Hearings, Mediations, and Appeals

The Rent Adjustment Program is a petition-based system for property owners and tenants. Tenants may petition to challenge certain rent increases and for a decrease in rent paid due to a loss in service. Property owners may petition for certain rent increases, exemption from the RAP for qualifying properties, or apply to remove a property from the rental market as allowed by the Ellis Act.

Please note that rent increases based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) are allowed and do not require a petition. Rent increases based on banking also are allowed. Banking includes any CPI-based rent increase that the property owner delays, which can be imposed at a later date.

Property owners who want to increase rent more than the CPI increase must submit a petition.

If you file online, you will receive an email confirmation. If you file by paper, you will receive a letter confirming receipt of your petition. Instructions on how to submit your petition electronically and on paper are listed in the Contact Us Section below.

Read the Rent Adjustment Ordinance.

After the property owner or tenant submits a petition, they can:

**Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Shelter-in-Place order, all in-person services have been cancelled. Please scroll down to the Contact Us Section to find out the best way to get in touch with us for form requests, information, and other resources.

• Access case information or add new information through the online portal if they have an account.
• Contact the Program Analyst assigned to their case to address any questions and concerns.
• Come to drop-in office hours in the Housing Resource Center on the 6th floor. There are no drop-in hours on Fridays. (**Cancelled Due to COVID-19)
• Review a case file online or in-person by appointment. (Please be advised that not all documentation is available online. Documents submitted in physical form will only be available by appointment in the Rent Adjustment Program office.) (**Cancelled Due to COVID-19)
• City staff will notify the property owner about the tenant's complain or the tenant about the property owner's petition.
• The notice will include a copy of the original petition.
• Property owners and tenants must file a response within 35 calendar days after the petition was mailed to you by the petitioner (30 days if delivered in-person).
• Tenants can pay the old rent if they file an eligible petition, unless the rent increase notice specifies the current allowable CPI plus the current allowable CPI increase.
• The property owner or tenant who filed the complaint will receive a copy of the response by mail.
• Property owners and tenants must submit any supporting documents no later than seven (7) calendar days before the scheduled hearing date.

There are multiple ways that RAP will make a decision about the petition. Mediations and formal hearings are addressed below along with the appeal process.

Mediation

RAP offers free mediation services(PDF, 304KB) to both tenants and property owners when they have disputes. This is a confidential and voluntary process. Mediation aims to help both parties to reach an agreement without a hearing. Often, this process resolves disputes more effectively rather than a formal hearing.

We offer two types of mediation services:

1. If you do not wish to file a petition and simply request mediation services, you may complete the request for mediation form(PDF, 50KB) and email it to hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov.
2. If a petition is filed, both parties must request mediation(PDF, 50KB) in order to schedule the meeting. The filer of the petition can also request mediation when initiating the petition process. The form must be emailed to hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov along with all other petition-related documents.

If the parties cannot agree in mediation, the case will go to a formal hearing before a Hearing Officer.

• Rent Adjustment Program Mediation Flyer (English)(PDF, 304KB)
• Rent Adjustment Program Mediation Flyer (Spanish)(PDF, 261KB)
• Rent Adjustment Program Mediation Flyer (Chinese)(PDF, 560KB)

Hearings

**Please note: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all hearings will be held electronically. RAP staff will be in contact with you via email to schedule hearings amongst other items.

Hearings are held in person and are presided over by an impartial RAP Hearing Officer at the Rent Adjustment Office. At the hearing, the parties can represent themselves or have a representative. A representative does not have to be an attorney. The parties may bring witnesses and documentary evidence to a hearing. All documents (including photographs and digital evidence) need to be produced to the RAP office seven (7) calendar days prior to the Hearing.

After everyone is signed into the hearing, the Hearing Officer will review the rules and process of the hearing and perform a roll call of everyone in attendance. Both parties will have time to present documents and arguments to the Hearing Officer. After each side presents, the other party will be able to ask them questions. When both parties finish presenting their side, each party will give a closing statement before the hearing ends. Please note that the Hearing Officer does not make a decision at the hearing.

After the hearing, the Hearing Officer will review the case and the evidence presented. The Hearing Officer will issue a Hearing Decision setting forth the allowable rent or new allowances and RAP will mail the decision to all parties.

All parties must follow the decision unless they decide to appeal.

Appeals

Upon receiving a Hearing Decision, either the property owner or the tenant may appeal the decision if they are not satisfied with the Hearing Officer's decision. The Appeal Form(PDF, 205KB) must be received within twenty (20) calendar days from the Proof of Service date noted on the last page of the Hearing Decision.* If the Rent Adjustment Office is closed on the last day to file, the appeal may be filed on the next business day. If the appeal is late, you must also submit an explanation with your Appeal Form. City Staff will decide whether to accept a late appeal or not.

When you file your appeal with RAP, you must also deliver a copy of it with any attachments to all other parties along with a Proof of Service form(PDF, 77KB).

You may refer to the Appeals Decision Index(PDF, 748KB) for case precedents.

Filing an appeal suspends the judgment of the initial hearing decision. Once the appeal is submitted, the assigned Hearing Officer, Program Analyst, and RAP Manager will review the appeal. Staff will only consider the information contained in the appeal and the records from the original hearing. If there is a clerical error, the Hearing Officer will issue a corrected decision. If a corrected decision is issued, the 20-day appeal period begins again.

