Rent Board Adopts Amnesty Period for Late Payment of Fiscal Year 2022-23 Registration Fees

Amnesty Period

The Rent Ordinance imposes a 100% penalty for the failure to pay registration fees by the July 1 deadline. Under Rent Board Regulation 883(H), landlords may be eligible for a waiver of part or all of this penalty depending on past payment history if their account is paid in full by August 30.  At its July 2022 Regular Meeting, the Rent Board adopted Resolution 22-21 to create an amnesty period that allows staff to waive all late-payment penalties for FY 2022-23 if the landlord pays their account in full by September 30, 2022, in two cases:

1. Where the landlord has experienced financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Where staff has identified that a property account needs an administrative correction.

The amnesty period applies to landlords of both fully covered and partially covered (Measure MM) units. 

COVID-19 Hardship

To qualify for the amnesty period for COVID-19 financial hardship, landlords must declare under penalty of perjury that they did not pay the FY 2022-23 Registration Fee by July 1, 2022, due to financial impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, or by any local, state, or federal government response to COVID-19, including:

• A material decrease in household income caused by layoffs or a reduction in the number of compensable hours of work.
• A material decrease in household income caused by caregiving responsibilities.
• A material decrease in business income caused by a reduction in opening hours or consumer demand.
• Material out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Administrative Correction

The administrative correction amnesty cycle will allow Landlords and Registration Unit staff an opportunity to review any potential clerical errors associated with a landlord’s accounts.

Applying for a Penalty Waiver During the Amnesty Period

Please contact our Registration Unit at (510) 981-7368 Ext. 2  or rentregistry@cityofberkeley.info for information.