The Alameda Rent Ordinance prevents landlords from terminating a tenancy except
for certain allowable grounds and requires a relocation payment in circumstances that are not the fault of the tenant.
Amounts for these relocation payments were established by city council resolution and are adjusted annually based on a component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculated
by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Permanent Relocation Payments
As of July 1, 2023, the Permanent Relocation Payment amounts will increase
to the following, based on the size of the rental unit:
- Studio: $6,298
- 1 bedroom: $7,073
- 2 bedrooms: $8,171
- 3 bedrooms: $10,260
- 4+ bedrooms: $11,990
Qualified Tenant Households
Tenant households that include someone age 62 or older, who has a disability,
or who has a child younger than 18 receive a larger payment. Permanent
Relocation Payment amounts for these Qualified Tenant Households will
increase to the following:
- Studio: $8,138
- 1 bedroom: $9,304
- 2 bedrooms: $10,918
- 3 bedrooms: $14,083
- 4+ bedrooms: $16,679
Any tenant whose tenancy is permanently terminated based on owner move-in, demolition, capital improvement plan, withdrawal of the rental unit from the rental market, or compliance with a governmental order is entitled to a relocation payment.
Temporary Relocation Payments
In addition, tenants who are temporarily displaced from their unit through no fault of their own may be owed temporary relocation payments until they are able to return. These amounts are similarly adjusted annually.
As of July 1, 2023, the per diem payment amounts were updated to the following:
- Hotel or Motel: $240 per day per household
- Meal Expenses: $70 per day per person
- Laundry: $1 per day per household
- Pets – Dog: $71 per day per animal
- Pets – Cat: $38 per day per animal
Adjustment Calculations
Resolution 15602 established the current system for calculating relocation payments that are owed to a tenant following a permanent or temporary termination of tenancy. The resolution states that the amounts shall be adjusted annually for inflation by the percentage change in the rent of the primary residence component of the CPI-W Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area. For the 12-month period ending April 2023, the change in this CPI component was 4.9 percent.
For more information on how and when relocation payments are due, see the Rent Program FAQs at www.alamedaca.gov.