Rental Housing May 2015

Rental

Housing EAST BAY RENTAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION | MAY 2015

Cleaner & Greener

Free Assistance Available for New Zero Waste Services Launching July 1 in Oakland

PLUS: A TAILORED APPROACH TO SOLAR ENERGY AND HOT WATER EFFECTIVELY ENACTING NONSMOKING POLICIES

Contents

East Bay Rental Housing Association

MAY 2015

Volume XII, Number 5 May 2015 EBRHA OFFICE

Features & Columns

3664 Grand Ave., Suite B Oakland, CA 94610 tel 510.893.9873 | fax 510.893.2906 www.ebrha.com EBRHA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jill Broadhurst | jbroadhurst@ebrha.com DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

Tina Bocheff | tbocheff@ebrha.com PUBLICATIONS & COMMUNICATION PRODUCER

Esteban Cortez | ecortez@ebrha.com ACCOUNTING MANAGER

Cathy Hayden | chayden@ebrha.com EDUCATION & MEMBER MANAGER

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The Race to Zero Waste

Cleaner & Greener

BY JENNIFER ROBERTS

BY SEAN MAHER & KAREN STERN

Tori Blanca | tblanca@ebrha.com EBRHA OFFICERS PRESIDENT Wayne C. Rowland VICE PRESIDENT Luke Blacklidge VICE PRESIDENT Jack Schwartz TREASURER Abbe Sultan SECRETARY Fred Morse MEMBER Rick Philips EBRHA DIRECTORS

Mark Almeida, Symon Chang, Reggie Hairston, Carmen Madden, Conor Murphy, Michael Pallas, Rick Philips, Sarah Picker, Judy Shaw, , Menna Tesfatsion

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PUBLISHED BY

East Bay Rental Housing Association PUBLISHER

A Tailored Approach to Solar

Wayne C. Rowland MANAGING EDITOR Jill Broadhurst EDITOR Tina Bocheff

BY MARTIN MOREHOUSE

ART DIRECTOR & COPY EDITOR Esteban Cortez ADVERTISING

Tina Bocheff | 510.318.8303

6

NEWS

EBRHA Offices Have Moved to a Larger, More Convenient Location

8

COURT TALK

BY CLIFFORD FRIED

Ownership Challenged

26

FEATURE

BY KARIS INGRAM

Helping Residents Save Energy

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32

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

BY GREG BROWN

Congress’s Great Awakening

34

ESQ&A

BY LEON ROUNTREE III

Going Smoke-free

Events & Directory 36 COMMUNITY CALENDAR 38 M EMBER DIRECTORY 42 M EMBERSHIP APPLICATION 42 A D INDEX

ebrha.com

Rental Housing (ISSN 1930-2002-Periodicals Postage Paid at Oakland, California. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RENTAL HOUSING, 360 22nd Street, Suite 240, Oakland, CA 94612.

Rental Housing is published monthly for $36 per year by the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA), 360 22nd Street, Suite 240, Oakland, CA 94612.

Rental Housing is not responsible for the return or loss of submissions or artwork. The magazine does not consider unsolicited articles. The opinions expressed in any signed article in Rental Housing are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of EBRHA or Rental Housing.

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If legal service or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent person should be sought. Acceptance of an advertisement by this magazine does not necessarily constitute any endorsement or recommendation by EBRHA, express or implied, of the advertiser or any goods or services offered.

Published monthly, Rental Housing is distributed to the entire membership of EBRHA. The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced without permission. Publisher disclaims any liability for published articles. Printed by Jostens Printing Co. Copyright © 2015 by EBRHA. All rights reserved.

COVER PHOTO: FLICKR USER SZCZEL

Features & Columns

Starting July 1, 2015, Oakland Multifamily Buildings With Five Units or More Will Have Food Scraps Collection and More!

Look for Your New Green Compost Cart to Arrive in June!* Oakland Recycles—a partnership between the City of Oakland, California Waste Solutions and Waste Management of Alameda County, Inc.—is here to help residents and multifamily property managers recycle right. Zero Waste services arriving July 1 include:

• Green Compost Cart for Collection of Food Scraps, Food-Soiled Paper and Plant Trimmings

• Free On-Site Service Levels Assessment • Free Kitchen Pails for Residents While Supplies Last • Free How-To Recycling Information for Residents and Owners/Managers

www.OaklandRecycles.com

• Annual Bulky Item Pickup for Residents • Free Bulky Item and Electronics Drop-Off Events Four Times a Year for All Residents

• Other Additional Pickup Services for a Cleaner, Greener Oakland

Request Your Free On-Site Service Levels Assessment and Resident Recycling Materials Today!

Visit ebrha.com/zerowaste * Minimum Cart Delivery is one 32-gallon cart for buildings with 5 to 12 units and one 64-gallon cart for buildings with 13 units or more. Additional compost carts are available at no additional charge.

contributors KARIS INGRAM Karis Ingram is a Project Manager at Build It Green, a nonprofit based in Oakland that works to increase awareness and adoption of green building practices. She manages the professional training and certification programs throughout California. She works with Energy Upgrade California to increase the awareness of the program as a resource of information about energy management and savings.

SEAN MAHER Sean Maher is the City of Oakland’s Zero Waste Outreach Program Manager and a former reporter for the Oakland Tribune. A Bay Area native, he fell in love with Oakland for its natural beauty and engaged, passionate communities.

He is a member of the Oakland Recycles team, which is launching the City’s new Zero Waste collection services on July 1, 2015.

MARTIN MOREHOUSE Martin Morehouse is a 10 year veteran of the solar thermal department at Sun Light & Power, the East Bay’s oldest and well respected installer of solar water heating and PV systems.

A NABCEP certified solar heating installer, he also teaches classes on code compliance at PG&E and is an AIA certified instructor for architect presentations. He comes to the solar industry from a background in sculpture and most weekends he can be found tinkering and rebuilding his home/studio in Oakland.

ONLINE TENANT SCREENING

To Schedule an Appointment, Call (510) 893-9873 EBRHA provides members with low-cost online resident screening.

Partnered with Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC), resident screening has one objective: to make sure your leasing decisions make the greatest possible contribution to your bottom line. As of 2014, landlords can collect a maximum of $45.16 for an application fee.

MEMBER PRICING Basic Report* . . . . . . . . . . . $15 Bad Check Search. . . . . . . . $10 Social Security Search. . . . . $7

JENNIFER ROBERTS Jennifer Roberts is the author of Good Green Homes and other books about green building design. She has written good green articles for publications including Dwell, the Financial Times, Body + Soul, and This Old House. She lives in San Francisco and the Sacramento Valley, and likes to milk goats and ride motorcycles, although not at the same time.

KAREN STERN Karen Stern is excited to be a part of the Oakland Recycles team. She has been helping businesses, residents and community groups recycle since the California “Bottle Bill” passed in 1986. With the advent of food scraps collection, a kitchen pail displaced her disposal and WM EarthCare compost became a staple of her garden—it’s never looked better!

Criminal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10 Criminal (County) . . . . . . . . $10 Verbal and Fax Reports . . . . . . . Add $20

*Includes TransUnion credit report, FICO score and eviction history

East Bay Rental Housing Association TEL

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510.893.9873 | FAX 510.893.2906 www.ebrha.com

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COLUMN

news EBMUD: More Cutbacks Needed & Potential New Rates Because of dismal rain levels and melted snowpack, EBMUD has

EBRHA’s new office space at 3664 Grand Ave. in Oakland.

EBRHA Offices Have Moved to a Larger, More Convenient Location AS OF MAY 1, EBRHA’S OFFICES HAVE MOVED TO 3664 GRAND AVE.,

just five blocks east of the Grand Lake Theater. Our new office space is modern, spacious and conducive to the growing number of members, types of services and education we offer. “Finding the right space for EBRHA has been a couple of years in the making,” EBRHA’s Executive Director Jill Broadhurst said. “The EBRHA team is excited to re-plant our office in an area of Oakland that is centrally located and accessible by a few different means. We of course love being close to so many in the real estate community and the convenient food options are a great addition!” Metered and free parking is plentiful, and this location is easily accessed by car from both the Grand Avenue and Oakland Avenue exits off of highway 580. By bus, AC Transit Line #12 stops directly in front of our building, and the #12 bus serves both the Lake Merritt and 19th Street BART stations. “We look forward to seeing everyone at our new space and hope that our members are patient with us as we get everything up and running.”

SUITE B,

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declared a Stage 4 critical drought and adopted new water use rules that affect all customers. According to EBMUD, the following mandatory outdoor watering rules now in effect: 1) Strict limits on frequency: no more than two non-consecutive days per week with no runoff; 2) Strict limits on times: only before 9 a.m. or after 6 p.m.; 3) Strict prohibitions on watering after rainstorms: no watering allowed within 48 hours of measurable rainfall; 4) Use only hoses with shutoff nozzles to wash vehicles; 5) Use a broom or air blower, not water, to clean hard surfaces such as driveways and sidewalks, except as needed for health and safety purposes; 6) Turn off fountains or decorative water features unless the water is recirculated.

EBMUD says that more conservation is needed and asks that East Bay residents continue to look for ways to conserve and check regularly for leaks, such as silent leaks which are common and use a lot of water. An average EBMUD customer uses 55 gallons per person per day inside the home. An efficient customer uses 45 gallons per day inside.

EBMUD is asking its customers to strive for 35 gallons per person per day indoors and follow the mandatory outdoor use rules. EBMUD customers can go to www. ebmud.com/savelikeapro to try an online water calculator to see where they stack up. Conservation alone is not enough.

EBMUD is delivering nearly 11 billion gallons of extra water supplies through its federal dry-year water contract— about a two-month supply to fill local reservoirs. EBMUD will continue looking for more water supplies to buy and deliver through the Freeport facility on the Sacramento River. New drought rates.

Because of the drought, EBMUD’s Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on June 9 and then consider adopting new rates. Planned rate increases would fund ongoing services and investments in EBMUD’s aging infrastructure. A temporary Stage 4 drought surcharge

of up to 25% and monies from budget savings will pay for extra water supplies EBMUD buys, additional conservation services and enforcement of water use restrictions. If approved, the new rates and the drought surcharge would take effect July 1. The drought surcharge would apply to customers’ flow charge until further notice. The average household using 10 units per month (246 gallons per day) would see their bill increase by $11.65 starting July 1 if temporary drought surcharges and the proposed regular rate increase are approved. Rebates for Submeters.

EBMUD offers rebates for the installation of submeters. EBMUD offers $250 per submeter installed in apartments and other family housing in which the resident does not own the property. For condominiums and/or trailer parks where the resident owns his/her lot, EBMUD offers $150 per submeter installation.

Customers can find out more about EBMUD’s rebates at www.ebmud.com/ rebates.

A city like no other deserves a multifamily lender like no other.

Lo w F e es | G r eAT rAT es | s T r e A m L i n ed P ro Cess

Richmond Fails to Pass Moratorium on Rent Increases The City of Richmond failed to pass

a moratorium on rent increases at its Tuesday, April 21 council meeting.

According to a Bay Area News Group article, the Council was expected to pass a 45-day emergency moratorium on all rent increases, which would pave the way for an eventual vote on rent control.

But City Attorney Bruce Goodmiller advised the council it needed six votes to pass the emergency resolution a day before the vote. At least four Richmond council members support a rent control ordinance, but Mayor Tom Butt and Councilman Nat Bates oppose the measure. Councilman Vinay Pimplé remains undecided. EBRHA will continue to follow the issue and send updates as they become available.

