What the Measure Would Do

Measure V would amend the Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance to establish new tenant protections for Oakland renters. The amendment would:

• Extend certain eviction protections to tenants in all units including RVs and accessory dwelling units (ADUs), except for the first 10 years after the unit is constructed.
• Eliminate the landlord’s ability to evict a tenant if they decide not to renew their lease.
• Prohibit evictions of educators and families with children during the regular school year.

There are two types of tenant protections in Oakland: The Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance and the Rent Adjustment Program, commonly known as rent control. Where the rent control law limits rent increases for certain buildings, the just cause ordinance prohibits a property owner from terminating a tenancy without good or “just” cause for units built and approved before December 31, 1995.^[1] All units built after 1996 are currently exempt from just cause protections. There are 11 so-called just causes^[2]:

1. Failing to pay rent.
2. Violating the rental agreement.
3. Refusing to sign a new lease (when the old lease expires).
4. Causing substantial damage to the unit.
5. Disturbing the peace and quiet of other tenants.
6. Engaging in illegal activity on the premises.
7. Refusing to allow the property owner access to make repairs.
8. The unit is the property owner’s principal residence and the owner wants to move back into the unit.
9. The property owner wants to use the unit as a principal residence for their spouse, domestic partner or relative.
10. The property owner withdraws the unit from the rental market under state law (Ellis Act).
11. The property owner wants to make substantial repairs that cannot be made while the unit is occupied.

ADUs are attached or detached units adjacent to a primary residence and have complete independent living facilities for one or more people.^[3] These units have become an increasingly popular strategy for expanding the supply of rental housing in California, particularly in single-family neighborhoods that may not otherwise welcome or be able to accommodate new development. Numerous initiatives in Oakland and across the state have sought to increase the adoption of ADUs due to their many opportunities for wealth-building, increasing the availability of rental — and naturally affordable^[4] — housing, and community stabilization by providing homes for friends and family members such as grandparents.^[5]

With stronger tenant protections, property owners may be less likely to build ADUs since it would be harder to evict problem tenants who live alongside owners on or within their property. ADUs also provide flexibility for homeowners whose needs may change every few years. For instance, they may choose to rent out their unit to earn extra cash and then take their unit off the market after a few years to house a sick parent or child in between jobs. With stronger regulations, homeowners may lose this flexibility and control over their ADU.

By contrast, the city of Berkeley has exempted ADUs from their just cause expansion,^[6] making Oakland’s rental market unique with the inclusion of ADUs. Measure V’s 10-year buffer between the time rental properties are built to when they are protected under just cause is intended to mitigate impacts to ADUs.

The Backstory

For the last few decades, Oakland has experienced a severe shortage of housing that has made the city unaffordable to many — including lifelong residents — and has engendered rapid displacement and homelessness.^[7] More than 60% of Oakland’s housing stock is occupied by renters,^[8] and this unprecedented demand has led to skyrocketing market rents, caused in part by the spillover of increasingly expensive housing costs in San Francisco. The median rental price for a one-bedroom unit in Oakland was $2,200 per month in July 2022;^[9] to afford this would require making about three times Oakland’s minimum wage.^[10]

In 2002, Oakland voters passed the Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance (Measure EE), which established the city’s initial tenant protections to reduce and prevent displacement and homelessness throughout the city. Various amendments have altered the city’s just cause ordinance since then. In 2016, voters passed Measure JJ, which extended just cause protection to tenants in residential rental units first offered for rent between October 14, 1980, and December 31, 1995. In 2018, Oakland voters passed Measure Y, which made owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes subject to the just cause ordinance and gave the City Council authority to add eviction requirements.

The increased housing pressure for residents across a range of low- and middle-income levels has inspired expanded rent stabilization and tenant protection policies. Since the passage of Measure EE, voters and the City Council have expanded its coverage several times.

Councilmembers Dan Kalb and Carroll Fife introduced this measure, and it was approved unanimously for the ballot by the City Council. As an ordinance, it requires a simple majority (50% plus one vote) to pass.

Equity Impacts

Just cause protections help to keep the lowest-income residents in place in gentrifying neighborhoods, where displacement pressures may be especially strong.^[11] The expansion of just cause protections could benefit Black, Latinx and Asian residents most, as they make up the majority (66%) of renter households in Oakland.^[12] Further, a 2018 study found a much higher rate of eviction notices filed in majority Black census tracts than in Latinx or white tracts.^[13] Most evictions in Oakland also disproportionately occur in lower-income neighborhoods like West Oakland and Chinatown.^[14]

Pros

• Measure V reduces the risk of displacement and homelessness, especially for RV and ADU tenants who are not currently protected.
• This measure prevents evictions of educators and children during the school year, which can be particularly disruptive and have devastating impacts on children’s development and academic performance, as well as on schools’ ability to provide a consistent and stable learning environment.^[15]
• It expands just cause protections to most rental properties in the city; currently, the eviction protections only apply to units built before 1996.

Cons

• With stronger tenant protections, property owners may be less likely to build ADUs since it would be harder to evict problem tenants that live alongside owners on or within their property. The City of Oakland has worked extensively in recent years to encourage ADU production as a housing production strategy.