pages: RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2018-08-29.pdf, 3
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RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee | 2018-08-29 | 3 | Approved Minutes August 29, 2018 Member Friedman asked the landlords what portion of the proposed increases could have been recovered through the City's Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). Mr. St. John stated that he believes most of it could have been included. He spoke about what increase he thinks the landlords could be entitled to under a fair rate of return analysis. Member Friedman asked the landlords how much the total operating expenses for running the building were. St. John provided a response. Vice Chair Murray asked Ms. Harakat what effect the increase would have on her. Ms. Harakat replied that she would have to find another job to pay for it, because she did not want to leave Alameda. Ms. Harakat asked if the increase they're being asked to pay also included costs of repairing or upgrading other units. Mr. St. John said that the CIP expenses were being divided equally among the units at the property. Ms. Harakat continued to express concern that she would be paying for part of the work done to make units nicer than hers nicer still. Mr. St. John replied that it's not feasible to allocate costs different for each unit, even when for example, some units may benefit more from the seismic upgrades than others, and each unit was being asked to pay an equal share. Chair Cambra asked if it was correct that the landlords did not want to negotiate on the amounts of the increase. Mr. St. John said that said their increase requests already took hardship on the tenants into account. The parties took their seats and the Committee deliberated. Member Sullivan-Cheah stated he did not think it was reasonable to have an increase that would require the tenants to have to get a second job. Vice Chair Murray said that the amount of money the tenants would have to make to pay the increase did not seem excessive to her. She said she thought $50 was too small an amount to increase the rent considering the expenditures made by the landlords, and that the $132.53 increase proposed by the landlords seemed reasonable. Chair Cambra said he found the landlords'' 'one size fits all" formula problematic, as each unit may be affected differently by the improvements. He added that he thought the CAPX amount of $87.61 provided in the landlords' paperwork seemed like a good number to start the discussion. Member Friedman discussed the complexity of the cases at Tropic Sands. He said the increase in this case would definitely create a financial hardship on the tenants and said he thought an increase of $75 was reasonable. Responding to Vice Chair Murray's comment that $1,500 per year was not a lot of money, Member Sullivan-Cheah said opined that this was relative, as it would be a lot of money Page 3 of 9 | RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2018-08-29.pdf |