Source: Karina Ioffee, Bay Area News Group, 04/21/2015, http:// www.mercurynews.com/my-town/ ci_27962982/richmond-council-failspass-rent-increase-moratorium. RH

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COLUMN

court talk

Ownership Challenged A summary of recent court decisions affecting residential rental property owners. BY CLIFFORD FRIED Martin-Bragg v. Moore Occasionally, a landlord is evicting a tenant at the same time the tenant is suing the landlord. The issue for the courts is whether or not the unlawful detainer action should be consolidated with tenant lawsuit. Consolidation is undesirable for the landlord because it will delay the eviction.

In Martin-Bragg v. Moore, the landlord filed an unlawful detainer action against the tenant based upon nonpayment of rent in the amount of $50,068.

On June 20, 2011 Moore answered the action challenging the Martin-Bragg’s ownership of the property and on June 22, 2011, Moore filed a quiet title action.

In both the answer to the unlawful detainer action and in the affirmative lawsuit, Moore claimed that he and Martin-Bragg had been long-time domestic partners and that the property was rightfully owned by Moore. Title to the property had been transferred to Martin-Bragg in trust as part of a business deal and not for Martin-Bragg’s personal use or benefit.

Moore filed motions to have the two lawsuits consolidated which were denied by the trial court. The unlawful detainer action was tried and judgment was entered for Martin-Bragg giving her possession of the property, damages of $112,772 plus costs and attorney fees.

The court found that Moore occupied the property under a written agreement and that he never paid the required rent.

Moore filed an appeal claiming that the trial court’s refusal to consolidate the unlawful detainer action with his pending action for title to the property 8 RENTAL HOUSING

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to disregard Moore’s legitimate need for, and right to, time to prepare and obtain discovery in advance of trial. The Court of Appeal ruled that the title issue was real and complex and should not have been tried in the unlawful detainer action.

This decision adds to the confusion resulting from conflicting cases on this subject. It isn’t exactly clear when a title issue is real or fabricated, complex or simple. This case will likely open the door to delays in recovering possession whenever the tenant challenges ownership of the rental property. This is especially true in post-foreclosure evictions where the borrower frequently challenges the validity of the trustee’s sale and title.

resulted in improper and prejudicial determination of complex and compliBanuelos v. LA Investment cated property ownership issues in the In this case, the Court of Appeals held unlawful detainer action. that a tenant’s complaint for retaliatory The Court of Appeals agreed with eviction under Civil Code Sec. 1942.5 Moore. In unlawful detainer proceedwas valid and not barred by the litigation ings, the only triable issue is the right privilege of Civil Code Sec. 47(b). to possession along with incidental The landlord filed an unlawful damages resulting from the unlawful detainer action against Banuelos. A jury detention. Litigants are denied cerreturned a verdict in favor of Banuelos. tain procedural rights in an unlawful Banuelos sued the landlord for statudetainer action in order to prevent the tory and common law retaliation. The frustration of the summary proceedlandlord successfully demurred and the ing by the introduction of delays and unlawful detainer action was dismissed. extraneous issues. Ordinarily, issues Tenant Banuelos filed an appeal. respecting title to the property cannot Civil Code Section 1942.5 makes it be adjudicated in the unlawful detainer unlawful for a landlord to bring an action action. against a tenant to recover possession of A trial court has the power to conproperty for the purpose of retaliating solidate an unlawful detainer action against the tenant because he or she has with another action where title to the lawfully and peaceably exercised rights property is in issue. A successful claim under the law. Banuelos alleged that the of title by a tenant would defeat the landlord attempted to evict him because landlord’s right to possession. he complained to the City of Carson Or, a trial court may stay the eviction about the landlord’s unlawful acts and proceeding until the title issue is decided omissions. in the other action. If the court does The Court of Appeals held that the neither, and the issue of title is tried in tenant’s complaint stated a cause of the unlawful detainer action, there is a action under Sec. 1942.5 because Banudanger that the parties’ right to a full elos’s right to complain to the City about trial of the issue of title may be unfairly the landlord’s alleged wrongful acts and expedited and limited. to file a lawsuit are both The Court of Appeals “This decision adds protected under the law. said that the trial court to the confusion On the other hand, wrongfully insisted upon resulting from conthe Court said that a summary trial of the Banuelos cannot state parties’ dispute as to title, flicting cases on a common law cause without the discovery and this subject. It isn’t exactly clear when a of action for retaliapreparation that the law title issue is real or tory eviction because affords for ordinary civil fabricated, complex that kind of claim only actions. The trial court or simple.” applies to landlord condid not have discretion

duct that causes the tenant to involuntarily vacate the premises.

The landlord had argued that the litigation privilege barred a claim for retaliation. The landlord maintained that the litigation privilege of Sec. 47(b) trumps a retaliatory eviction claim under Sec. 1942.5. There are several court decisions that seem to say that a landlord cannot be sued for filing or losing an eviction lawsuit based on the litigation privilege.

The Court of Appeal noted that despite the broad scope of the litigation privilege, the Legislature is free to create exceptions. It also noted that the Legislature did not intend for the enforcement of a statute to be barred by the litigation privilege when the statute is more specific than the privilege and would be significantly and wholly inoperable if the enforcement were barred when in conflict with the privilege.

The Court held that the right of tenants to be free from evictions brought by landlords because the tenant lawfully and peaceably exercised their rights under Sec. 1942.5 would be significantly and wholly inoperable if its enforcement were barred. The Court said that the Legislature presumably would not have included the protections of Sec. 1942.5 if it intended that they be nullified by the litigation privilege.

It is important to note that this decision is contrary to two other recent Court of Appeals decisions holding that the litigation privilege bars a tenant from suing a landlord, under Sec. 1942.5, for a retaliatory action to recover possession.

See Feldman v. 1100 Park Lane and Wallace v. McCubbin.

So which Court of Appeals decision controls? Well, Banuelos was decided by the Second Appellate District down in Los Angeles while Feldman and Wallace were decided by the First Appellate District in San Francisco. Trial courts in Alameda County are likely to follow Feldman and Wallace. It is possible that the Legislature will clarify the issue by amending the law in the near future. RH

The information contained in this article is general in nature. Consult the advice of an attorney for any specific problem. Clifford Fried is an attorney with Fried & Williams LLP and can be reached at (510) 625-0100 or cfried@ friedwilliams.com

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS Services Offered by the Alameda County Healthy Homes Department D ATE & TIME

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TUESDAY, MAY 5; 2:00 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.

Dale Hagen, Healthy Homes Department Members: Free; Non-members: $69 Lead Safety, On-site Lead and Healthy Housing Consultations, Healthy Housing Principles, And More

Don’t Let Your Investment Go Up In Smoke D ATE & TIME

SPEAKER

PRICE

TOPICS

THURSDAY, MAY 7; 2:00 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.

Serena Chen, American Lung Association Members: Free; Non-members: $69 Tips for Conversion to Non-smoking, Sample Leases, Letters to Tenants, Improving Compliance, Resources

Legal Issues Affecting Short-term Rentals D ATE & TIME

SPEAKER

PRICE

TOPICS

TUESDAY, MAY 12; 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.

Steve Williams, Fried and Williams LLP Members: $39; Non-Members: $69 Short-term Rentals in the Bay Area, Airbnb, the Eviction Process, Serving Notices

The Eviction & Tenant Protection Ordinance D ATE & TIME

SPEAKER

PRICE

TOPICS

TUESDAY, MAY 19; 6:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

Michael Shepherd, The Shepherd Law Group Members: $39; Non-members: $69 An Overview of Measure EE and the Oakland Tenant Protection Ordinance

Section 8 Overview D ATE & TIME TUESDAY, MAY 26; 2:00 P.M. - 3:30 P.M.

SPEAKER Michelle Hasan, Director of Leased Housing, Oakland Housing

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Authority and Teela Carpenter, Housing Assistance Manager, Oakland Housing Authority Members: Free; Non-members: $69 Housing Assistance Payment Contract, Rent Increases, Measure EE, Lease Termination vs Program Participation.

Online Registration at ebrha.com Sign up, pay registration fees and receive reminders online.

NEW ADDRESS! All workshops are held at our new office: EBRHA Education Center 3664 Grand Ave., Ste B Oakland

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FEATURE

10 RENTAL HOUSING | MAY 2015 PHOTO: FLICKR USER SZCZEL

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Cleaner & Greener Oakland’s new waste services arriving July 1

BY SEAN MAHER & KAREN STERN

A

n exciting new package of Zero Waste services is launching in Oakland on July 1, 2015, including a new food scraps collection program for apartments and condos. This program will provide a green compost cart at all multifamily properties with five units or more to collect residents’ food scraps, food-soiled paper and plant debris. It is one of many initiatives under the City’s new Zero Waste program, which tailors trash, recycle and compost collection services to reduce material sent to our landfills.

Thousands of Oakland residents at 480 multifamily buildings -- like the California Hotel -- already participate in the green cart composting program, where trailblazing property owners have shown leadership implementing the programs in advance of county regulations and deadlines that began rolling out in July 2014. These new requirements fall under Phase 2 of the Alameda County Mandatory Recycling Ordinance – a set of regulations that belong on every local property manager’s checklist (we’ve provided a link at the end of this article).

Beginning in July, all Oakland residents will receive trash and compost service from Waste Management of Alameda County and recycling service from California Waste Solutions. Both companies are part of Oakland Recycles, the City’s Zero Waste program working to divert as much waste as possible away from our landfills and into more sustainable uses. A recent study by StopWaste, Alameda County’s solid waste authority, found multifamily buildings’ trash containers contained on average 28% compostable materials. In Oakland this represents roughly 6,240 tons per year of wasted material that could be diverted to compost. Solving this problem will help reduce the production of harmful methane gas, and provide moisture-retaining soil additives to help gardeners and farmers conserve water dur-

ing an historic California draught.

The new compost service will be the biggest change for most multifamily customers. Waste Management will be delivering new green compost carts to Oakland’s 3500 multifamily buildings throughout the month of June, and is helping lead an outreach campaign to provide information to property managers and residents.

“We are excited to extend our successful compost collection service to multifamily properties,” said Rebecca Parnes, Oakland Contract Manager for Waste Management. “We have assembled an amazing team of community and business leaders and sustainability consultants to assist multifamily property owners, managers and residents in making food scraps recycling second nature.”

Expert Guidance

Under Oakland’s new services, Waste Management is providing compost assistance to multifamily property owners and managers across Oakland. They’ve hired Cascadia Consulting to coordinate site visits, door-to-door training and delivery of resident tool kits from May through December 2015.

Property owners or managers can request site visits, resident kitchen pails, recycling brochures and trash enclosure posters either online at EBRHA.com/zerowaste or by calling Cascadia at 510-613-2888. In addition, EBRHA is working with Oakland Recycles to plan workshops) to help property owners and managers explore the new Zero Waste multifamily services. EBRHA will also provide ongoing updates in its magazine and on its website.

Introducing the new compost routine to California Hotel residents was easy, said property manager Roseshawn Black, of the East Bay Asian Local Development Corp.

(EBALDC), which owns and manages the building. Many ebrha.com

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It is essential that residents place the correct material in each cart to allow this program to achieve what it’s designed to accomplish for Oakland.

Each compost cart lid features images of what belongs in the cart and what to keep out, along with the word “Compost” in English, Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese. The lid is the last line of defense to keep out contaminants that can harm workers and damage the environment.

To make sure the right things go in the compost, recycling and trash containers, The Oakland Recycles outreach effort will begin in the home with a door-hanger (pictured) recycling brochure that includes all three service carts and images of what belongs and doesn’t belong in each cart. Property managers can also request free kitchen food scrap pails for their residents. The pails include images of food scraps, food-soiled paper products and plant debris to remind residents how to compost effectively. Oaklanders are committed to recycling, and clear information is what our residents really need to recycle right.

