City leaders remove tenant assistance cap

Evicted renters of any income level at apartment complexes with at least 50 units will receive relocation payments up to $17,000

Tenants facing eviction from an apartment building in downtown Palo Alto will get up to $17,000 to help them relocate regardless of their income under a new rule approved this week by the City Council.

The council voted 8-1, with Councilman Greg Tanaka opposed, to eliminate an income cap on a new rule that provides payments of up to $17,000 for renters facing evictions at housing developments with 50 or more rental units.

On Aug. 27, the council approved the law but limited it to households earning no more than 100 percent of the area median income, which is about $125,000 a year for a family of four in the county, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development.

Many residents of the 75unit President Hotel Apartments had complained that their income level would disqualify them from receiving assistance.

Tenants must vacate the University Avenue building by Nov. 12.

The new law will go into effect 30 days after it is given a second reading at the council’s Oct. 1 meeting and will apply to all evictions that occur after Oct. 31.

Evicted studio tenants would receive $7,000 in relocation assistance; onebedroom renters will receive $9,000; two-bedroom renters, $13,000; and three or more bedrooms renters, $17,000, which amounts to the the average of the first and last month’s rent and security deposit for rental units in Palo Alto, according to rental market tracking sites.

Payments would be split evenly between the number of tenants of each unit, with half paid at the time of the eviction notice and the remainder when the unit is vacated. Low-income and disabled tenants, minors and renters age 60 or older will receive an additional $3,000.

Some community members urged the council to go further to protect renters and suggested that the city consider rent control, expand relocation assistance to complexes with just a handful of rental units and allow President Hotel tenants to stay until the new owner has all its necessary permits to redevelop the site.

One tenant said legal action is being considered.

“You’ve left us with no choice but to continue fighting and, if we have to, to take it to the courts,” Jeffrey Jones said.

Councilman Tom DuBois said the council’s action mirrors what other communities are doing to assist renters and discourage landlords from removing much of the city’s rental stock.

“Eviction without cause is probably a renter’s worst nightmare,” DuBois said. “This provides a disincentive to remove a large amount of housing from the community.”