Mountain View Rental Housing Committee Meeting - April 23, 2026
Mountain View Rental Housing Committee Meeting - April 23, 2026
The Rental Housing Committee held a regular meeting on April 23, 2026, to discuss the recommended budgets for the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (CSFRA) and Mobile Home Rent Stabilization Ordinance (MHRSO) for fiscal year 2026-27, adopt the annual general adjustment (AGA) of rents, and elect a new chair and vice chair. The committee also heard public comments and received updates on workshops and the one-time utility adjustment petition process.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously the consent calendar, including the minutes from the February 26, 2026 meeting.
Public Comments & Testimony
- David Tang, a Mountain View resident of 10 years, expressed concerns about the low rate of petition resolutions. He noted that out of 613 tenant contacts with the division, only 44 became petitions, and 21 reached resolution (approximately 3%). He highlighted the case of 620 Alamo Court where the landlord offered $73/month for loss of amenities but the hearing officer found a reduction of $352/month, nearly five times higher. He urged the committee to investigate the "missing data" of complaints that never become petitions.
- During the budget item, a member of the public asked staff why petitions declined in the past year and what the average cost per petition is. Staff did not have the data available at the meeting.
- During the AGA item, a member of the public asked about the definition of "substantial compliance" and noted that the burden remains on the tenant to file a petition. Another speaker expressed concern about affordability for new tenants moving into the city.
Discussion Items
Fiscal Year 2026-27 Recommended Budgets
- Staff presented the draft budgets for the CSFRA and MHRSO programs. For CSFRA, recommended revenues of $2.062 million (up $192,000 from FY 2025-26) and expenditures of $2.6 million (up $1,108; the specific increase may be a transcription error). The estimated actuals for FY 2025-26 show revenues of $1.84 million and expenditures of $2.11 million, with savings from lower hearing officer costs and salary vacancies. The recommended annual fee for CSFRA is $142 per unit ($11.92/month), an increase from prior years as the beginning balance is declining. For MHRSO, recommended revenues of $225,300 and expenditures of $281,000, with a proposed annual fee of $140 per year ($11.83/month), the same as last year, subsidized by $50,000 from the city general fund to achieve a 50% fee reduction.
- Committee Member Bulch asked about the difference between the adopted budget and actuals, and staff explained it was due to reduced hearing officer services. Member also questioned the 16% increase in city administration costs, which staff attributed to a five-year rolling average of actual expenditures, including past staffing increases for registration and fee collection. Vice Chair Cox asked about hearing officer compensation updates and capital outlay for database improvements. Staff confirmed the COLA was applied and that further database features are pending staffing availability.
- Committee Member Brown expressed support for the budget, noting that the initial higher fees allowed a reserve that has now been drawn down, and the current fee is still lower than the initial fee.
Adoption of Annual General Adjustment (AGA) for 2026-27
- Staff recommended setting the CSFRA AGA at 2.5% and the MHRSO AGA at 1.5%, effective September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027. The calculations are based on the CPI-U for the San Francisco area, with a floor of 2% and ceiling of 5% for CSFRA, and no floor and ceiling of 3% for MHRSO. The committee adopted the resolution unanimously.
Election of Chair and Vice Chair
- Member Brown nominated Vice Chair Robert Cox for Chair and Member Statsop for Vice Chair. Both accepted, and the motion passed unanimously. The new terms begin May 2026.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the consent calendar (unanimous).
- Reviewed and provided feedback on the FY 2026-27 budgets; the budgets will be formally adopted at the next meeting.
- Adopted the resolution for the annual general adjustment of rents: 2.5% for CSFRA and 1.5% for MHRSO (unanimous).
- Elected Robert Cox as Chair and Member Statsop as Vice Chair for the term May 2026 to April 2027 (unanimous).
- Heard a staff update on the one-time utility adjustment petitions: 85% of properties have submitted petitions; 65% of properties do not use RUBS; 5% of petitions are completed, 5% in process, and 10% in queue. No appeals are currently in process.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. Welcome to the April 23rd, 2026 Rental Housing Committee regular meeting. This meeting will be called to order at 6 p.m. I'll proceed with roll call. All members are present with the exception of member Keating, who is absent. We'll move on to item three, consent calendar. These items will be approved by one motion unless any member of the committee wishes to remove an item for discussion. The purpose of the consent calendar is for the committee to efficiently and quickly consider routine or administrative business items with one motion. Public comment occur after the discussion. We invite you to split a speaker card now. If you'd like to speak on this item during public comment, would any member of the committee like to pull an item? Seeing none. I now invite public comments on the consent calendar. In person public comments will be called to speak first. Any member of the public wishing to provide a virtual comment on this item, please click the raise hand button on Zoom or press star not on your phone. I do not see any member of the public wishing to comment on the consent calendar. I'll bring it back to uh committee action. Uh I see a motion made by Vice Chair Cox. Yes, uh I move that we approve the consent calendar, including 3.1 minutes for the February 26, 2026 RHC meeting. Second. And that's seconded by member Brown. Any other discussion on the motion? Seeing none, we'll move on to a vote. Motion passes unanimously. We will now open the meeting for oral communications from the public. This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to dish the committee on any matter that is not on the agenda. Speakers are allowed to speak on any topic for up to three minutes during this section. State law prohibits the committee from acting on non-agenda items. If you would like to speak on this item in person, please submit a speaker card to city staff now. In person comments we call to speak first. If you are online, please click the raise hand button on Zoom or press start on your phone. David Ting. Yes. Can you hear me? Okay, all right. Uh good evening, uh, Chairma and uh Bias Cox and members of the committee. Uh my name is David Tang. I've lived in uh Mountain View for 10 years at in a CSFRA protected uh home. And uh before that I was uh uh Section 8 landlord. Uh the just cause protections in this ordinance have mattered to my family in 21 and 23. The division staff uh pointed us to those protections, and uh those protections held, and we're very grateful. Um tonight I just wanted to point to a pattern regarding the division's data, and perhaps it's uh I hope it could be helpful. Uh the September 25, 2025 annual update reports that last year, tenants contacted the division 613 times. Of those contacts, 44 became filed petitions. 21 reached a resolution through hearing or settlement. That means out of 613 concerns, only 21 reached resolution, about 3%. Uh the cases that do get filed are becoming more complex. That seems to be the trend. In uh 2021, 2022, 13% petitions raised multiple issues. By 24-25, it was 68%.
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