BPOA News & Commentary

This section houses newsletters and select articles—including President’s Messages and guest-written editorials—from BPOA’s archive dating back to 2008. Explore past issues to see how Berkeley’s rental housing landscape has evolved.

Free Resources Policy & Regulatory

February 2024 issue
February 2024 issue

UC Berkeley Closes Up People's Park; People's Park Foes to Press On with Suit; Tenants Unions; Three Simple Building Maintenance "Hacks"; Legislative Update; Berkeley's Ban on Gas Appliances Blocked; NMHC Rent Control Study Report Summary; Editorial; Coalition Corner; The Nuts & Bolts; Monthly Event Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted02/1/2024


January 2024 issue
January 2024 issue

Judge Bars Berkeley from Camp Sweep; Owner Move-Ins, Ellis Act, & Resident Buyouts; Rent Control on Ballot in Four More Cities; Cabins for the Homeless: $113K Each; New Rental Housing Laws for 2024; "Museums of Their Lives"; Editorial; Coalition Corner; The Nuts & Bolts; Monthly Event Calendar Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted01/1/2024


December 2023 issue
December 2023 issue

Bay Area: Rental Market Competitiveness; Landlord are Offering Incentives; Rent Board Chair Calls for Cease-fire; Renting to Roommates: Five Considerations; Berkeley Raises Height Limits; Larkspur Approves Rent Control; Port Hueneme Council Rejects Stabilization; Editorial; Coalition Corner; Events Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted12/1/2023


November 2023 issue
November 2023 issue

State :Law Allows ADU Sales; The Continuing Saga of Office Conversions; 60 New California Housing Laws; Oakland Rent Drop is Steepest in Nation; Year-over-Year Rent Slide in 24 Metros: Table; Viral LA Tenant has Oakland Record; Editorial; Coalition Corner; The Nuts & Bolts; Event Calendar Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted11/1/2023


Recorded Webinar - 30-Minute Hot Topic: EV Charging for Older Buildings - How Feasible Is It?
Recorded Webinar - 30-Minute Hot Topic: EV Charging for Older Buildings - How Feasible Is It?

A playback recording of our October 18th presentation about adding electric vehicle charging to rental properties, regardless of the age of the building. Continue Reading

Postedby Bryce Nesbitt
Date posted10/25/2023


October 2023 Issue
October 2023 Issue

Landlord Sues City of Berkeley; Measure MM Class Action Suit; Southside Could Get 12-Story Student Housing; Larkspur Approves Rent Control; Message from the BRHC; Massachusetts May Revisit Rent Control; New Law a Win for UC Housing Plan; Monthly Event Calendar; The Nuts & Bolts; Coalition Corner Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted10/1/2023


September 2023 Issue
September 2023 Issue

Berkeley Building Boom; Is a Regional Bond Measure on the Way?; Rent Control is Vulnerable; We Still Need More Housing; Golden Gate Fields: What Happens Next?; Some Cities Face Resistance to Rent Control; BART Land Housing Projects on Hold; BPOA Events Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted09/1/2023


Will Next Year See SCOTUS Declare Rent Control Unconstitutional?
Will Next Year See SCOTUS Declare Rent Control Unconstitutional?

Late in June, on two successive days, the United States Supreme Court handed down three decisions which rocked the nation. The conservative majority on the Court clearly demonstrated it has control and that it is willing to use it. De- pending on one’s philosophical stance, partisans on... Continue Reading

Postedby Albert Sukoff
Date posted08/1/2023


August 2023 Issue
August 2023 Issue

Berkeley Staffing Crisis Burns Out Workers; SF Rent Control Expansion Increased Evictions; Berkeley Plan to Redress Loss of Black Residents; A Rent Control Renaissance is Underway; SCOTUS Urged to Take Up NY Rent Control Case; UCB Grad Student Commutes by Plane; Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted08/1/2023


AI and Berkeley Rent Control
AI and Berkeley Rent Control

By choice, I am very interested in Artificial Intelligence. Not by choice, I am very interested in rent control in Berkeley. Anxious to try out the emerging phenomenon that is AI, I asked ChatGPT to write an essay on the history of rent control in Berkeley. The result was published in the April... Continue Reading

Postedby Albert Sukoff
Date posted07/1/2023


July 2023 Issue
July 2023 Issue

Newsom's CEQA Reform Plan Worries Some; 12,000 Architects on the Housing Crisis; ChatGPT on Rent Control- Two Versions; Tenant Buy-Outs: Analysis; Refunds Ordered Under State RC Law; CalRHA Legislative Update; SFH Investor Bans Lead to Higher Rents; BPOA Events Details Continue Reading

Postedby BPOA Master
Date posted07/1/2023


Fair Housing Testers: Are You Prepared to be Put to the Test?
Fair Housing Testers: Are You Prepared to be Put to the Test?

Let’s talk about moles. No, I don’t mean the garden variety. I’m referring to the spy-type moles hired by agencies to catch housing providers engaging in unlawful or discriminatory practices. These people, called Fair Housing Testers, can work for state fair housing departments,... Continue Reading

Postedby Tiffany Van Buren
Date posted06/1/2023