Hayward Landlord-Tenant Rules

Rent control: Under the Residential Rent Stabilization and Tenant Protection Ordinance (RRSO), covered units may get one rent increase per 12 months of up to 5% of current rent. Unused increases since 2018 can be banked, but the annual plus banked increase may not exceed 10% of current rent. Increases above 5% need City approval through the rent review process (capital improvements, capped at half of costs and 10% of rent, or a fair-return increase). Covered units are generally in multi-unit properties built before July 1, 1979; about half of Hayward's rental units are covered. Changes to parking or other housing services count as rent increases.; Rent increase and eviction notices filed with the City: Landlords must send the Rent Review Office a copy of every rent increase notice and every termination notice (including the relocation-rights notice) within 30 calendar days of giving it to the tenant. If a required notice is not given, the landlord cannot impose the rent increase or use it as a basis for eviction or unpaid-rent claims. Tenants in covered units can petition, generally within 30 days of the notice, over increases above 5%, utility increases above 1% of rent, improper notices or reduced services. Petitions go to meet-and-confer, then voluntary mediation, then arbitration.; Just-cause eviction: A termination notice must state one of 16 just-cause reasons listed in the RRSO. This applies to nearly all rental units in Hayward, not only rent-controlled ones. If the notice does not state a reason, the tenant can use that as a defense to eviction. When an occupied property is sold, tenants with a rental agreement keep their right to stay through the lease term on the same terms.; Relocation assistance: Under the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance (effective January 17, 2025), a tenant evicted for a no-fault reason (owner or family move-in, demolition, or other no-fault reasons) must get either a payment equal to one month's rent, paid within 14 calendar days of the termination notice, or a waiver of the last month's rent. A no-fault termination notice without relocation assistance is void. Tenants displaced by substantial repairs get temporary relocation: three times the current HUD Fair Market Rent for Alameda County for the unit size if displaced 30 days or more, prorated by days if displaced fewer than 30 days, and a first right to move back. There is also assistance when a government agency orders a unit vacated.