Concord Set to Talk Rent Stabilization and Just Cause for Eviction

by CC News October 9, 2023

written by CC News October 9, 2023

Photo by Uma Nagarajan-Swenson, EBASE.

On Tuesday, the Concord City Council will hold a workshop to discuss creation of a Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Evictions.

The proposal seeks to cap rent increases by 3 percent annually, or 60 percent of the consumer price index, whichever is lower. This is similar to what the City of Antioch agreed to last August.

The recommendation comes after the council had continued the item from both the Sept. 5 and Sept. 12 meeting which included 67 members of the public commenting over a five-hour period.

If approved, it would be inserted into the city’s Tenant Protection ordinance for public and council review. This could come back as early as the November 28 meeting with a second reading at the December 12 meeting. The ordinance could then go “live” by January 11, 2024.

According to the Sept. 5 staff report:

Concord has 47,000 housing units and 45,700 occupied units. Out of the occupied units, 18,000 are occupied by renters—approximately 40% of all occupied housing.
48% of renters spend 35% of their income on housing costs.
35% (6,300) rental units are single-family homes
66.5% (12,000) are in buildings with two or more units
Only 10.5% of units (2,000) are in rent-restricted affordable developments.
Between 2011-2021, the median gross rents have increased by 62% for all units
From 2021-22, average rents in Concord increase by 9%
According to the City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element Update report, nearly half (48%) of renters pay more than 30% of their income on housing related costs, while over a quarter (26%) of renters pay more than 50% of their income on housing related costs
Of renters paying more than 50% of their income on housing costs, 20% (3,665 households) are considered extremely low-income.

Concord Rent Data

According to information gathered via the City’s Residential Rent Registry Program, for the reporting period of July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022, the average market-rate rents in Concord were $1,715 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,979 for a two-bedroom unit.

Based on a January 23, 2023, report generated through CoStar, in 2022, the average market-rate one-bedroom rent in Concord was $2,107 per month, and the average two-bedroom rent in Concord was $2,401 per month.

Rents in Concord currently support households earning between 70% to 80% AMI, which is considered to be accessible to low to moderate income households and is generally accessible to working families

Housing and Economic Development (HED) Committee & Rental Housing Ad Hoc Committee

The staff report also cites that since 2016, the City Council, its Housing and Economic Development (HED) Committee, and the Rental Housing Ad Hoc Committee have convened over 35 public meetings to specifically discuss the topic of rent stabilization and tenant protections, and have received approximately 100 hours of public testimony on this subject. These efforts have led to the adoption of the City’s Residential Rent Review Program (discontinued), Tenant Protection Ordinance, Rent Registry Program, and Residential Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance.

Concord