Facts: An owner of a multi-unit residential property conducts extensive repairs to the units which were originally military housing not available to the public. Upon completion of the repairs to make the units habitable, the owner receives the first certificate of occupancy ever issued for the property. The owner sets rent without regard to local rent control ordinances based on an exception for residential units which receive their first certificate of occupancy after a set date.
Claim: The city seeks to make the owner of the housing units compliant with rent control ordinances, claiming the property is not exempt since it existed as housing prior to the date set by application of the ordinances.
Counterclaim: The owner claims the property is exempt since the certificate of occupancy was issued after the date specified by the ordinances for the exemption. Further, since the property was previously available only to military personnel and their families, it was not publicly available housing and thus the property qualifies as an addition to the housing stock.
Holding: A California appeals court holds the property is not exempt from local rent control ordinances despite lacking a certificate of occupancy prior to the cut-off date since the property was previously set aside for residential use and thus does not count as an addition to the residential housing supply. [CP VI Admirals Cove, LLC v. City of Alameda (2025) 113 CA5th 1167]
CP VI Admirals Cove, LLC v. City of Alameda
Related RCDs
Does issuance of a conditional use permit change a property’s occupancy?
Related Reading
Real Estate Property Management Chapter 45: Rent increases and CPI
Letter to the editor: Does California have statewide rent control?
