Editorial - Rent Board Goes Fishing

Several months ago, I came home and there was a Highway Patrol cruiser parked in front of my house. I parked in my driveway and when I got out of the car, a highway patrolman got out of his vehicle and approached me. He had his ticket book in hand.

“Excuse me, Sir,” he said, “but I have a ticket for you for speeding.”“What?” I responded, “I wasn’t speeding. Where was I speeding?”

“Well, it’s a $350 ticket. It’s all made out against you and your vehicle but I haven’t signed it yet. Are you sure you weren’t speeding?”

“Who said I was speeding?”

“I don’t know. I was just told that we have information that you were speeding.”

“I assure you I wasn’t speeding.”

“Okay, because you have positively asserted that you were not speeding, I can let it go for now.” With that, he left. “Have a good day, Sir.”

“Yeah, you too.”

Well, that was weird, I thought. Then, last week, I got a follow-up postcard in the mail which warned me against breaking the speed limits. It said that there was something that I failed to do and that I owed an outstanding balance. It asked that I contact the State to straighten the matter out. I am tempted to do nothing, but fear I am in for more hassle in the future if I do not take care of the situation now. What to do?

Okay, I made up this story. There was no highway patrolman and there was no speeding ticket. While this is not a true story, it is an apt analogy.

The true story is that I got a bill from the rent board for my house. According to the bill, my house is a partially covered unit and there is a fee due of $212. In addition, there is a previous fee of $187 and penalties of $356. The total due, according to the bill, is $746. In a cover letter signed by the Executive Director of the Rent Board, it says that the billing statement is based on the most recent information provided to our office. It doesn’t say who provided the information or why. The mailing from the Rent Board includes a form to be filled out for all partially covered units. It specifies which units are subject to registration and how to claim an exemption.

My house is exempt from the Berkeley rent control ordinance on at least three grounds. It is a single-family home. It is not rented out. It is exempt as new construction as defined in both state and local law.

Because I resented an intrusion on my time asking me to prove that I am not breaking a law which I am not breaking, I ignored the communication from the rent board. Last week, I got an oversized postcard from the rent board. It says:

Our records show we have not received a response regarding your property. This has resulted in an outstanding balance.

Please contact us to update your information and claim an exemption if your property is not being rented.

Timely action is important to keep our records accurate and avoid any further complications.

I am not the only Berkeley homeowner who has been subject to this harassment. BPOA has gotten numerous complaints from others so treated. According to Berkeleyside, the issue stems from incorrect rental registration bills the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board sent to 2,400 homes last year.

What is more than annoying about this witch hunt on the part of the rent board is that the property was actually billed. A polite inquiry as to rental status may have been appropriate. However, with no evidence, actually assessing a fee, a back fee and penalties is just plain outrageous.

Understand that an outstanding balance on a property based debt to the government is ultimately subject to a lien against the property. Is this what they mean by further complications? I am not sure what the rent board intentions are, but the threat of a lien is implicit in their actions. This is unconscionable.

My gut says ignore this unwelcome intrusion into my life but I think there is a proverbial bud to be nipped here. I sent the rent board an email exerting my exemption in a single sentence. I will not fill out their form and I will not swear to anything under penalty of perjury. My house is newly-built, owner-occupied and has never been rented. If they would like to prove otherwise, let them have at it.