If a corrected decision is not issued, an appeal hearing will be scheduled with the Housing Residential Rent and Relocation Board (the Board). All parties will receive notice of the scheduled hearing.** During the hearing, the Board will listen to the arguments of the parties. The Board will deliberate, vote and announce the decision at the meeting. Staff will draft a written appeal decision to present to the Board at its next meeting for approval. The appeal decision by the Hearing Officer will then become the final decision of the Rent Adjustment Program. The Board's written decision is the final decision by the City of Oakland. Parties cannot appeal to the City Council. However, within 90 days they may seek judicial review of the decision with the Superior Court.

*Please note that the Appeal Form must be completed and the explanation for filing the appeal must not exceed twenty-five (25) pages. We will not process incomplete appeals.

**Please note that if you filed the appeal and do not appear at the scheduled hearing, the Board will dismiss your case.

Other Important Information

Request to Change Rent Adjustment Hearing Date

If you are unable to attend the date of your hearing, appeal, or mediation meeting and need to reschedule, you must request to reschedule as soon as possible. You must complete the Request to Change Date of Proceeding(PDF, 34KB) and email it to the Hearings Unit at hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov.

Documentation verifying the reason for the request must be attached to this form. A postponement may only be granted for good cause shown and in the interests of justice. The agreement of the parties to a postponement is not good cause by itself. Only one postponement may be granted to a party unless the party shows extraordinary circumstances. The maximum postponement granted is usually 20 days. Before submitting this request, you must try to reach an agreement with the other party(ies) for a new date for the proceeding. If you provide two alternate hearing dates, the hearing will be set on one of the agreed dates, if the date is available on the hearing calendar. If it is not available, another date will be chosen.

Request to Dismiss Petition

The party who initiated the petition may dismiss their petition at any time. They must complete the Request to Dismiss Petition(PDF, 82KB) with the case number on it and email it to the hearingsunit@oaklandca.gov as soon as possible.

About

The Oakland City Council adopted the Rent Adjustment Program Ordinance (OMC Chapter 8.22) in 1980. This ordinance sets the maximum annual rent increase based on the annual CPI increase and handles rent adjustments for claims of decreases in housing services and handles other rent-related matters. The purpose of this program is to foster fair housing for a diverse population of renters and enforce the Rent Adjustment Ordinance set out by the City of Oakland.

By Phone

Phone: (510) 238-3721, Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm

Select Option 1 to speak to a Housing Counselor for any RAP or housing-related questions you might have. Topics can be, but are not limited to, tenant and property owner issues and concerns, Oakland rental housing laws, or how to file petitions or responses with RAP. Calls are generally limited to 10 minutes per person.

Select Option 2 to speak to a Rent Registration Unit staff member for any registration-related questions that you may have. Note: The Rent Registration Unit does not provide any housing counseling.

Per City policy, please allow us 72 hours to respond to your inquiry.

By Email

If you would prefer an email response, you can email us. The RAP strives to return all emails within a seventy-two-hour timeframe.

Contact a RAP Housing Counselor at RAP@oaklandca.gov. Please include in your email your full name, your telephone number, your rental unit address, and a brief description of the issue regarding which you are calling. Housing Counselors answer non-registration-related inquiries only.

Rent Registration Unit: If you have questions about the registration process, please contact the Rent Registration Unit staff at RentRegistry@oaklandca.gov. Note: Live Counseling Sessions [link to announcement w/ scheduled dates/times] on how to register your units on the rent registry portal are offered via Zoom. Rent Registration Unit staff only answers registration-related inquiries. Note: The Rent Registration Unit staff does not provide housing counseling.

Hearings Unit: If you have issues or questions relating to your pending case, you must contact your Case Analyst directly. If you do not know who your Case Analyst is, you can email HearingsUnit@oaklandca.gov to find that information, or you can look up your case information online.

Petition and Response Review/Filing: You have the option to schedule an appointment for review of your petition or response before filing. To schedule an appointment for review, email RAP@oaklandca.gov. If you do not want your petition or response reviewed and are ready to file, please submit your petition or response to HearingsUnit@oaklandca.gov.

Eviction Notices: You may file eviction notices online. Eviction notices may also be scanned and submitted via email to EvictionNotices@oaklandca.gov. If you like a stamped copy of your eviction notice, you must mail us two copies of the eviction notice and included a self-addressed, stamped envelope. We do not provide confirmation of receipt for online or email submissions of eviction notices.

By Mail

Rent Adjustment Program
250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 5313
Oakland, CA 94612

Due to the Shelter-in-Place Order, we are no longer accepting in-person petition and related materials. All new petitions and petition-related documents can be submitted by mail to the address above.

Ellis Act Cases

All documents for Ellis Act cases must be mailed to:

Rent Adjustment Program
250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 5313
Oakland, CA 94612

Find more information on Ellis Act cases.

Online Petition Filing

We also offer an online portal where you can fill out and submit your petitions and all petition-related forms.

Request a Form

General forms can be found on our website, find property owner forms and tenant forms. If you cannot find the RAP form that you are looking for, you can email the Rent Adjustment Program at RAP@oaklandca.gov to obtain it.

Request a Document/Public Records Request (PRR)

To request documents related to a case, you can make a Public Records Request (PRR) online. Please note that all PRRs are public information. You can look up certain information related to cases through the RAP database.

Join the Email List

If you would like to receive emails about upcoming events or updates from the Rent Adjustment Program, please sign up! Please use the link below to add your name and email to our list for future updates.

Join the RAP email list!