pages: RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2019-03-04.pdf, 2
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RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee | 2019-03-04 | 2 | Approved Minutes March 4, 2019 7. NEW BUSINESS 7-A. Case 1201 - 1566 Lincoln Ave., Apt. A Tenant: Gwendolyn Hammer Landlord: Charles Hanson Proposed rent increase: $100.00 (4.8%), to a total rent of $2,200.00, effective January 1, 2019 Ms. Hammer said she has lived in the subject unit for over 19 years, and during that time increases averaged almost 4.5% each year. She said the landlord had purchased the house in 1997. She told the Committee that she had received the current rent increase in November 2018, along with an $800 increase in her security deposit. She had asked the landlord if he would reconsider, and was hopeful mediation could occur before increases were due, as they totaled a $3,000 payment, equaling 67% of her take-home pay. She said she was going through a financial hardship, as she was hospitalized for 11 days, and had a dental emergency which required her to take out a short-term loan. She said she works at the California Department of Public Health, and her contract with her employer did not include cost of living raises. As a civil service employee, she said, she could not keep pace with the requested rent increases, and feared the increases would cause Alameda to lose people like her. She said she is active with CERT, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and has been involved with Engineers Without Borders. She said has never contested a prior rent increase, but found the continuing increases to be egregious, specifically because the landlord kept them just under 5% so they did not require review by and were not subject to the binding authority of the RRAC. Mr. Hanson asked if Ms. Hammer had renters insurance and Ms. Hammer replied that he had never asked for it. Mr. Hanson said that he had asked for it. He said the subject property is a free-standing one-bedroom duplex unit in Stonehenge, a community that is managed by an HOA that provides gardening. He said that the unit has a patio and garage, is approximately 1,200 square feet, has a dining room, fireplace, living room, kitchen, and laundry. He said that the rent he was requesting was below market rate for comparable units, which are renting for $3,000. He said the HOA fees he pays include water and sewer costs. Ms. Hammer responded that the unit was built in 1936, is very nice inside, but is antiquated. Mr. Hanson said that Ms. Hammer had caused several tenants to move out due to nuisance issues, such as having a party in the early hours of the morning, and Ms. Hammer replied that she had never been made aware of this. | RentReviewAdvisoryCommittee/2019-03-04.pdf |