Oakland announces potential rent increases starting July 1

OAKLAND, CA – JULY 19: A neighborhood near International Boulevard, right, and 46th Avenue is seen from this aerial view in East Oakland, California on Monday, July 19, 2021. Poor neighborhoods, just a few miles from wealthy neighborhoods, can be up to 7 degrees warmer on the same day due to lack of tree cover. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)

(KRON) — The Oakland City Council’s emergency rent moratorium, adopted in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will end Sunday, the city announced.

From March 8, 2020, to June 30, Oakland’s emergency moratorium prohibited rent increases above the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI). Rent adjustment programs (RAPs) – such as those based on uninsured repairs or increased housing services – have also been banned.

Starting July 1, “rent increases above the annual CPI increase may resume,” the city wrote. According to the city, from August 1 of this year to July 31 of next year, the annual CPI rate is 2.3%. The maximum annual rent increase allowed without a RAP petition is 6.9%.

Renters can find a list of past CPI rates here. For more information on rent increases permitted from July 1, visit the RAP website here or get advice help from RAP by emailing them.

In addition to rent increases, the emergency moratorium also helped prevent evictions. Between March 2020 and July 14, 2023, tenants could avoid evictions for unpaid rent by proving financial hardship during the pandemic.

Tenants are encouraged to check the Oakland Rent Registry, an online database created by the city. Owners of rental units covered by the rent adjustment ordinance cannot raise rents if the unit is not registered, the city said.