Oakland Relocation Payments for No-Fault Evictions

What it requires

• Pay the relocation amount for the unit’s bedroom count, split equally among all tenants in the unit when the termination notice is served.
• Add a single $2,500 per unit when the household includes a lower-income, elderly, or disabled tenant or a minor child. The base amounts rise each July 1 with the CPI adjustment, for notices served on or after that date.
• For owner or relative move-ins, pay half with the termination notice and half when the tenant moves out, prorated by tenure. Pay any $2,500 within 15 days of the tenant’s proof of eligibility.
• If you don’t pay, the tenant can recover the payment plus an equal amount and attorney’s fees, or three times the payment for bad faith. Asking a tenant to accept less or waive these rights is itself a violation.
• Owners of fewer than five Oakland units who meet financial tests may qualify for a zero-interest City loan to cover owner move-in relocation.

Owner checklist

• Confirm the amount in effect on the notice date
• Include half the payment with an owner move-in notice
• Pay the balance when the tenant moves out
• Pay any additional $2,500 within 15 days of proof