To help foster the connection between food scraps collection and the creation of nourishing compost and a healthier environment, Waste Management and Oakland Recycles will hold compost giveaway events in the coming months. Waste Management creates WM EarthCareTM Homegrown Compost for organic farming from Oakland as well as other Alameda County residents’ compostable materials. Oakland residents will receive one cubic foot of bagged Homegrown Compost while supplies last.

For event details visit ebrha.com/zerowaste and the OaklandRecycles.com website.

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of the building’s residents are long-term tenants and all are low income.

“Incorporating food scraps collection was a simple two-step process,” Black said. “First, StopWaste staff conducted a site visit to assess the volume of compostables in our trash and calculated the size trash and compost containers we’d need. Then they attended a resident meeting to educate residents and staff alike about how to recycle right. Oakland Recycles provided our residents a kitchen pail for food scraps collection and easyto-follow tips for using it.”

“By the time Waste Management delivered the recommended carts and we’d hung the poster showing images of what goes into the trash, recycle and compost carts, we were ready to go!”

Waste Management will oversee the delivery of green compost carts to every Oakland multifamily property with five units or more. Buildings with five to 12 units will receive one 32-gallon compost cart and buildings with 13 or more units will receive one 64-gallon cart. Buildings with fewer than five units already have access to compost service, and customers can call Waste Management now for any questions or to request help. Additional green compost carts may be requested and will be serviced at no additional charge. While this work is going on, Oakland Recycles, Cascadia and others will be focused on a greater challenge: how to engage residents in making use of this service.

The outreach effort also has support from government partners and community groups. StopWaste, City Slicker Farms and Asian Immigrant Advocates are among the partners helping reach the community with tips and techniques for recycling food scraps in anticipation of Oakland’s participation in required compost service.

“These are great partnerships,” said StopWaste program manager Judi Ettlinger. “They have helped us reach a wide audience including many lowincome residents and non-English speakers with the ‘How-to’sfor food scrap recycling.”

Closing the Loop

Residents of the California Hotel know first hand the link between food scraps

PHOTO: HEATHER E. SMITH

Recycling Right

composting and a healthier environment.

“I love bringing my kitchen scraps down to the garden. It helps the garden,” said Collette Walker, a California Hotel resident. “They give to us and we give back.”

Oakland’s residential food scraps and yard trimmings return to the community as compost for city, school and community gardens as well as residential and commercial landscape projects. The California Hotel boasts a 9,000 square foot garden where residents grow vegetables with the help of the People’s Grocery and donated compost.

“Some of the residents are really invested in this food scrap recycling program,” said Heather Smith, the hotel’s Urban Agriculture Program Coordinator.

“They want to make a positive contribution to the environment. Some participate because we offered prizes, but once they see the results in the form of good useable fertilizer for our plants, they get even more excited.”

With Oakland’s new Zero Waste compost service, every multifamily resident will have the opportunity to help create a cleaner and greener community. They will even have access to donated compost for their plants during Oakland Recycle’s compost giveaway events (see sidebar).

Next Steps

Your green compost cart will arrive in June, but there are many other resources available to you right now. Go online to request assistance or call Cascadia or one of the other organizations listed for tenant outreach. You’ll find information on how you can contact any one of these organizations alongside this article.

Your early engagement will increase the chances of a successful compost collection service and the long-term reduction of material in the trash and our landfill. Together we’ll make Oakland a greener, cleaner community. RH

Sean Maher, City of Oakland Zero Waste Outreach Program Manager, and Karen Stern, Waste Management of Alameda County Communications Manager, are members of the Oakland Recycles team responsible for the launch of the new Zero Waste collection services on July 1, 2015. They can be reached at kstern2@wm.com or smaher@oaklandnet.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Annual Green Membership Meeting DATE/TIME SATURDAY, MAY 9; 10:00 A.M. - NOON TOPIC n Oakland Recycles Team on Food Scraps Collection Service

n Michelle Fay of StopWaste on Zero Waste Goal and Hazardous Waste Disposal

n Martin Morehouse of Sun Light and Power on Solar Energy and Solar Hot Water

n Karis Ingram of Build It Green on Energy Upgrade CA

All sessions moderated by Dan Antonioli, EBRHA Green

Committee Chair and Green building contractor

Members Only

DETAILS

EBRHA Office Closed D ATE & TIME MONDAY, MAY 25

Baseball Night: A’s vs. Yankees DATE/TIME

LOCATION

THURSDAY, MAY 28; TAILGATE—5:00 P.M.; GAME—7:00 P.M.

Tailgate—Coliseum Parking Lot Game—Oakland Coliseum

Deposit of $15 per ticket is refunded upon arrival at tailgate.

DETAILS

EBRHA members can reserve a maximum of two tickets.

Seating is limited! Reserve tickets today! Send your deposit

to: EBRHA, Attention: Game Night, 3664 Grand Ave., Suite B,

Oakland, CA 94610. See ad on page 23 for more info.

VS.

Online Registration at ebrha.com Sign up, pay registration fees and receive reminders online.

NEW ADDRESS! All workshops are held at our new office: EBRHA Education Center 3664 Grand Ave., Ste B Oakland

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FEATURE

14 RENTAL HOUSING | MAY 2015 | ebrha.com Benchmark Service staff measuring the contents of garbage containers

PHOTO COURTESY OF STOPWASTE

The Race to Zero Waste Ample resources make recycling in mutifamily properties easier than ever. BY JENNIFER ROBERTS

W

hen it comes to recycling, the Lake Wobegon effect may be alive and well in the East Bay. Taking its name from Garrison Keillor’s fictional Minnesotan town, where “all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average,” the Lake Wobegon effect refers to a tendency people have to overestimate their own abilities and qualities relative to others.

According to surveys by StopWaste, a public agency that works to reduce waste in Alameda County, East Bay residents think they are doing a great job of recycling. But is that rosy picture a reflection of reality, or are people succumbing to the Lake Wobegon effect when it comes to reporting on their recycling habits?

Crunching the Data on Waste

To get hard numbers on the state of recycling, in 2013 StopWaste launched the Benchmark Service, a data collection and analysis effort that’s funded by a small fee levied on garbage accounts in Alameda County. As part of this effort to dig into the data, StopWaste sends out teams of workers to conduct random, anonymous measurements of what’s inside residential and commercial garbage containers.

In a nutshell, here’s what they found: Some people really are doing an admirable job of keeping recyclables and compostables out of the trash. But most people aren’t doing nearly as well as they may think.

In fact, the Benchmark Report released in January 2015 revealed that countywide, 45% of the contents (by weight) in single-family residential garbage containers could have been recycled or composted.

Multifamily properties aren’t performing any better — on average, 46% of their “garbage” isn’t garbage at all. It’s junk mail, jam jars, soup cans, soda bottles and other easily recyclable items that could have been used to make new products. And it’s table scraps, fruit and vegetable trimmings, pizza boxes, paper towels and other compostables that have the potential to be transformed into a nutrient-rich soil amendment for local farms.

The Good Stuff

With nearly half the contents of garbage containers not actually garbage, there’s more work to ebrha.com

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2006 calls for a 90% reduction in waste sent to the landfill by 2020. Sticklers for accuracy may prefer the term “near zero waste.”

“Whether you call it zero waste or near zero, reducing discards to the landfill by 90% or more will be cause for celebration,” Mr. Padia said.

But how low can the East Bay really go in five years? The encouraging news is that recycling has come a long way since 1990, when Alameda County voters approved the Alameda County Waste Reduction and Recycling Act — better known as Measure D. Back then, only 14% of discarded materials were diverted from the county’s landfills.

Today, with recyclables collection service available at all single-family homes and most apartment buildings and businesses, and with compostables collection fast becoming the norm, getting down to near zero waste by 2020 isn’t out of reach.

To get that low, consistency is the key. “We need to keep good stuff out of the garbage — and keep garbage out of the recycling and green containers — all the time, not just some of the time,” Mr. Padia said. “It needs to become second nature.”

“Today, with recyclables collection service available at all single-family homes and most apartment buildings and businesses, and with compostables collection fast becoming the norm, getting down to near zero waste by 2020 isn’t out of reach.” be done to reach the ambitious waste reduction goals set by local communities. StopWaste’s target for Alameda County as a whole is that by 2020, less than 10% of what winds up in landfills will be readily recyclable or compostable.

Or as Tom Padia, StopWaste’s Director of Source Reduction and Recycling, puts it, the goal is “less than 10% good stuff in the garbage by 2020.”

“That isn’t a pie in the sky goal,” said Mr. Padia, who has more than 30 years of experience in the recycling and waste management field. “When we measured the contents of garbage containers at single-family homes, we found that residents of some cities are already doing a fantastic job of keeping recyclables out of the garbage.”

StopWaste’s Benchmark research found that in 2014, five communities — the cities of Alameda, Emeryville and Piedmont as well as unincorporated areas of the county served by the Oro Loma and Castro Valley Sanitary Districts — had already achieved an average of 5% or less recyclables in the garbage containers of single-family homes.

In some cities, however, StopWaste found as much as 11% recyclables in the garbage. There is also more work to be done on the compostables side, with single-family residential garbage bins containing anywhere from 35% to 43% table scraps, food-soiled paper and other compostables. Curbside collection of compostables is a relatively new service, so for some residents it’s not yet an ingrained habit, said Mr. Padia.

For apartment buildings, city-by-city data isn’t available, but countywide, the Benchmark Service reported an average of 18% recyclables and 28% compostables in the garbage containers of multifamily buildings.

How Low Can We Go?

While StopWaste’s goal applies to the whole county, some cities have set their own recycling goals. The City of Berkeley is aiming for zero waste by 2020, which it defines as all discarded material recycled, composted or reused rather than sent to the landfill. Zero waste is something of a buzzword these days, and although the concept seems clear, in practice zero doesn’t always mean zero. In Oakland, a Zero Waste Strategic Plan adopted in 16 RENTAL HOUSING

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Boosting the Local Economy

Recycling has historically been pigeonholed as an environmental issue, with benefits ranging from resource conservation and pollution prevention to reduction in energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. Gary Wolff, StopWaste’s Executive Director, doesn’t downplay the environmental reasons to recycle but he’s passionate about giving equal time to the economic arguments.

“Local property owners, employers and residents need to know that every year, Alameda County residents and businesses dump about $70 million of readily recyclable and compostable items in the garbage,” said Dr. Wolff, an engineer with a Master’s Degree from Stanford and a Ph.D. in Resource Economics from UC Berkeley.

That waste of resources represents a lost opportunity to inject extra income into the local economy.

“Recycling has a ripple effect,” Dr. Wolff said. “More recycling activity means that recycling and composting facilities can buy more equipment and hire more workers. More money in workers’ pockets means more spending locally on everything from A’s tickets to groceries and housing.”

Dr. Wolff points to economic studies that describe a multiplier effect: every $1 added to the local economy creates two times more economic activity. “Sending $70 million of recyclables and compostables to the landfill each year is like depriving our local economy of $140 million or more,” he said.

Property owners and business people who aren’t moved by the environmental arguments for improving their facility’s recycling rates might just be motivated by the economic case.

Recycling Rules for Apartment Buildings

Today, most apartment buildings in the East Bay provide

PHOTO COURTESY OF STOPWASTE

recycling collection service for their tenants. In fact, since 2012, mandatory recycling has been state law for multifamily properties with five or more units.

Local governments have flexibility in how they implement this law. In Alameda County, a local ordinance that covers the entire county except Dublin and part of the Oro Loma Sanitary District requires landlords to provide containers and service of sufficient number, size and frequency to handle the amount of recyclable materials produced at the property.

Landlords are not responsible for making sure that their tenants actually sort their recyclables from the trash, but they do have to make recycling service available and convenient. To encourage residential tenants to do a better job of sorting, landlords can let them know about StopWaste’s Ready Set Recycle website (ReadySetRecycle.org), which has recycling information, tips and videos.

