FY 2011-2012 REGISTRATION INFORMATION
REGISTRATION FEES WERE DUE FRIDAY, JULY 1, 2011.
At its regular meeting on Monday, May 16, 2011, the Rent Stabilization Board approved Resolution 11-01 establishing an unchanged 2011/2012 annual registration fee of $194 per unit and approving guidelines for the 2011/2012 fiscal year operating budget. Registration information and bills were mailed to property owners and/or managers around May 26, 2011. Links are available below for PDF copies of various registration forms.
Please contact us at 510-981-7368 (981-RENT) for more information.
May 27, 2011
Dear Property Owner:
Enclosed is the 2011/2012 registration material for Berkeley residential rental units. This material includes a billing statement, fact sheet, Unit Status Form with instructions, return envelope and the yellow insert mentioned below. The annual registration fee has not changed and is $194 for each unit covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance. For units where the tenancy commenced prior to January 1, 1999, the Board has once again authorized a direct pass-through of a portion of the registration fees under certain conditions and with proper notice (please see reverse side of this letter).
Registration fees are due no later than Friday, July 1, 2011. The Rent Stabilization Ordinance requires that payments not received in the Rent Board Office or postmarked by the due date be assessed a 100% penalty. Please return the bottom half of the billing statement with your payment in the enclosed return envelope on or before July 1st. In an effort to accommodate all property owners, our offices will remain open until 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 29 and Friday, July 1, 2011.
The billing statement is based on the most recent information provided to our office. Please review the enclosed Unit Status Form carefully. If any information on this form is incorrect, cross it out and write the correct information directly on the form. Please see the sample on the reverse side of the Registration Fact Sheet. In addition, for the past few years, we’ve attempted to increase our capacity to communicate with you via e-mail. E-mail can be a cheaper, quicker and clearer form of communication. In the next year, we hope to expand the use of online communication. Please review and return the enclosed yellow insert, along with your bill, indicating your degree of interest in receiving e-mail communications from the Rent Stabilization Program.
If a prior year’s fee or late penalty appears on your statement, it is important to resolve this account immediately. An outstanding balance may adversely affect your eligibility to impose Annual General Adjustment increases or to effectuate an eviction for any unit on the property and may result in a collection action.
You may pay by check, cash or charge registration fees to your MASTERCARD or VISA by fully completing the credit card section of the billing statement. If you pay by credit card, you must provide your daytime telephone number, the V-Code (the last three numbers on the signature line on the back of your credit card) and credit card billing address zip code. If you do not provide the V-Code or any of the other required credit card information by the due date, your payment may be late and may subject you to a 100% penalty.
If you have any questions concerning the enclosed bill, please call our Registration Unit at 981-7368.
Sincerely,
Jay Kelekian
Executive Director
Pursuant to Rent Stabilization Board Resolution 11-02, after landlords have paid the 2011-2012 Registration Fee, they may pass through a portion of this year’s fee to their tenants in the form of a $4.00 per month rent increase for 12 consecutive months only for tenancies that commenced prior to January 1, 1999. The $4.00 increase does not become part of the permanent rent ceiling for purposes of calculating next year’s Annual General Adjustment. The $4.00 rent increase allowed by Resolution 11-02 is not automatic, and landlords will only be eligible to pass it through to their tenants after they have paid the 2011-2012 Registration Fee as well as all outstanding fees and penalties and have given their tenants at least thirty (30) days’ prior written notice of the increase. (A sample notice containing all necessary information is included below.) If landlords have already been taking a pass-through pursuant to prior Board resolutions, additional rules may apply (for example, the sum of all pass-throughs cannot exceed $4.00 per month at any time), and they should contact our office for further advice. Additionally, landlords must serve notice to initiate the increase allowed by Resolution 11-02 on or before December 1, 2011, in order to receive their full pass-through. For simplicity and ease of tracking, we recommend that landlords begin taking this pass-through in January 2012 along with their Annual General Adjustment for the year. Unless subsequently extended by the Rent Board, the rent increase authorized by Resolution 11-02 must be terminated and the rent reduced by $4.00 twelve months after it is imposed or December 31, 2012, whichever is earlier. Finally, landlords must send a copy of the notice to pass through charges permitted by Resolution 11-02 to the Rent Board.
