Concord City Council rolls back rent-control ordinances
The Concord City Council on Tuesday rolled back the rent control ordinance by allowing landlords with two or fewer properties to evict tenants without "just-cause" and upping the annual rent increase to 5% per year.
"I've been here since 2000. I've been here 25 years," said Betty Gabaldon.
She is a long-time renter in Concord and also founded the Todos Santos Tenant's Union after experiencing issues with her landlord.
"This started in 2016 for me, when I got a $400 rent increase, and on top of that, we had so many repairs that needed to be done in my apartment," she said.
It was when she complained to her landlord she said she was given a 60-day eviction notice and forced to move out. Gabaldon said it's situations like those why she and others have gone to the council to ask for tenant protections in the first place.
"Students, seniors on fixed incomes, single parents, people who were once unhoused, all those people rent," she said.
In April 2024, the city council approved the first-ever rent control measure for Concord, which applied to all homes and apartments built before 1995. It limited rent increases on apartments to no more than 3% per year, and also banned landlords from evicting tenants without "just-cause".
"These laws actually do have a negative impact in meeting area housing goals," said Derek Barnes, the CEO of the East Bay Rental Housing Association, which generally represents landlords.
He said overly strict rent control policies make it unattractive for people to develop new housing. He said the real issue impacting affordability in Concord is a lack of supply.
"How do we get more units into the market, and how do we create investment opportunities for those in housing to build more housing," questioned Barnes.
The amended ordinance will go into effect on May 22, 2025.
