2025 newsletter: The Rent Board Review – Housing News You Can Use (Executive Director)
   2. Copy of the 2026 Annual General Adjustment (AGA) and 2025 Security Deposit Interest postcard mailed to property owners this month (Executive Director)
   3. Update on the Apparent Lawful Rent Ceiling (ALRC) Notice mailing to tenants this month (Executive Director)
   4. Deadline to submit agenda items/topics for the December regular Rent Board meeting: Monday, December 8th by 5:00 p.m. – Verbal (Board Secretary)
9. Committee/Board Meeting Updates and Announcements
   1. Ad Hoc Committee to Consider Rent Ordinance Amendments at the November 2026 Election (Chair Alpert, Chair)
   2. Budget & Personnel Committee (Vice-Chair Walker, Chair)
   3. Climate Resilience & Habitability Committee (Commissioner Martinac, Chair)
   4. Eviction/Section 8/Foreclosure Committee (Commissioner Elgstrand, Chair)
   5. Legislation, IRA/AGA & Registration Committee (LIRA Committee) (Chair Alpert, Chair)
   6. Outreach Committee (Commissioner Kelley, Chair)
   7. 2 x 2 Committee on Housing: Rent Board/Berkeley Unified School District (Commissioner Marrero, Chair)
   8. 4 x 4 Joint Task Force Committee on Housing: City Council/Rent Board (Councilmember Lunaparra & Chair Alpert, Co-Chairs)
   9. Updates and Announcements
   10. Discussion of items for possible placement on future agenda
10. Closed Session: Pursuant to Government Code section 54956.9(a), the Board will convene in closed session for an update on litigation: Harris et al. v. City of Los Angeles, Appeal Case No. 25-5029.
11. Closed Session: Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(2), the Board will convene in closed session for an update on possible exposure to litigation: pending claim(s) under the Government Claims Act (Government Code sections 810-996.6).
12. Adjournment