Owners of apartment buildings with fewer than five units are encouraged but not required to provide recycling collection service.

“Our research shows that local residents believe recycling is important,” said Mr. Padia. “It makes sense for owners of all multifamily properties, regardless of size, to make it easy for their tenants to recycle. It’s a simple way to cultivate tenant satisfaction and retention.”

Starting in July 2014, many East Bay cities have also begun requiring apartment buildings with five or more units to provide collection service for organics — the waste industry’s term for food scraps and compostable paper. Berkeley started requiring organics collection at apartment buildings with five or more units as of July 1, 2014, while Oakland’s new organics collection services kick in on July 1, 2015 (see article on page 11).

By now, there has been extensive outreach to apartment building owners and property managers, and most are already in compliance with the rules for recycling, and where applicable, organics collection. If a landlord has questions about compliance or wants help improving a property’s recycling program, Mr. Padia recommends calling the local garbage and recycling service provider. The hauler can explain the requirements, and

Case Study THE JOHN STEWART COMPANY FINDS THAT GREEN O&M REDUCES WASTE, SAVES MONEY

The John Stewart Company, whose management portfolio contains over 350 properties in California, received a StopWaste Business Efficiency award in 2013 for Excellence in Multifamily Property Management.

To quantify the costs and benefits of going green, the company compared utility bills at three Alameda County properties where they had instituted comprehensive green operations and maintenance practices with three similarly sized and located properties without the same level of commitment to green practices.

Two of the green properties were located in the city of Alameda—Shinsei Gardens, a LEED Platinum certified building with 39 apartments and the 63-unit Breakers at Bayport. The third, Fox Courts, is an 80-unit development in Oakland. All three properties were developed and are owned by Berkeley-based Resources for Community Development.

The company found significant savings at the green properties, with garbage costs 31% lower, and water and sewer costs 26% and 71% lower, respectively. Electricity expenses were 61% lower, while gas bills were 21% lower.

“We are committed to maintaining safe work places for employees and healthy communities for residents,” said Jack Gardner, the company’s President and CEO. “And we are dedicated to green operations through staff training, resident outreach and training, and continued analysis of best practices and opportunities for cost savings.”

As part of this commitment, a number of The John Stewart Company’s staff have attended the Multifamily Green Property Management Training sponsored by StopWaste. The next training takes place in Emeryville on May 18 to 21, 2015. Find out more at MultifamilyGreen.org/training. RH

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hensive information about mandatory recycling for businesses and multifamily properties in Alameda County, as well as free support materials such as posters and customizable flyers for notifying tenants about recycling and organics collection.

At Carriage House Apartments, a gated community in Fremont with 123 rental units, management worked closely

Recycling Help at Your Disposal

MANDATORY RECYCLING RULES FOR MULTIFAMILY PROPERTY OWNERS: • Alameda County: RecyclingRulesAC.org • Unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County: cccounty.us/depart/cd/ recycle/mcr.htm • Incorporated areas of Contra Costa County: Check your local city’s website RECYCLING TIPS FOR RESIDENTS: • Alameda County: ReadySetRecycle.org • Contra Costa County: cccounty.us/4911/Recycling RECYCLEWHERE? ONLINE SEARCH TOOL: • RecycleWhere.org HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL: • Alameda County: StopWaste.org/hhw or (800) 606-6606 • Contra Costa County: (800) 750-4096

18 RENTAL HOUSING

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with the waste service provider’s recycling representative to improve their recycling program. They replaced the site’s recycling carts with larger bins to increase capacity and used flyers, posters and signs to explain recycling procedures and encourage residents to recycle more.

As a result, the development more than doubled their recycling volume, reducing garbage by 312 cubic yards per year and saving over $4,500 annually. These efforts earned Carriage House Apartments a StopWaste Business Efficiency Award in 2014 for Waste Reduction at a Multifamily Property.

How to Recycle Everything Else

The mandatory recycling requirements apply to everyday recyclables and compostables such as cans, bottles, paper, food scraps and yard debris. But getting to near zero waste will require tackling all branches of the waste stream, including debris from apartment renovation activities as well as furniture and other bulky items left behind when tenants move out.

To help rental property owners, businesses and residents appropriately dispose of these items, Contra Costa County, StopWaste and other Bay Area local government agencies jointly fund an online search tool called RecycleWhere?

(RecycleWhere.org), which provides recycling, reuse and proper disposal options for everything from batteries, TVs and couches to drywall, wood scraps and broken appliances.

There is even a free service for residential property owners to safely dispose of their tenant’s household hazardous waste, such as paints, household and garden pesticides, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and adhesives. For information, Alameda County rental property owners can go to StopWaste.org/hhw or call (800) 6066606. Contra Costa County landlords should call (800) 750-4096.

With all of these services available, keeping good stuff out of the garbage is getting easier by the day. RH

Jennifer Roberts is the author of Good Green Homes and other books about green building design. She can be reached at jennifer@ jenniferroberts.com

PHOTO: FLICKR / ROGER PRICE

“provide free assistance to make sure you have the right number and size containers, that they are placed so that residents and the hauler’s trucks have easy access to them, and that the pickup frequency makes sense for your building’s situation,” he said.

StopWaste has also set up a website, RecyclingRulesAC.org, with compre-

BOTANIST. SWIM COACH. PICKLE EATER. RENTER. APARTMENTS. WE LIVE HERE. Everybody talks about how the population is

and skilled trades, as well as all the local businesses

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processors, and cello players who call apartments home.

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apartments a year to meet this exciting demand, visit

jobs in construction, operations, leasing, management,

WeAreApartments.org.

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FEATURE

20 RENTAL HOUSING

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PHOTO: FLICKR / PIETER MORLION

A TAILORED APPROACH

TO SOLAR Work with your solar installer to provide the renewable energy benefits that best fit your goals. BY MARTIN MOREHOUSE

A

major component of greening your rental property is including on-site renewable energy production.

Photovoltaic (PV) systems and solar water heaters follow your energy efficiency projects to reduce your electric and natural gas bills. Like most construction projects, solarizing a building is not a one-size-fits all activity.

It requires a tailored approach guided by expected net financial returns for each technology, as well as an understanding of the variety of sophisticated financial tools available in the marketplace.

Solar Electricity (PV), now a major component in the mainstream real estate marketplace, is essentially a miniature electrical power plant that offsets some, or all, of the electric usage on the property. When exposed to direct sunlight, the panels generate electricity that is then used by the building and potentially even exported to the electrical grid (your utility).

Costs In California, most solar power systems back feed the grid through what is called a Net Energy Metering agreement. Net Metering requires the utilities to pay for exported power at retail rates up to 100% of total usage on the annual electric energy bill. This makes the size of the PV system, and the subsequent value of its offset, dependent upon usage and the retail rate of electricity at the site. The installed cost of a solar investment is currently assuaged by a solar federal investment tax credit (ITC) that pays 30% of the total cost. The solar installation can also qualify for an accelerated five-year Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS) depreciation schedule. This tax credit is scheduled to decrease from 30% to 10% at the beginning of 2017. This pending decrease is set

to drive a frenzy of activity in the sale and installation of solar equipment.

Solar Water Heating Solar water heating, because of significant state rebates, is re-emerging as a popular investment choice for apartment owners. The basic technology involved in solar water heating systems is very simple: it’s a direct transfer of the sun’s energy into usable heat. The typical solar water heating system is used to pre-heat cold water supply before it enters the hot water heater. Whatever heat the solar system contributes is essentially gas not burned by the water heater, resulting in savings on the property’s gas bill. Because there aren’t cost effective ways to provide long term storage of the solar heat gained in the summer to use in the winter, the solar water heating system is typically sized to provide a maximum of 70% of the hot water consumed at the property.

Much of the upfront costs of a solar water heating system can be offset by existing state rebates, the 30% ITC and the MACRS depreciation. The California Solar Initiative–Thermal (CSI-T) rebate program pays an upfront incentive that is based on the expected annual offset of the system. In January 2015, the incentive rate was increased to $20.19/therm offset, which means it will now pay for 30% to 50% of the upfront installed cost. When added to the tax benefits (ITC) and depreciation, the financial returns for a solar water heating installation is quite impressive.

A Tailored Solution When asked to evaluate both solar PV and solar water heating options for an apartment complex, I strive to tailor a soluebrha.com

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delivers the electricity to all the units. The alternative to master metering is sub-metering of the unit level utilities. Sub-metering is typical in newer buildings and is required today in new construction. In most cases, the building owner is still responsible for the common area loads, often called the house or common meter. The bills associated with this house meter can vary widely and will depend on what it is powering. The usage of a property with hallway lights, underground parking and a pool will have a much larger load than a property with townhomes and only low level landscape lighting and irrigation controls on the house meter.

While current standard practice is to sub-meter tenants’ electric usage, it is still very common to have master gas meters with a central water heater supplying their hot water. In cases where there is a central water heater and a sub-metered electric usage, the most cost-effective course of action is often maximizing the solar water heating system, and if there is room, add as much PV that can be useful.

It is possible (and legal) to increase the overall size of the PV system beyond what will offset the common meter and share the PV power with the tenants. Some owners see this as an opportunity to be an electricity provider for their tenants in addition to being a landlord. The process to share the PV system with tenants requires a significant amount of utility paperwork and it may require that leases are modified to include provisions accommodating the power generation.

“WITH THE VARIETY OF CHOICES AVAILABLE, ASKING FOR A TAILORED APPROACH FROM YOUR SOLAR INSTALLER AND PROJECT FINANCIER WILL PROVIDE THE RENEWABLE ENERGY BENEFITS THAT BEST FIT YOUR GOALS.” tion that provides the best overall benefits given the available financial resources and site constraints. In October of last year, I got a call from the property manager of a 100 unit building in Oakland. He received a bill insert mailer from PG&E promoting the solar water heating rebate program and was curious to see the benefits of going solar at his site. I met with the property manager and performed a detailed site evaluation to gather information about the technological feasibility of adding solar to his site.

The prospects for the solar water heating system looked great, the building had plenty of nice open roof space, room for a large storage tank in the garage, and simple pipe runs to the roof. Solar water heating is very efficient and the largest sized system for the site would not take up all of the available roof space. So I looked at his electric service just in case he might have the budget for adding some PV in the future. There was only one master meter at the site, which means that the tenants didn’t pay their own electric bill but instead, the property owner was responsible for payment. I was curious to see how the bills would look and asked for the annual breakdown of his gas and electric bills.

When I received copies of his electric bills, I was shocked. It turns out that this building was on a PG&E tiered rate schedule, in which the majority of his electric costs were from usage in the highest tier. Because of the high usage at his facility, he was paying upwards of $.34/kWh, over double what is typical. I quickly ran some numbers on the solar thermal with a small PV option and the combined return on investment was really high.

The PV savings alone were so high that I re-ran the numbers with PV covering the entire roof and the long term savings were even better.

It turned out the roof space was much better utilized to offset his expensive high tiered electricity even with the robust rebates helping to pay for the majority of the solar water heater’s upfront cost. After showing him lifetime savings of both options, it was clear that the best path forward was to maximize the PV system and exclude solar water heating.

Sub-metering The unique value proposition in the above example was influenced by the metering decision made when the building was built to only provide a master meter—a single meter that 22 RENTAL HOUSING

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Making the Investment Once the best combination of solar options is determined, there arises the next question: what is the best means to make the investment? With the significant growth of the solar market over the past decade, along with the reliable returns that can be achieved from a solar investment, a variety of financing opportunities have cropped up over the last few years that are designed to provide a solar installation without the initial investment of personal capital. Just like choosing the right kind of solar system, a financing solution can be tailored to fit your specific needs.

As with most investments, using available operating capital often has the highest returns and savings. Keep in mind that when using available cash, solar financing allows access to terms that are not available for other property improvements. Utilizing the flexibility of the solar investment structure can leave capital available for other investments or improvements.