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Sample Thirty-Day Notice of Rent Increase
(For tenancies that started prior to 1/1/99)
To:___________________________________________________________________
(tenant(s) in possession)
___________________________________________________, Berkeley _________
(address, unit number) (ZIP code)
Pursuant to Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board Resolution 11-02, adopted on May 16, 2011, you are hereby notified that thirty days after serving you with this notice the monthly rent for the premises you now occupy will be increased for the next twelve months.
The present rent on your unit is $____________________ per month.
Your rent will increase by $4.00 pursuant to Rent Board Resolution 11-02.
Your new rent will be $_____________ per month beginning ___________________. (This date must be at least 30 days after service of the Notice of Rent Increase.) This increase is temporary – it will only be collected for the next 12 months – and is not included in the unit’s permanent rent ceiling.
The undersigned hereby verifies that the 2011-2012 City of Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board registration fees, as well as all past fees and penalties, for this property were paid in full prior to service of this notice and a copy of this notice has been sent to the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board.
________________________________________________ _____________________________ Landlord/Manager Date
Advice concerning this Notice and the rental history of the unit is available from the Rent Stabilization Board Public Information Unit, 2125 Milvia Street, Berkeley, CA 94704, 9:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 12:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, (510) 981-7368.
REGISTRATION FACT SHEET
Our office will remain open to receive registration payments until 6:30 p.m. on the due date: Friday, July 1st, 2011. Envelopes postmarked by July 1st that contain the correct Registration Fees will be considered timely.
The vast majority of residential rental units in Berkeley are required to pay an annual registration fee. The “vacancy decontrol” law has no effect on this long-standing registration requirement for virtually all residential rental properties. Units that are advertised or otherwise available for rent, even though they are not yet rented, are required to register by July 1st this year.
For each new tenancy started on or after 1/1/96, landlords must file a Vacancy Registration form. The new rent level and, for tenancies started on or after 1/1/99, the housing services reported by the landlord are entered into the Rent Board database.
A property is not properly registered if required Vacancy Registration forms are not filed. If you have a current tenancy that has not yet been reported, you must file a Vacancy Registration form within 15 days of the date it is rented even if there is no change in the rent charged. You may download a blank form from our Web site at http://www.cityofberkeley.info/rent/ or pick one up in our office.
Properties not in full compliance with Registration requirements for all units are not eligible to implement any rent ceiling increases for any unit on the property. Non-compliance may also be used as a defense in an eviction action.
Our office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and noon to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesdays. We will also remain open until 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 1st, as a service to property owners.
If you pay by credit card, you must include your daytime phone number, the credit card V-Code and credit card billing address zip code. Please see cover letter for further information. Failure to include the V-Code or any other required information may subject you to penalties for delays.
Postcard insert which was included in the mailing:
Owner(s) Name: ______________________________________________
E-mail Address: _ ____________________________________________ (please PRINT)
Property Address(es): ___________________________________________________________________________
We at the Rent Board are in the process of modernizing our systems to develop a more efficient, cost-effective and environmentally-conscious way to communicate with you. As part of this effort, we would like to know your interest in receiving future notices/information by e-mail. If you want to participate, please provide your e-mail address in the space above and indicate what type(s) of information you would like to receive via e-mail by checking the corresponding box(es) below, and return this form with your payment.
o Official business only (Registration bills, Hearing/Petition notices, AGA/Lawful Rent Ceiling notices, etc.)
o Information on Rent Board trainings/workshops, public hearings or other events
o All updates to the Rent Board's Web site (www.cityofberkeley.info/rent)
o No, I am not interested in receiving information by e-mail.
The links below lead to PDF files that require Adobe Acrobat Reader to be installed on your PC. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC download Acrobat Reader for free. 
If you are unable to access this information online, please participate by contacting us via e-mail at rent@ci.berkeley.ca.us, telephone (510) 981-7368 (981-RENT), or TDD (510) 981-6903.