A New Rental Registry Launches Soon, Extending the City’s Focus on Renter Protections
Learn about the City’s Rental Registry, why it is important and more
In October, the City is launching a rental registry and registration will be required for some rental properties by January 15, 2025. Over 40% of the City’s residents are renters and as such, the City continues to evolve renter programs and resources for tenants and property owners in Palo Alto. The latest addition to the City’s focus on rental protections is a rental registry, supporting data-informed policies and future programs and resources. If you are a property owner with three or more residential rental units, you must register your rental property with the City of Palo Alto. Non-residential properties, non-rental properties, and residential rental properties fewer than three residential units are currently not required to participate. Gain resources to prepare for the launch, find answers to community questions, and learn about other programs in this update.
Rental Registry Registration Launches October 1
The City’s Rental Registry Registration period launches On October 1. This effort designed to help the City collect meaningful data on Palo Alto’s residential rental market. The registry will help inform housing policy decisions
Data collected from the Rental Registry will also help determine the effectiveness of recent renter protection policies such as requirements for one-year leases and relocation assistance in the event of an eviction. Property owners play a critical role in providing much-needed housing in our community and existing resources and programs seek to support the City’s residential rental market.
Property Owners & Managers: Resources to Prepare
All residential rental property owners with properties of three or more units are required to register with the City. Registration must be complete by January 15, 2025. Property owners who are required to register will receive a letter in the mail in early October with a unique code to claim their property on the City’s online registration portal. There is no fee to register units during this first year of the program.
Property owners and managers will be able to access the online registration portal to add the required property and unit information at www.cityofpaloalto.org/RentalRegistry — bookmark this page for easy access.
Resources available online include frequently asked questions, past meetings details and recordings, including the August 22, 2024 community information session recording that offers a starting point for property owners to learn more about the registration timeline and more. Starting early October, a series of short ‘How-To’ videos will be available as well. Plus, gain direct help from our dedicated tech support team and user manual to assist registrants.
City staff will host small group tutorials for property owners and managers to help navigate the process starting in October as well. The first property owner workshop is Tuesday, October 22, 4–6 p.m. Sign up in advance by emailing rentalregistry@cityofpaloalto.org.
What We Heard at the Community Information Session
Let us know your questions and we will do our best to help support you. Here are four questions based on our recent Community Information Session and other correspondence with property owners and community members.
Will the program expand to include smaller rental properties (1 to 2 units) or shared housing with individual rooms rented out?
All residential rental property owners with properties of three or more units are required to register with the City this year. The City Council will consider program expansion by the end of the second year, anticipated in June 2026.
Does normal turnover in rentals need to be reported?
Regular changes to occupancy only need to be reported as part of the annual registration process. However, if there is a rent increase, eviction, unlawful detainer or notice to quit involved in a tenant turnover or occupancy change, these events do need to be reported via the online portal within ten days of their occurrence.
Is there a fee for reporting rental related events throughout the year like rent increase, when a notice to quit is sent to a renter, or to report an eviction?
No, there is no fee to report events over the course of the year. The first year’s registry fee is waived. A fee based registry will go into effect in the second year of the program.
I received the Registration Letter and own fewer than three units and/or I sold my rental property and no longer a property owner in Palo Alto. Do I need to register?
If you do not have three or more residential rental units on your property and you received an official registration notice via USPS mail in error, please notify staff by emailing rentalregistry@cityofpaloalto.org to update your records with substantial supporting evidence.
Other Helpful Resources