The simplest form of financing is a standard on-balancesheet loan, secured by the rental property itself through a line of credit, or through a designated solar loan or capital lease. The solar system is owned by the property holder and they receive all the associated benefits of the system, including the tax credits, depreciation write-offs and all savings from energy generation. They are also ultimately responsible for the operation and maintenance of the system. Some solar specific loan products can have longer terms, making a net-cash-flow-positive invest-

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ment possible.

Solar leases are available and are modeled after an operating lease which is considered off-balance-sheet financing and is most often used when the property holder doesn’t have the tax liability, or wants to preserve borrowing capability for other investments. The equipment is not technically owned by the property owner and the tax credits typically go to the investor.

In some cases, the property owner usually is still responsible for operation and maintenance of the system.

Another method of financing a solar project is through a service contract where a third party owns and operates the solar equipment, and charges a fee for the energy produced. This type of financing is essentially a shared savings plan and is most commonly referred to as a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). While this type of financing is very popular with large PV systems, a lot of the solar water heating systems installed in the 80s were financed in a similar manner. Under the current tax rules, a PPA agreement is

Solar Water Heating Systems GRAPHIC COURTESY OF SUN LIGHT & POWER

heated water returns to tank

differential controller turns on pump when sun is out

circulator pump drives water through solar collectors

pre-heated water to hot water heater

hot water to faucet

cold water from main feeds into solar storage during the day heat builds in solar storage tank for home use

The basic technology involved in solar water heating system is very simple: it’s a direct transfer of the sun’s energy into usable heat. The typical solar water heating system is used to pre-heat cold water supply before it enters the hot water heater. Whatever heat the solar system contributes is essentially gas not burned by the water heater, resulting in savings on the property’s gas bill. RH 24 RENTAL HOUSING

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often the only option for nonprofits interested in taking advantage of the 30% tax credit.

PACE Financing One of the most significant financing options that also pairs well with energy efficiency improvements is called PACE financing (Property Assessed Clean Energy). PACE financing is essentially a long term loan funded through the local property tax assessment. For credit purposes, PACE financing is considered off balance sheet. For all tax benefits, it works like a standard loan in which the property owner claims the tax credit, depreciation and loan interest deductions.

One unique added benefit of the PACE loan’s attachment to the property tax is that it provides a clear path of transferring the loan to another owner.

Define Your Goals When asking for financing proposals it is important to be clear about what your overall goals are. For one investor, a cash flow positive position is going to be more important than a rapid path to ownership. For another, having off-balance sheet liabilities may be more important than reaping the most benefit from the tax credit. In all cases, once you have chosen your best option that fits your goals, it is critical that the tax assumptions and terms are reviewed with your accountant and attorney.

With the variety of choices available, asking for a tailored approach from your solar installer and project financier will provide the renewable energy benefits that best fit your goals. Compounding the low cost of PV, tax credits and financing flexibility with the high rebates for solar water heating and increasing costs of energy, the next 18 months are perhaps the best time in history to install solar on multifamily housing. The fantastic feature about this moment in time, is that doing the wise choice from an investment perspective is also a great benefit for your tenants, the community and the environment as a whole. RH Martin Morehouse is a 10 year veteran of the solar thermal department at Sun Light & Power, an East Bay installer of solar water heating and PV systems. He can be reached at 510-809-3686 or martin@sunlightandpower.com.

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FEATURE

26 RENTAL HOUSING | MAY 2015 | ebrha.com PHOTO: FLICKR / OUR EVERYDAY EARTH - GREEN BLOG

HELPING RESIDENTS

SAVE ENERGY Energy Upgrade California offers important green tips. BY KARIS INGRAM

I

n his inaugural speech earlier this year, Governor Jerry Brown announced a clean energy goal for California to achieve 50% of our electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Governor Brown also proposed plans to double the amount of efficiency achieved in existing buildings (increasing the existing goal by about 50%). Our state is already a leader in producing renewable energy and we’re on track to have 33% renewable energy supply our grid by 2020. Boosting this goal to 50% renewables and increasing energy efficiency in buildings helps the Golden State combat climate change and transition to a clean energy economy.

Development of Energy Upgrade California To reach this audacious goal, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recognized that they must engage Californians as “partners in the state’s energy efficiency, demand-side management and clean energy efforts.” The CPUC worked with the investor-owned utilities, other program administrators, and vendors to develop energy efficiency programs and measures to transform technology markets within California.

In 2001, the Flex Your Power (FYP) campaign was created to encourage consumers to reduce demand on the grid. Later, FYP was extended to also include energy efficiency, though some industry professionals were concerned about the association of the word “power” to electricity and related inability of the name to adequately address natural gas savings.

After evaluating the Flex Your Power programs impact and success in 2008, the CPUC determined that a new campaign was needed—one that would more holistically encompass the various demand-side management program offerings now available to Californians. This marked the end of FYP as the statewide campaign, although Flex Alerts currently remain the state’s platform for broadcasting urgent calls for demand response when system peak nears maximum capacity. In October 2010, Engage 360 was launched as the state’s comprehensive demand-side management brand. Engage 360 was designed to create a movement around energy management as a lifestyle, and ebrha.com

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RENTAL HOUSING 27

the brand employed a slow-build strategy, aiming to attract influencers and develop a grassroots feel before ramping up media exposure in its second year.

Just a few months later in March 2011, the CPUC launched the nation’s largest home performance program, Energy Upgrade California, which was developed under the California Energy Commission’s leadership to address both residential and commercial comprehensive energy improvements.

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Connecting Information to Action The goal of the Energy Upgrade California program is to be a source for information, tools and programs to efficiently manage energy, save money and make every room in your home more comfortable–one step at a time. As property owners, the value of your property can significantly increase by implementing energy efficiency practices, which reduces operating expenses and greatly appeals today’s more green-oriented consumers.

As a way to reach California residents, the Energy Upgrade California program has developed a robust website that is a one-stop resource for energy saving tips, ranging from selecting energy-efficient products and changing your daily routine to save energy, to getting a home energy upgrade. A useful feature on the website is the Rebate and Incentive finder which helps consumers locate rebates that are available in their area on energy saving appliances, utility bill assistance programs such as the California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program and the Energy Savings Assistance Program, and home energy upgrade rebates. For more information, visit www.energyupgradeca.org.

California Climate Credit During the months of April and October, the electricity bills of millions of Californians includes a credit identified as the “California Climate Credit.” The Climate Credit is a payment to Californians from a program designed to fight climate change by limiting the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that our largest industries put into the atmosphere.

This program is one of many devel-

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Free Multifamily Sustainability Trends Webinar Series

ENERGY MANAGEMENT IN MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS May 7 | 2 - 3 pm Learn about the state of energy efficiency in multifamily properties, including the business case for energy efficiency, how benchmarking can impact decision making, financing and incentive programs, and how to do audits, retro commissioning, and retrofits.

MULTIFAMILY PASSIVE HOUSE: BUILDING A “RENEWABLE READY” CALIFORNIA May 12 | 1 - 2 pm Find out about cost-optimized, high-performance homes that meet the “Passive House standard” and how this can be achieved throughout California with minimal additional effort and cost.

WATER CONSERVATION IN MULTIFAMILY BUILDINGS May 26 | 1 - 2 pm Delve into a variety of water conservation approaches, including resident and staff education, graywater use, drought-tolerant plant species, and retrofitting existing irrigation and plumbing fixtures.

PART 2 | CORNERSTONE CONCEPTS FOR QUALITY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT May 28 | 1 - 1:30 pm Part 2 of this 3-part webcast on the evolution of property ownership and property management will focus on management training, landscaping, and how innovation begins in our 24-hour cities and spreads outward.

PART 3 | CORNERSTONE CONCEPTS FOR QUALITY PROPERTY MANAGEMENT June 18 | 1 - 1:30 pm The final installment of this series will explore the importance of relationships, the expansion of the “other income” category, and rising commodity costs.

EBRHA members can register for the free webinars at bit.ly/1OcSj57

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oped as a result of landmark legislation called the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which puts California at the forefront of efforts to battle climate change. The Climate Credit will aid in reducing greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat in the atmosphere – helping to clean the air and protect our food, water, and public health, as well as the beauty of our state.

The Climate Credit is designed to help you join with California in its efforts to fight climate change and clean the air.

You can use the savings on your electricity bills however you choose, but you can save even more money by investing the bill savings in energy-saving home upgrades.

California’s greenhouse gas reduction programs provide a range of powerful solutions to help slow climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing society. By gradually reducing emissions each year and moving to cleaner forms of energy, we are taking an important step to preserve the health and prosperity of our state for generations to come.

Who is Build It Green?

Build It Green is a membership-supported Bay Area nonprofit established in 2005.

The organization works with building and real estate professionals, public utilities, local and state governments, and homeowners to increase awareness and adoption of green building practices.

Build It Green developed GreenPoint Rated, a third party green home certification that is one of the most trusted home rating system in California. In 2014, they surpassed 26,000 certified homes, with 17,000 more in the pipeline, collaborating with builders, raters, contractors and local governments to make GreenPoint Rated a smooth-running program. Education remains an integral part of Build It Green’s work and mission. Build It Green is also an ambassador of the Energy Upgrade California program. RH

Karis Ingram is a Project Manager at Build It Green and manages the professional training and certification programs throughout California. She can be reached at kingram@ builditgreen.org.

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COLUMN

government affairs

requiring income verification every three years instead of annually for voucher holders who are on fixed incomes.

Miraculously, this bill has the support of both property owners and tenant activists and we hope that an equally quick path can be found in the Senate.

In the Senate, the “Energy Efficiency Improvement Act” (also known as “Tenant Star”) passed the Senate by voice vote at the very end of a marathon debate on the federal budget and immediately before the chamber adjourned for the spring break recess. This legislation directs the EPA to create an incentive similar to its Energy Star program for use by tenants in commercial real estate.

This marks the first time the issue of split incentives in energy efficiency between Legislative updates from NAA’s Senior Vice building owners and tenants has been addressed.

President of Government Affairs. BY GREG BROWN The 2015 NAA Capitol Conference also took place this past month and the standard for doctors – and it appears apartment industry once again showed its the Senate will follow suit in just a few power and broke all previous records for weeks. lobby day participation. Four hundred I’m reminded of the scene from “A owners, operators, property managers, Few Good Men” where Tom Cruise, C-suite executives, suppliers and affilian attorney who prefers to negotiate ate staff stormed the Hill and lobbied plea agreements rather than actually try Congress on enhancements to the Section cases, steps into where his clients will be 8 program, reform of the nation’s tax tried and says, “So this is what a courtsystem and needed federal leadership on room looks like!” There are members of immigration. An estimated 250 to 300 Congress who really don’t know what Congressional offices were visited over the legislative process is supposed to the course of the day which is an impreslook like since it’s never actually been sive show of force for any industry. used during their tenure. Let’s hope It’s worth noting that the Tenant this is the start of a new normal for our Income Verification Relief Act mentioned political leaders. above and passed by the House was The apartment industry also benefita specific bill on which the apartment ted from this great awakening in the industry lobbied during the Capitol Conpolitical process. Two bills of significant ference. Grassroots advocacy works! importance were passed by one of the know you are as shocked as I am at Of course, we will wait to see if this two chambers; critical steps toward the behavior of our Congress before new found collegiality ultimately becoming law. they left for their spring break recess. In the House, the “Ten“The apartment leads to other legislaJust when you thought they could do industry also bentive successes for the ant Income Verification nothing more to surprise us, to stop us efitted from this Congress. There are Relief Act of 2015” was in our tracks, to make us question all great awakening in plenty of hills left to passed under suspension that we know and thought we underthe political process. climb, some symbolic, of the rules, meaning that stood about our legislative process, some substantive. For the support was so strong Two bills of sigthey do something crazy. They actuexample, the House and that only a voice vote was nificant importance ally brought up, debated and voted on were passed by one Senate Republicans will necessary. This legislation legislation! But wait, there’s more! The of the two chamhave to reconcile the would reduce the adminHouse actually passed a solution to one differences between their istrative burden under the bers; critical steps of the toughest issues they have avoided two budget blueprints.

