Registration requirements
All residential rental property in Berkeley is covered by the Rent Ordinance unless it falls within
one of the enumerated exceptions listed in Section 5 of the Ordinance (BMC §13.76.050).
Owners of rental property covered by the Ordinance are required to file an Initial Registration
Statement which lists the base rent and base year services provided for each unit on the property
and to pay an annual per unit rent registration fee. The fee is due July 1st of each year and may
not be passed on to the tenants without the express prior approval of the Board.
For a property to be legally registered:
- An Initial Registration Statement for each unit on the property must be on file with the
Board.
- All registration fees and late registration penalties must have been paid.
- If a previously registered rental unit becomes exempt from the Rent Ordinance, the
property owner must inform the Board by filing an Amended Registration Statement.
Unless it is apparent from the information on the Amended Registration Form that the
claim of exemption is made in error, the Board will accept the claim and amend its billing
records accordingly. However, if it is subsequently determined that the claim was made
in error, the property owner will be liable for unpaid registration fees and, possibly, late
registration penalties.
- Property owners may obtain a binding determination as to whether his/her property is
exempt by filing a Request To Determine Exempt Status with the Board. Pursuant to
Regulation 559, Board staff will investigate and render an administrative determination on
the exemption claim. Either the landlord or the tenant may request a hearing to contest
the administrative determination.
Rental Units Which are Exempt
(BMC §13.76.050)
The following types of rental units are specifically exempt from some or all provisions of the
Rent Ordinance:
- Rental units owned by a government agency*.
- Units rented primarily to transient guests for less
than 14 consecutive days and which are subject to the
hotel tax.
- Non-profit cooperative housing owned and controlled by a
majority of the residents.
- Units leased by the Berkeley Housing Authority*.
- Rental units in any hospital, skilled nursing facility,
health facility, asylum, or non-profit home for the aged.
- Rental units on a two unit property where one unit was,
on December 31, 1979, and one unit is, currently, the principal
residence of a 50% owner of record.
- Rental units which are the principal residence of a 50% owner of
record where the owner shares kitchen or bath facilities
with the tenants.
- Rental units constructed after June 30, 1980, provided such units were not created
by rehabilitation or conversion*.
- Units rented by non-profit accredited institutions of
higher learning to tenants who are faculty, staff or
students of the institution, or of a member school of the
Graduate Theological Union, provided that the institution
owned the unit as of January 1, 1988.
*Although exempt from the registration and rent ceiling requirements, these units are not exempt
from the deposits and good cause for eviction provisions of the Ordinance.
- Owners of rental property which is not properly registered may not increase rents or evict
tenants from that property.
- Owners who do not timely register their property may be ineligible to impose all or part
of any Board-approved Annual General Adjustments (AGAs) which took effect during the
period of non-registration unless they petition the Board and are found eligible to have
those AGAs restored.
- Owners who do not pay registration fees on or before July 1st will be assessed a penalty
of 100% of the original fee, with an additional 100% penalty every six months the
registration fee remains unpaid. If the fees are paid within thirty days of the original due
date, the Board may administratively waive the penalty. For later payments, the landlord
may request the Board to waive all or part of the penalty if he/she can show good cause
for the delinquent payment.
- Registration information is available from the Rent Stabilization Program. A
written response regarding registration statusmay be obtained by filing a Request for Registration Information.
A tenant who believes a unit or property is not registered or is erroneously being claimed
as exempt may file a Petition for Rent Withholding for Non-Registration and a hearing
will be held to determine whether the registration requirements, if any, have been
satisfied. If it is determined that the property is not properly registered, the Board may
authorize the tenant to withhold rent until the registration requirements are satisfied.
This page was last updated 5/21/1995.