pages: RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2018-11-07.pdf, 5
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RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee | 2018-11-07 | 5 | Approved Minutes November 7, 2018 Motion and second to hear one additional case after 9:00 p.m. (Members Griffiths and Sullivan-Cheah). Motion passed 3-0. 7-G. CASE 1152 - 467 Santa Clara Ave. Tenants: Michele Santorio and Heidi Ohrtman Landlords: Greta Jenkins and Gary Jenkins Proposed rent increase: $1,400.00 (93.3%), effective November 23, 2018 Ms. Jenkins said the property is owned by a trust that is set up to provide income to Mr. Jenkins' mother, Sarah Moll, and as a trustee of the trust, she has a fiduciary duty to obtain as much money from the trust assets as possible. She said the current income is insufficient to provide Ms. Moll the income she needs, which is why they are asking for a rent increase. Mr. Santoro said that the tenants have had to take care of everything on the property. He said that the house leaks water and the heater is ineffective because the house is so drafty. He and Ms. Ohrtman said they believe the current rent of $1,500 is a fair market rate considering the poor condition of the property. They said they would not be able to afford to stay in the home if the rent were raised to the $2,900 as the landlords are requesting. Mr. Santorio said he has run a deli in the community for nine years and if the rent were greatly increased, he would have to move out of Alameda and close his business. Mr. Jenkins said that the work the tenants put into the property was part of the agreement they had when they moved in, in exchange for rent credits. He said that he has informed the tenants at various times that he would have to raise the rent to market rate at some point as it was his mother's only source of income. Chair Murray asked what the tenants thought was a reasonable amount of an increase and the tenants said they thought that a 5% increase was reasonable because of the condition of the house. Motion and second to extend the time of the agenda item an extra 15 minutes (Member Griffiths and Vice Chair Murray). Motion passed 3-0. Member Sullivan-Cheah clarified that the subject unit, a single family residence, was exempt from a binding decision under state law. He discussed how this impacted the Committee's decision-making authority - that the Committee can only make a nonbinding decision regarding the increase amount. He also explained the appeals process that was available to either party if they were not satisfied with the Committee's decision. Vice Chair Murray impressed upon the parties the value of coming to a mutual agreement. Page 5 of 7 | RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2018-11-07.pdf |