Section 8 Housing Choice toward ultimately for years – the Medicare payment becoming law.”

The budget has no force Voucher program by

Congress’s Great Awakening

I

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of law but does guide the activities of the appropriations committees and so issues like how much to spend on defense versus how much to sacrifice to the national debt reduction gods will be at the forefront. On the other hand, the nation’s debt limit is a real thing. We actually reached our borrowing limit in early March, but the Treasury Department has several measures it can take to keep us afloat for several more months. Still, this cannot go on forever and Congress will have to increase that limit at some point in the very near future.

One issue with a firm deadline is the Highway Trust Fund. This is the pot of money that is used to pay for federal and state infrastructure – roads, bridges, rail, ports and a lot more – and it runs out on May 31. Congress needs to agree on how to replenish the fund – increase the gas tax, place a one-time levy on untaxed foreign earnings or as part of broader tax reform. It also needs to find a way to get a long-term deal in place to increase the certainty in the system. This will not be easy and will be the next major test of the ability of Congressional leaders to thread the needle and move critical legislation that the country desperately needs. They will almost certainly face challenges from those in the GOP who are drawing a hard line on any federal government spending.

Finally, there are several operational issues in which NAA is taking a special interest. They are rules around emotional support animals, music licensing requirements and criminal background checks for employees. All of these are or could negatively impact the day-to-day functioning of your apartment communities in significant ways. The outlook for action varies with each issue, but we are organizing now to get ahead of the game and ensure our voice is heard. You can be part of that process by sharing any experiences, positive or negative, you’ve had in these areas. Please share those with us to inform our decision-making going forward.

As always, thanks for reading. Talk with you next month. RH Greg Brown is the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs with the National Apartment Association. He can be reached at 703-797-0615 or greg@naahq.org. ebrha.com

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esq. & a

Going Smoke-free How can rental property owners effectively enact non-smoking policies? BY LEON ROUNTREE III

Q

I purchased a property that has a tenant who smokes tobacco in his rental unit. I discovered that the paint on his walls were many shades of brown because of the smoke. I would like to change his terms of tenancy and enforce a nonsmoking policy. How can I do it?

A

On January 1, 2012, California Civil Code §1947.5 became law and codified the existing right of residential landlords to prohibit smoking anywhere on their property, including individual units and common areas. By prohibiting smoking on their properties, landlords can reduce the risk of accidental fires and eliminate the increased costs associated with maintaining units occupied by smokers. Owners of a property with a large number of units should be particularly aware of the complexity involved in implementing 34 RENTAL HOUSING

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a non-smoking policy and plan well in advance before moving forward.

As a first step, the landlord should conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine if the policy makes sense for current and future tenants. How might the policy impact short-term and longterm income? It may be that lost income or difficulties enforcing such a policy outweigh the benefits.

Surveying tenants to obtain feedback is often a good idea if there are a large number of units. If a non-smoking policy is implemented too quickly, you may risk alienating a good portion of your tenants. You could survey tenants by mail, in person, or in some cases using online tools. How many occupants in each of the units smoke? Would tenants be opposed to a non-smoking policy?

If a small percentage of tenants smoke, it may be easier to prohibit smoking throughout the entire property.

However, if there are many smokers, you might decide to hold off on such a policy now, phase in the ban over time, or ban smoking only in common areas.

The final step involves incorporating the policy into the tenants’ rental agreements. If practical, a landlord and tenant can voluntarily amend the existing rental agreement or alternatively create a new agreement including the new policy. Even if certain tenants will not voluntarily agree with the changes, the landlord can still prohibit smoking on the premises in the following manner: For month-to-month rental agreements, the landlord should serve a written “Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy” with an addendum detailing the nonsmoking policy. At least 30 days before the new policy is to take effect, the notice must be served on the tenants in one of three ways: 1) hand delivery; 2) substitute service; or 3) posting and mailing. After the notification period ends, the nonsmoking policy then becomes an enforceable part of the rental agreement.

If there are tenants with unexpired fixed-term leases, a landlord could either 1) wait until expiration and if the tenant wants to renew the lease, create one that includes the non-smoking policy or 2) wait until expiration, allowing the lease to convert to a month-to-month tenancy and then serve a “Notice of Change of Terms of Tenancy” as described above.

Keep in mind that with the policy in place, you must avoid denying people the right to rent because they are smokers.

That could subject you to litigation.

Also, it is important to note that while Civil Code 1947.5 applies generally throughout California, it does not preempt applicable local rent control ordinances. Such an ordinance may protect or further restrict rights of existing tenants who smoke on the premises.

Before instituting a non-smoking policy, contact an attorney familiar with local ordinances for specific advice regarding your property. —LEON ROUNTREE III RH

The information contained in this article is general in nature. Consult the advice of an attorney for any specific problem. Leon H. Rountree III is an attorney with The Law Offices of Leon H. Rountree III and can be reached at (510) 343-6299 or www.leonrountree.com.

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community calendar EVENTS & CLASSES

may

june

NOTE: WORKSHOPS WILL BE HELD AT OUR NEW OFFICE AT 3664 GRAND AVE., STE. B IN OAKLAND

NOTE: WORKSHOPS WILL BE HELD AT OUR NEW OFFICE AT 3664 GRAND AVE., STE. B IN OAKLAND

TUESDAY, MAY 5 An Overview of Services Offered by the Alameda County Healthy Homes Department Dale Hagen, Healthy Homes Department Members: Free; Non-Members: $69 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

TUESDAY, JUNE 9 Landlord Basics Tori Blanca, CCRM, EBRHA Free to Members and Non-members 6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 7 Don’t Let Your Investment Go Up In Smoke Serena Chen, American Lung Association Members: Free; Non-Members: $69 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, MAY 9 EBRHA Annual Green Membership Meeting Topics: • Oakland Recycles Team on Food Scraps Collection Service

• Michelle Fay of StopWaste on Zero Waste Goal and Hazardous Waste Disposal

• Martin Morehouse of Sun Light and Power on Solar Energy and Solar Hot Water

• Karis Ingram of Build It Green on Energy Upgrade CA All sessions moderated by Dan Antonioli, EBRHA Green Committee Chair and Green building contractor 10:00 a.m. - Noon TUESDAY, MAY 12 Legal Issues Affecting Short Term Rentals (Airbnb) Steve Williams, Fried and Williams LLP Members: $39; Non-Members: $69 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, JUNE 11 Tackling The Challenges Of A Hoarding Tenant Clifford Fried, Fried and Williams LLC Members: $39; Non-Members: $69 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

THURSDAY, JUNE 18 The Move In/ Move Out Process Tori Blanca CCRM, EBRHA Members: Free; Non-Members: $69 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, JUNE 20 Member Meeting Topics: • Legal Q&A — Michael Shepherd, Attorney at Law

• Speaker and Topic TBD 10:00 a.m. - Noon TUESDAY, JUNE 23 Dealing with Nuisance and Illegal Activity Clifford Fried, Fried and Williams LLC Members: $39; Non-Members: $69 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

TUESDAY, MAY 19 The Eviction & Tenant Protection Ordinance Michael Shepherd, The Shepherd Law Group Members: $39; Non-Members: $69 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

MONDAY, MAY 25 EBRHA Office Closed TUESDAY, MAY 26 Section 8 Overview Michelle Hasan, Director of Leased Housing, Oakland Housing Authority and Teela Carpenter, Housing Assistance Manager, Oakland Housing Authority Members: Free; Non-Members: $69 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 28 Baseball Night: Oakland A’s vs. New York Yankees Members: Free (Refundable deposit reserves up to two tickets per member; see ad on page 23 for details) Tailgate — Oakland Coliseum Parking Lot Game — Oakland Coliseum Tailgate — 5:00 p.m.; Game — 7:00 p.m.

No Refunds on no shows; Seats fill fast, register in advance! To register and pay, visit ebrha.com or call (510) 893-9873. Unless noted, all classes and events are held at the EBRHA Education Center, 3664 Grand Ave., Suite B in Oakland.

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Oakland RENT ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM FEE

Annual fees are $30 per unit and are due March 1. Owners are allowed to pass through $15 to tenants.

BUSINESS TAXES & REGISTRATION

Registration fee is $60 and is due March 1. Tax is based on annual gross rental income at a rate of $13.95 per $1,000 of gross rental income. Tax renewal declarations are mailed at the beginning of the year.

LANDLORD PETITION FOR EXEMPTIONS

Claims covered include new construction, substantial rehabilitation, and single-family homes or condominiums.

ANNUAL ALLOWABLE RENT INCREASE

2015-16 (1.7%) A CPI increase of 1.7% becomes effective on July 1, 2015. Tenants may only receive one increase in any 12-month period, and the rent increase cannot take effect earlier than the tenant’s anniversary date. In addition, California law requires that for tenancies receiving greater than a 10% increase, a 60-day notice is required; if the increase is 10% or less, a 30-day notice is required. Owners can only impose “banked” rent increases equal to three times the current annual allowable rent increase rate. See schedule at right.

PERI OD

AM O U N T ( % )

JULY 1 ‘15 - JUNE 30 ‘16 . . . . . . . . . 1.7 JULY 1 ‘14 - JUNE 30 ‘15 . . . . . . . . . 1.9 JULY 1 ‘13 - JUNE 30 ‘14 . . . . . . . . . 2.1 JULY 1 ‘12 - JUNE 30 ‘13 . . . . . . . . . 3.0 JULY 1 ‘11 - JUNE 30 ‘12 . . . . . . . . . 2.0 JULY 1 ‘10 - JUNE 30 ‘11 . . . . . . . . . 2.7 JULY 1 ‘09 - JUNE 30 ‘10 . . . . . . . . . 0.7 JULY 1 ‘08 - JUNE 30 ‘09 . . . . . . . . . 3.2 JULY 1 ‘07 - JUNE 30 ‘08 . . . . . . . . . 3.3 MAY 1 ‘06 - JUNE 30 ‘07. . . . . . . . . . 3.3 MAY 1 ‘05 - MAY 30 ‘06 . . . . . . . . . . 1.9 JUNE 1 ‘04 - MAY 30 ‘05. . . . . . . . . . 0.7 Visit www.ebrha.com/members to see previous adjustments.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS INCREASE FORMULA

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Oakland Rent Board 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Ste. 5313 Oakland, CA, 94612 510.238.3721 | www.oaklandnet.com

(70 % of Improvement Costs ÷ Number of Units) 60 months or 5 years REFER TO ORDINANCE FOR NOTICING, QUALIFICATIONS AND AMORTIZATION PERIODS.

Berkeley RENT STABILIZATION BOARD FEES

Annual fees are $194 per unit and are due July 1. Owners are allowed to pass through $4 to tenants.

RATES OF ANNUAL PAYMENT OF SECURITY DEPOSIT INTEREST P E R I OD A MO UN T FEDERAL RESERVE RATES

DEC. 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N/A DEC. 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3% DEC. 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5% DEC. 2011. . . . . 0.4% (CORRECTED 11/3/2011) DEC. 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.4% DEC. 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1% DEC. 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4% DEC. 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3% DEC. 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.1% DEC. 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4%

ANNUAL ALLOWABLE RENT INCREASE

2015 (2.0%) PERI OD AM O U N T

Beginning in 1998, adjustments are not allowed for the year following a tenant’s initial occupancy. To obtain the maximum amount for a specific address, please use the “Rent Ceiling Database” calculator on Berkeley’s Rent Board website.

