ABOUT THE RENT ADJUSTMENT PROGRAM
The Oakland City Council adopted the Rent Adjustment Program Ordinance (OMC Chapter 8.22) in 1980. This ordinance sets the maximum annual rent increase based on the annual CPI increase and handles rent adjustments for claims of decreases in housing services and handles other rent-related matters. The purpose of this program is to foster fair housing for a diverse population of renters and enforce the Rent Adjustment Ordinance set out by the City of Oakland.
By Phone
Phone: (510) 238-3721, Monday through Thursday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
Select Option 1 to speak to a Housing Counselor for any RAP or housing-related questions you might have. Topics can be, but are not limited to, tenant and property owner issues and concerns, Oakland rental housing laws, or how to file petitions or responses with RAP. Calls are generally limited to 10 minutes per person.
Select Option 2 to speak to a Rent Registration Unit staff member for any registration-related questions that you may have. Note: The Rent Registration Unit does not provide any housing counseling.
Per City policy, please allow us 72 hours to respond to your inquiry.
By Email
If you would prefer an email response, you can email us. The RAP strives to return all emails within a seventy-two-hour timeframe.
Contact a RAP Housing Counselor at RAP@oaklandca.gov. Please include in your email your full name, your telephone number, your rental unit address, and a brief description of the issue regarding which you are calling. Housing Counselors answer non-registration-related inquiries only.
Rent Registration Unit: If you have questions about the registration process, please contact the Rent Registration Unit staff at RentRegistry@oaklandca.gov. Note: Live Counseling Sessions [link to announcement w/ scheduled dates/times] on how to register your units on the rent registry portal are offered via Zoom. Rent Registration Unit staff only answers registration-related inquiries. Note: The Rent Registration Unit staff does not provide housing counseling.
Hearings Unit: If you have issues or questions relating to your pending case, you must contact your Case Analyst directly. If you do not know who your Case Analyst is, you can email HearingsUnit@oaklandca.gov to find that information, or you can look up your case information here.
Petition and Response Review/Filing: You have the option to schedule an appointment for review of your petition or response before filing. To schedule an appointment for review, email RAP@oaklandca.gov. If you do not want your petition or response reviewed and are ready to file, please submit your petition or response to HearingsUnit@oaklandca.gov.
Eviction Notices: To file eviction notices online, click here. Eviction notices may also be scanned and submitted via email to EvictionNotices@oaklandca.gov. If you like a stamped copy of your eviction notice, you must mail us two copies of the eviction notice and included a self-addressed, stamped envelope. We do not provide confirmation of receipt for online or email submissions of eviction notices.
By Mail
Address: 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 5313, Oakland, CA 94612
Due to the Shelter-in-Place Order, we are no longer accepting in-person petition and related materials. All new petitions and petition-related documents can be submitted by mail to the address above.
Ellis Act Cases
All documents for Ellis Act cases must be mailed to 250 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Suite 5313, Oakland, CA 94612. For more information on Ellis Act cases, click here.
Online Petition Filing
We also offer an online portal where you can fill out and submit your petitions and all petition-related forms online. Click here to access the portal.
Request a Form
General forms can be found on our website. For property owner forms, click here. For tenant forms, click here. If you cannot find the RAP form that you are looking for, you can email the Rent Adjustment Program at RAP@oaklandca.gov to obtain it.
Request a Document/Public Records Request (PRR)
To request documents related to a case, you can make a Public Records Request (PRR) here. Please note that all PRRs are public information. You can look up certain information related to cases through the RAP database.
Join the Email List
If you would like to receive emails about upcoming events or updates from the Rent Adjustment Program, please sign up! Please use the link below to add your name and email to our list for future updates.
Join the RAP email list!