Sixth Annual Fair Housing Conference - City of Alameda - April 20, 2026

The City of Alameda hosted its sixth annual Fair Housing Conference on April 20, 2026, organized by the City Attorney's Office. The conference included welcoming remarks from the California Attorney General (via video), Mayor Ezie Ashcraft, and City Attorney Ivan Shen. Expert panelists covered topics including eviction trends, federal fair housing enforcement under the Trump administration, immigrant tenant protections, the use of AI in tenant screening, utility billing via RUBS, and recent California Court of Appeal decisions on rent control. The event also introduced the city's new victim services advocate and announced grant funding for tenant-landlord legal clinics.

Public Comments & Testimony

• A property manager asked how to handle ICE officers arriving at a property, noting the difference between administrative and judicial warrants. Panelists advised consulting legal counsel and developing an organizational policy, and noted that administrative warrants lack judicial approval.
• Another attendee raised the issue of landlords still refusing to accept Section 8 vouchers, despite source of income being a protected class since 2020. The city attorney's office encouraged reporting such cases to investigator Rico.
• A tenant expressed concern about affordable housing policies that disadvantage single-person households, including pet restrictions and lack of a second income. Panelists noted that gender was added to fair housing protections in 1974 and referenced California's Unruh Civil Rights Act as a potential tool.
• An attendee asked about disparate impact: whether a policy like a no-eviction history rule requires proof of intent. Gary Rhodes explained that disparate impact does not require intent, only that a facially neutral policy has a discriminatory effect on a protected class.
• Another attendee asked about RUBS: whether installing individual meters qualifies under a capital improvement plan (CIP) or fair return petition. Ryan Halpern confirmed both are possible but case-specific.

Discussion Items

• City Attorney Ivan Shen welcomed attendees, highlighted the city's proactive rent control and tenant protection work, and announced a precedent-setting Court of Appeal decision affirming that former military housing is subject to rent control (Carmel Partners v. City of Alameda). He also shared that the rent program will receive grant funding to launch clinic-level services for tenants and landlords, and that program costs have been kept to an average CPI increase of 3.6% since 2022, with no additional fees despite expanded services.
• Mayor Ezie Ashcraft spoke about the need for housing production, preservation, and renter protection, and the importance of tenant protections in preventing homelessness. She referenced her role on regional bodies and the passage of Alameda's rental protections in 2016.
• Mark Janowitz (East Bay Community Law Center) reported eviction trends in Alameda County: eviction court has at least 50 cases per week, numbers have declined from post-moratorium peaks but remain above pre-pandemic levels. Most evictions are for non-payment of rent, with landlords bearing the burden to prove the lawful amount owed. He also described the network of free legal services (East Bay Community Law Center, Bay Area Legal Aid, Centro Legal, etc.) but noted that resources are insufficient, handling about 500 intake calls per month.
• Gary Rhodes (fair housing attorney) discussed the erosion of federal fair housing enforcement under the Trump administration, including staff cuts at HUD, proposed gutting of the disparate impact rule, and the rise of algorithmic tenant screening that can perpetuate historical discrimination. He contrasted the situation in California, which retains strong state and local protections, with states like Missouri where such infrastructure is lacking. He also shared the story of Diane, a black tenant in Kansas City whose housing instability illustrates the cascading effects of discrimination and eviction.
• Leah Simon-Weisberg (California Center for Movement Legal Services) covered protections under the Immigrant Tenant Protection Act (ITPA), which prohibits landlords from inquiring about immigration status, disclosing that information, threatening to call ICE, or allowing ICE to enter a unit without a judicial warrant. She described a lawsuit filed in Oakland against a landlord who harassed Latino tenants with threats about immigration status. She emphasized that all tenants, regardless of status, have the same rights under California law, and that education and community support are critical.
• Ryan Halpern (Rent Program) presented on RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing System), a method for splitting shared utility bills among tenants. He outlined three policy options under consideration: 1) stronger disclosure and dispute rules; 2) a partial ban on new tenancies; 3) a full ban on RUBS for regulated units, requiring utilities to be folded into rent. A community survey is open to gather input before potential city council action before summer 2026.
• Bill Chapin (Rent Program Director) analyzed two recent Court of Appeal decisions. The first (from Pasadena) held that large rent increases on units exempt from local rent control (e.g., single-family homes, condos, buildings less than 15 years old) are not considered constructive evictions, thus removing relocation payment requirements. The second (the Alameda case) confirmed that former military housing renovated and re-rented is subject to rent control, overturning a lower court ruling. He noted that 13% of Alameda's rental units (about 2,000 households) are not covered by local or state rent caps, though state law requires 90 days' notice for rent increases over 10%.
• Val Sendel was introduced as the city's first victim services advocate, funded by a state grant and council support, to assist victims of crime with court accompaniment, restraining orders, and resource referrals.

Key Outcomes

• The Court of Appeal's decision in Carmel Partners v. City of Alameda is now a published precedent that former military housing is subject to rent control. The rent program is working to ensure refunds for affected tenants.
• The rent program will launch a new legal clinic service for tenants and landlords within the next year, funded by a state grant and program savings.
• A community survey on RUBS regulation is open; staff will draft ordinance language and aim to bring a proposal to city council before summer 2026.
• The city council has allocated funding for victim services, which will be partially offset by a state grant.
• Panelists urged attendees to submit comments on a proposed HUD rule that would deny rental assistance to households with undocumented immigrants (comment deadline the next day) and to enforce existing laws such as source of income discrimination.