Visit www.ebrha.com/members to see previous adjustments.

2015. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.0% 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7% 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7% 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6% 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.7% 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.1% 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.7% 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.2% 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.6% 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.7% 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9% 2004. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5%, + $3 (1% + $3 IF TENANCY CREATED AFTER JAN. 1999)

2003. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0% *ADDITIONAL ADJUSTMENTS ARE ALLOWED IF AN OWNER PAID FOR ELECTRICITY OR HEAT.

BERKELEY RATES

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

DEC. 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.1% DEC. 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.1% DEC. 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.2% DEC. 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3%

Berkeley Rent Board 2125 Milvia Street Berkeley, CA 94704 510.981.7368 | www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/rent ebrha.com

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vendor directory — CONTACTS, PRODUCTS & SERVICES ABATEMENT SERVICES

Environmental Remedies, Inc. Jaime Tamayo 925-519-6354 www.environmentalremedies.com P.W. Stephens Environmental Kimberly MacFarlane 510-651-9506 www.pwsei.com Water Damage Recovery Rick Walker 800-886-1801 www.waterdamagerecovery.net ACCOUNTING & TAX

Collins, Mason & Company LLP Teresa Mason 510-891-9000 www.cmcaccountants.com The Lee Accountancy Group, Inc. Jong H. Lee, CPA 510-836-7400 jhlee@theleeaccountancy.com APPLIANCE SALES & PARTS

Appliance Parts Distributor Mike De Fazio 510-357-8200 www.apdappliance.com Appliance Warehouse of America David Jepsen 510-921-1071 www.appliancewhse.com APPRAISERS

Access Appraisal: Apartment Specialists Joe Spallone 510-601-1466 www.accessappraisal.com Mark Watts Commercial Appraiser Mark A. Watts 415-990-0025 www.markwattscommercialappraisal.com ARCHITECTURE

InsideOut Design Pennell Phillips 510-655-1198 www.aboutinsideout.com ASSOCIATIONS

BOMA Oakland/East Bay Stephen Shepard 510-893-8780 www.bomaoeb.org Oakland Association of Realtors Sally Dunker 510-836-3000 www.oar.org Oakland Chamber of Commerce Barbara Leslie 510-874-4808 www.oaklandchamber.com ATTORNEYS - EVICTIONS/PROPERTY OWNER DEFENSE

Bornstein & Bornstein Daniel Bornstein 510-836-0110, x1007 www.bornsteinandbornstein.com Buresh, Kaplan, Feller & Chang Fred Feller 510-548-7474 www.bureshkaplan.com Ericksen Arbuthnot Jason Mauck 510-832-7770 www.ericksenarbuthnot.com Fried & Williams LLP Clifford Fried 510-625-0100 www.friedwilliams.com 38 RENTAL HOUSING

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Law Offices of Daniel Riley Daniel Riley 415-823-6129 driley_813@msn.com Law Offices of Elaine Lee Elaine Lee 510-848-9528 www.elaineleeattorney.com Law Offices of Leon H. Rountree III Leon H. Rountree III 510-343-6299 www.leonrountree.com Richards Law John Richards 925-231-8104 www.richards-legal.com The Evictors Ed Nagy and Alan J. Horwitz 510-839-2074 The Shepherd Law Group Michael Shepherd 510-531-0129 www.theshepherdlawgroup.com ATTORNEYS - LAND USE/CONDO CONVERSION

Law Offices of Daniel Riley Daniel Riley 415-823-6129 driley_813@msn.com Law Offices of John Gutierrez John Gutierrez 510-647-0600, x2 www.jgutierrezlaw.com Richards Law John Richards 925-231-8104 www.richards-legal.com ATTORNEYS - REAL ESTATE/CORP.

Buresh, Kaplan, Feller & Chang Fred Feller 510-548-7474 www.bureshkaplan.com Burnham & Brown Jack Schwartz 510-444-6800 www.burnhambrown.com Ericksen Arbuthnot Jason Mauck 510-832-7770 www.ericksenarbuthnot.com Fried & Williams LLP Clifford Fried 510-625-0100 www.friedwilliams.com Law Offices of John Gutierrez John Gutierrez 510-647-0600, x2 www.jgutierrezlaw.com Richards Law John Richards 925-231-8104 www.richards-legal.com AUTOMOTIVE

Ken Betts Towing Services Ayub Azam 510-532-5000 www.kenbettscompany.com BANKING/LENDING

Chase Commercial Josh Milnes 510-891-4545 josh.milnes@chase.com Chase Commercial Ted Levenson 415-945-5430 ted.levenson@chase.com

Chase Commercial Neil O’Callaghan 415-315-8901 neil.ocallaghan@chase.com Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union Chris Perez 510-647-2127 cperez@coopfcu.org First Federal Savings & Loan Assoc.

Anthony Moreno 415-460-2657 www.ffsavings.com First Republic Bank Jeff Fung 510-336-3907 www.firstrepublic.com Intervest Mortgage Marc Lipsett 510-622-8515 www.intervest-mortgage.com Luther Burbank Savings Larry Miller 925-627-2790 www.lutherburbanksavings.com NorthMarq Capital Brian Esquivel 415-433-4145 www.northmarq.com Opus Bank William Craun 925-648-5915 www.opusbank.com SF Fire Credit Union Herman White, Jr. 415-674-4808 www.sffirecu.org Torrey Pines Bank Dale Marie Golden 510-899-7536 dgolden@torreypinesbank.com BATHROOM & KITCHEN REMODELING

American Bath Enterprises, Inc. Larry Arcadi 510-785-2600 www.americanbathind.com APT Maintenance, Inc. Keith Berry 510-747-9713 www.aptmaintenanceinc.com KMK Contracting & Property Services Kevin Knobles 925-292-8667 www.kmkcontracting.com SGK Home Solutions Vladmir Merabian 408-264-6964 www.sgkhomesolutions.com CABINETS & COUNTERTOPS

Elegant Stone & Cabinets Linh Duong 925-954-8845 www.elegantstoneandcabinets.com CARPET CLEANING

Cleaner Carpets Ron Russell 510-522-1344 cleanercarpet@juno.com CODE COMPLIANCE/CONDO CONV.

Armstrong Development Barbara Armstrong 510-337-1998 barbaraarmstrong@comcast.net COLLECTION AGENCIES

Credit Bureau Associates Kathy Parsons 800-564-6440 www.cbacredit.com

vendor directory CONSTRUCTION

A-One Construction Dirksen Rogers 510-747-9713 www.a-oneconstruction.com APT Maintenance, Inc. Keith Berry 510-747-9713 www.aptmaintenanceinc.com Bayside Building Services & Pest Elimination Helmut Tutass 510-717-3506 pestcontrol1@writeme.com D.W. Hamilton Construction, Inc. D.W. Hamilton 510-919-0046 www.dwhamiltonconstruction.com Going Green Dan Antonioli 510-652-7593 www.going-green.co KMK Contracting & Property Services Kevin Knobles 925-292-8667 www.kmkcontracting.com Schafer Construction, Inc. Mike Barker 510-568-7200 www.schaferconstructioninc.com Smart Building, Inc. Sheryl Dron 510-444-7678 www.getsmartbuilding.com SpottCheck Consulting Susan Spott 510-816-1452 www.spottcheck.com W. Charles Perry & Associates W. Charles Perry 650-638-9546 www.wcharlesperry.com West Coast Premier Construction, Inc. Homy Sikaroudi 510-271-0950 www.wcpc-inc.com CONTRACTORS/RESTORATION

ARC Water Damage Nina Lauffer 510-835-3073 www.arc-ca.com Water Damage Recovery Rick Walker 800-886-1801 www.waterdamagerecovery.net DOORS & GATES

R & S Overhead Garage Door Sean Boatright 510-483-9700, x14 www.rsdoors.com Rex Key and Security Joe Towbis 510-527-7000 www.rexkey.com SGK Home Solutions Vladmir Merabian 408-264-6964 www.sgkhomesolutions.com Statcomm Inc. Cherie Anderson 650-988-9508 www.statcomm.com Urban Ore Marylou Van 510-841-7283 www.urbanore.com ELECTRICIANS

Thomas Electric Co. (TEC) Thomas Hurtubise 510-814-9387 www.tecelectric.net ELEVATOR REPAIRS

Paramount Elevator Corp.

Mark Pipoly 510-835-0770 www.paramountelevator.com FINANCIAL PLANNING

David White & Associates Miguel Delgado 925-277-2635 www.dwassociates.com FIRE ESCAPE SERVICE

Great Escape Susan Giaquinto 415-566-1479 www.greatescapeinc.com FIRE PROTECTION

Bay Alarm Limor Margalit 510-639-2652 www.bayalarm.com Detect All Security & Fire Amy Roither 510-835-4100 www.detectall.com Sentry Alert David Ingham 510-549-0306 www.sentryalert.com Statcomm Inc. Cherie Anderson 650-988-9508 www.statcomm.com FLOOR COVERINGS

Bay Area Contract Carpets, Inc. Kerry Plain or Ken Scott 510-613-0300 www.bayareacontractcarpets.com Dick’s Carpet One Dan Biles 510-633-9533 www.dickscarpetoneoakland.com GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Housing Authority of the City of Alameda Mike Pucci 510-747-4325 www.alamedahsg.org Oakland Housing Authority Leased Housing 510-874-1500 www.oakha.org GREEN BUILDING

Going Green Dan Antonioli 510-652-7593 www.going-green.co Smart Building, Inc. Sheryl Dron 510-444-7678 www.getsmartbuilding.com Urban Ore Marylou Van 510-841-7283 www.urbanore.com GUTTER CLEANING

Mr. Sparkle Dylan Kelly 510-504-7048 www.mrsparkle.biz HANDYMAN SERVICES

APT Maintenance, Inc. Keith Berry 510-747-9713 www.aptmaintenanceinc.com Bayside Building Services & Pest Elimination Helmut Tutass 510-717-3506 pestcontrol1@writeme.com Halcyon Properties Roger Shane 510-847-7075 rbshane@aol.com KMK Contracting & Property Services Kevin Knobles 925-292-8667 www.kmkcontracting.com Start to Finish Christopher Bailey 510-727-9128 cpmbailey@sbcglobal.net HAULING SERVICES

KMK Contracting & Property Services Kevin Knobles 925-292-8667 www.kmkcontracting.com Urban Ore Marylou Van 510-841-7283 www.urbanore.com HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING

Advanced Home Energy Shira Henry 510-540-4860 www.advancedhomeenergy.com Albert Nahman Plumbing & Heating Albert Nahman 510-843-6904 www.albertnahmanplumbing.com Black Diamond Mechanical Robert Lopez 510-522-4196 robertlopez@blackdiamondmechanical.com Hassler Heating & Air Conditioning Mike Hassler 510-848-3030 www.hasslerheating.com HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Avitus Group Lance Harris 925-827-0680 www.avitusgroup.com INSPECTIONS

SpottCheck Consulting Susan Spott 510-816-1452 www.spottcheck.com INSULATION

Advanced Home Energy Shira Henry 510-540-4860 www.advancedhomeenergy.com INSURANCE

Bulloch Insurance Brokers, Inc. Curt Bulloch 925-640-0485 www.curtbulloch.com Commercial Coverage Insurance Paul Tradelius 415-436-9800 www.comcov.com CSE Insurance Group David Earwood 925-817-6497 www.cseinsurance.com Capital Insurance Group John Reynoso 1-800-682-9255, x7519 jreynoso@ciginsurance.com ebrha.com

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vendor directory Commercial Coverage Insurance Paul Tradelius 415-436-9800 www.comcov.com David E. Quan Agency Insurance Brokerage Xavier Quan 510-653-8880 www.dquanagy.com The Greenspan Co./Adjusters Int’l.

