Oakland phases out pandemic-related eviction moratoriums

The City of Oakland Police Station at 455 7th Street in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (Keith Burbank/Bay City News)

by: Bay City News

Posted: Apr 26, 2023 / 05:07 AM PDT

Updated: Apr 26, 2023 / 05:08 AM PDT

(BCN) — Oakland’s City Council has voted to phase out the city’s pandemic-related moratorium on evictions and rent increases over the next 15 months.

After more than four hours of discussion at its meeting Tuesday night, the council voted to wind down its restrictions on evictions and late fees for renters on July 15, 2023.

The council also voted to end the city’s moratorium on rent increases above the consumer price index on July 1, 2024.

The council adopted its restrictions on eviction in March 2020 in an effort to prevent homelessness, ensure residents could comply with the shelter-in-place orders in effect at that time and avoid punishing residents who lost income due to the pandemic.

While some cities and counties in the Bay Area tied their phase outs of pandemic-related eviction protections to the end of the state’s COVID-19 state of emergency, the policy as proposed by Council members Nikki Fortunato Bas and Dan Kalb will allow the city to help tenants and property owners transition out from under the moratoria.