Rich Hallock 866-331-4790 www.greenspan-ai.com Jain L. Williams - State Farm Insurance Jain L. Williams 510-530-3222 www.jainwilliams.com Kelly Lux – State Farm Insurance Kelly Lux 510-521-1222 Kelly.lux.gjcg@statefarm.com Ruth Stroup Insurance Agency Ruth Stroup 510-874-5700 www.stroupinsurance.com Stone Creek Insurance Agency Tom Lynch 925-297-4202 www.stonecreekinsurance.com Yonas Hagos - Farmers Insurance Yonas Hagos 510-763-1030 www.farmersagent.com/yhagos INTERCOMS & ACCESS CONTROLS

R & S Overhead Garage Door Sean Boatright 510-483-9700, x14 www.rsdoors.com Rex Key and Security Joe Towbis 510-527-7000 www.rexkey.com Statcomm Inc. Cherie Anderson 650-988-9508 www.statcomm.com INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

LAUNDRY EQUIPMENT

Coinmach Claudette Lucey 510-909-9786 www.coinmach.com Excalibur Laundries Carlos Barraza 510-872-1554 www.excaliburlaundries.com Innovative Coin Cheri Guffey 510-259-1494 www.innovativelaundry.com

MARKET RESEARCH

Axiometrics Inc. Amy Wolff Sorter 469-621-9669 asorter@axiometrics.com PAINT SUPPLIERS

Dunn-Edwards Paints Jim Perry 925-822-7535 www.dunnedwards.com PEST & VECTOR CONTROL

Alameda Co. Vector Control Services Daniel Wilson 510-567-6826 daniel.wilson@acgov.org Terminix Robert Sater 510-489-8689 www.terminix.com Times Up Termite Mike Barker 510-568-7200 www.timesuptermite.com Albert Nahman Plumbing & Heating Albert Nahman 510-843-6904 www.albertnahmanplumbing.com Frank Bonetti Plumbing Dan Bonetti 510-582-0934 www.bonettiplumbing.com Pacific Drain & Rooter Service Nasir Jalil 510-452-4606 nasirjalil80@gmail.com Roto-Rooter Martin Alvarez 510-755-1262 sanactma@aol.com PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

APT Maintenance, Inc. Keith Berry 510-747-9713 www.aptmaintenanceinc.com KMK Contracting & Property Services Kevin Knobles 925-292-8667 www.kmkcontracting.com PROPERTY MAINTENANCE SUPPLIES

LEAD, MOLD & PEST MANAGEMENT

Alameda County Healthy Homes Dept.

Julie Twichell 510-567-8252 www.aclppp.org LISTING SERVICE

Trulia Pierre Calzadilla 415-400-7260 www.trulia.com/rent

Ferguson Enterprises, Inc. Jermane Griffin 916-752-7608 jermane.griffin@ferguson.com Wilmar Nick Mraz 800-345-3000 www.wilmar.com PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

LITIGATION SUPPORT SERVICES

| MAY 2015 |

LOCKSMITH EVICTION SERVICES

Golden Gate Locksmith Co Ralph Scott 510-654-2677 kgglocksmith@yahoo.com Rex Key and Security Joe Towbis 510-527-7000 www.rexkey.com

PLUMBING/WATER HEATERS

Martinez Real Estate Investment Jose Martinez 510-769-0436

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SpottCheck Consulting Susan Spott 510-816-1452 www.spottcheck.com

ebrha.com

Advent Properties, Inc. Benjamin Scott 510-289-1184 www.adventpropertiesinc.com

Bay Property Group Daniel Bornstein 510-836-0110 www.baypropertygroup.com Beacon Properties Carlon Tanner 510-428-1864 www.beaconprop.com Caldecott Property Management Services Ronald Reece 510-594-2400, x226 www.caldecott.com Canyon Pacific Management Tom Scripps 415-495-4739 www.canyonpacific.com Cedar Properties Jonathan Weldon 510-834-0782 www.cedarproperties.com Crane Management Kit Crane 510-918-2306 www.cranemanagment.net The Enterprise Company William McLetchie 510-444-0876 ERI Property Management Sasha Bermudez 510-883-7017 www.erirentals.com Lapham Company Jon M. Shahoian 510-594-7600 www.laphamcompany.com Marquardt Property Management Karen or Judi Marquardt 510-530-2050 www.mpmoakland.com MSB Property Management Nik Bhachu 510-649-3380 www.msbmanagement.com Oaktown Urban Properties Michael Moynihan 415-572-0334 www.oaktown-up.com OMM Inc./Mason Management Janice Mason 510-522-8074 www.ommhomes.com Premium Properties Sam Sorokin 510-594-0794 www.premiumpd.com Shaw Properties Liz Hart 510-665-4350 www.shawprop.com Sphinx Property Management Jon Goree 510-798-9299 www.sphinxpm.com Wellington Property Company Jillian Loh 510-338-0588 www.wellingtonpropertyco.com Woodminster Property Management Nicholas Drobocky 510-336-0202 www.woodminstermanagement.com PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Buildium Sam Clarke 888-414-1933 x152 sam@buildium.com

vendor directory REAL ESTATE BROKERS & AGENTS

Advent Properties, Inc. Benjamin Scott 510-289-1184 www.adventpropertiesinc.com ARA Pacific Mike Colhoun 415-273-2177 www.arausa.com Caldecott Properties Andy Read 510-594-2400 www.caldecott.com CBRE Keith Manson 510-874-1919 www.cbre.com Coldwell Banker – Apartment Specialist John Caronna 925-253-4648 www.eastbayIREA.com Coldwell Banker Commercial Henry Ohlmeyer 925-831-3390 www.coldwellbanker.com Edrington & Associates Steven Edrington 510-749-4880 sedrington@msn.com Home & Investment Realty George Vassiliades 510-710-6826 www.propertiesbygeorge.com Lapham Company Tsegab Assefa 510-594-0643 www.laphamcompany.com Litton/Fuller Group Luke Blacklidge 510-548-4801, x130 www.littonfullergroup.com Marcus & Millichap Eli Davidson 510-379-1280 eli.davidson@marcusmillichap.com Marcus & Millichap David Wolfe 510-379-1200 www.marcusmillichap.com NAI Northern California Grant Chappell 510-972-4941 www.naikilpatrick.com Paragon Commercial Brokerage Ben Weil or Zack Ward 415-874-5018 thebenweilteam@paragon-re.com Property Counselors Link Corkery, Inc. Link Corkery 510-886-1212 www.pclclink.com Red Oak Realty Kevin Hamilton 510-250-8780 kevin@redoakrealty.com Woodminster Real Estate Co Inc. Nicholas Drobocky 510-336-0202 www.woodminsterrealty.com RECYCLING/REUSE

DR3 Mattress Recycling Robert Jaco 510-798-3734 www.mattressrecycling.us

Urban Ore Marylou Van 510-841-7283 www.urbanore.com RENT CONTROL CONSULTANTS

Alan K. Beales 510-339-9776 Bay Property Group Cristian Villarreal 510-474-7404 cristian@baypropertygroup.com Edrington & Associates Steven Edrington 510-749-4880 sedrington@msn.com Liz Hart 510-813-5440 liz.hart1801@gmail.com St. John and Associates (Berkeley only) Michael St. John 707-937-3711 msjetal@pacbell.net RENTAL SERVICES

Cal Rentals Elaine Perkins 510-642-3644 www.calrentals.housing.berkeley.edu Hamilton Properties Bay Area Delesha Hamilton 404-606-2141 www.hamiltonpropertiesbayarea.com ROOFERS

A-One Construction Dirksen Rogers 408-690-0890 www.a-oneconstruction.com Fidelity Roof Company Doug Kellor 510-547-6330 www.fidelityroof.com Frank Fiala Roofing Frank Fiala 510-582-6929 www.ffialaroofing.com General Roofing Company Michael Wakerling 510-536-3356 www.generalroof.com SECURITY/SURVEILLANCE

Bay Alarm Limor Margalit 510-639-2652 www.bayalarm.com Detect All Security & Fire Amy Roither 510-835-4100 www.detectall.com R & S Overhead Garage Door Sean Boatright 510-483-9700, x14 www.rsdoors.com Sentry Alert David Ingham 510-549-0306 www.sentryalert.com SEISMIC CONSTRUCTION

Adobe Soil & Structures Mark Almeida 510-919-1880 www.adobesoils.com B.A.S.S. Seismic Retrofit D.W. Hamilton 510-919-0046 www.bassseismicretrofit.com

West Coast Premier Construction, Inc. Homy Sikaroudi 510-271-0950 www.wcpc-inc.com SEISMIC ENGINEERING

Earthquake & Structures, Inc. B.K. Paul 510-601-1065 www.esiengineers.com W. Charles Perry & Associates W. Charles Perry 650-638-9546 www.wcharlesperry.com SOLAR ENERGY

Sun Light & Power Martin Morehouse 510-809-3686 martin@sunlightandpower.com TENANT SCREENING SERVICE

Contemporary Information Corp. (CIC) Dan Firestone 888-232-3822 www.continfo.com TOWING SERVICE

Ken Betts Towing Services Ayub Azam 510-532-5000 www.kenbettscompany.com PPI Towing Stephanie Gipson 510-533-9600 www.ppitowing.net TREE SERVICE

Bartlett Tree Experts Tony DeMola 925-934-6306 www.bartlett.com Coastal Tree Service Hans Waller 510-693-4631 www.coastaltreeservice.com TUB, TILE & COUNTERTOP REFINISHING

Discovery Coatings Gargie Balarbar 415-971-8207 www.discoverycoatings.com WASTE & WASTE HANDLING EQUIPMENT

DR3 Mattress Recycling Robert Jaco 510-798-3734 www.mattressrecycling.us Waste Management Company David Tucker 510-430-8509 www.wastemanagement.com WINDOW WASHING

Mr. Sparkle Dylan Kelly 510-504-7048 www.mrsparkle.biz WINDOWS

Advanced Home Energy Shira Henry 510-540-4860 www.advancedhomeenergy.com SGK Home Solutions Vladmir Merabian 408-264-6964 www.sgkhomesolutions.com Urban Ore Marylou Van 510-841-7283 www.urbanore.com ebrha.com

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RENTAL HOUSING 41

ad index

PRODUCTS & SERVICES

EAST BAY RENTAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION

Membership Application for Property Owners and Managers

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The Shepherd Law Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

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BUILDING MATERIALS/HARDWARE

EDUCATIONAL CLASSES

Urban Ore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO RENTAL HOUSING MAGAZINE

CARPETING & FLOORING

LEASING SERVICE

Bay Area Contract Carpets, Inc.. . . . . . . . . 25 CONSTRUCTION

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ENGINEERS

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MASTERCARD

VISA

Oakland Recycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 RENT BOARD CONSULTANTS AMERICAN EXPRESS

Liz Hart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 ROOFING SERVICES

CARD NUMBER

EXPIRATION DATE

Frank Fiala Roofing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 General Roofing Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

NAME ON CARD

SECURITY

Sentry Alert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 SIGNATURE

TREE SERVICE

DETACH THIS FORM AND FAX OR MAIL TO THE ADDRESS BELOW

Bartlett Tree Experts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 WATERPROOFING

East Bay Rental Housing Association 360 22nd Street, Suite 240 Oakland, CA 94612 TEL

510.893.9873 | FAX 510.893.2906

ebrha.com

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| MAY 2015 |

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Applied Waterproofing Systems . . . . . . . . 35 WINDOWS, DOORS & SIDING

SGK Solutions.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Acceptance of an advertisement by this magazine does not necessarily constitute any endorsement or recommendation by EBRHA, express or implied, of the advertiser or any goods or services offered.

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