A. Rental units which are owned by any government agency. However, the exemption of units owned by the Berkeley Housing Authority from the terms of this chapter shall be limited to their exemption from the terms of Section 13.76.080, Rent Registration; Section 13.76.100, Establishment of Base Rent Ceiling and Posting; Section 13.76.110, Annual General Adjustment of Rent Ceilings; and Section 13.76.120, Individual Adjustments of Rent Ceilings, of this chapter.

B. Rental units which are rented primarily to transient guests for use or occupancy less than fourteen consecutive days in establishments such as hotels, motels, inns, tourist homes, and rooming and boarding houses. However, the payment of rent every fourteen days or less shall not by itself exempt any unit from coverage by this chapter.

C. Rental units in nonprofit cooperatives owned and controlled by a majority of the residents.

D. Rental units leased to tenants assisted under the Section 8 program (42 U.S.C. Section 1437f) or the Shelter Plus Care Program (42 U.S.C. 11403 et. seq.) or similar federally funded rent subsidy program. Except as may be preempted by state or federal law, the exemption of such rental units from the terms of this chapter shall be limited to Section 13.76.080, Rent Registration; Section 13.76.100, Establishment of Base Rent Ceiling and Posting; Section 13.76.110, Annual General Adjustment of Rent Ceilings and Section 13.76.120, Individual Adjustments of Rent Ceilings, of this chapter. However, the exemption from Sections 13.76.080, 13.76.110 and 13.76.120 shall apply only for so long as the rent demanded does not exceed the authorized Payment Standard, which, for purposes of this subsection, is the maximum monthly rental assistance potentially available to an assisted household before deducting the household share of income paid for rent and utilities as established by the Berkeley Housing Authority or successor agency. For units where the rent demanded exceeds the Payment Standard, the Payment Standard or an initial rent above the Payment Standard if approved by the Berkeley Housing Authority, as reported to the board by the Berkeley Housing Authority or successor agency, shall become the unit’s base rent ceiling and the reference point from which the rent ceiling shall be adjusted in accordance with Sections 13.76.110 and 13.76.120.

E. Rental units in any hospital, skilled nursing facility, health facility, asylum, or non-profit home for the aged.

F. Rental units in a residential property which is divided into a maximum of four units where one of such units is occupied by the landlord as his/her principal residence. Any exemption of rental units established under this subsection (13.76.050 F.) shall be limited to rental units that would have been exempt under the provisions of this chapter had this chapter been in effect on December 31, 1979. After July 1, 1982, this exemption shall no longer apply to rental units in a residential property which is divided into three or four units. It shall continue to apply to rental units in a residential property which is divided into two units, and which meet all the other requirements of this subsection (13.76.050F). Rental units which become non-exempt under this provision shall have the provisions of Subsections 13.76.080I and 13.76.100C. applied to them.

G. A rental unit in a residential property where the landlord shares kitchen or bath facilities with the tenant(s) of such rental unit and where the landlord also occupies a unit in the same property as his/her principal residence.

H. For the purposes of Subsections 13.76.050 F. and G., the term landlord shall be defined only as the owner of record holding at least 50% interest in the property.

I. Newly constructed rental units, as defined in Section 13.76.040. However, the exemption of such newly constructed units shall be limited to their exemption from the terms of Section 13.76.100, Establishment of Base Rent Ceiling and Posting: Section 13.76.110, Annual General Adjustment of Rent Ceilings; and Section 13.76.120, Individual Adjustments of Rent Ceilings, of this chapter. To the extent that state law permits, the exemption of such newly constructed units shall be limited to the first 20 years after completion of construction.

J. A rental unit which is rented by a nonprofit, accredited institution of higher education to a tenant or tenants who are student(s), faculty, or staff of the institution or of a member school of the Graduate Theological Union, provided, however, that the institution owned the unit as of January 1, 1988.

K. A rental unit in a residential property owned by an organization exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that is rented to a low income tenant and subject to a regulatory agreement with a governmental agency that controls the unit’s rent levels. However, the exemption for such rental units from the terms of this chapter shall be limited to Section 13.76.080, Rent Registration; Section 13.76.100, Establishment of Base Rent Ceiling and Posting; Section 13.76.110, Annual General Adjustment of Rent Ceilings; and Section 13.76.120, Individual Adjustments of Rent Ceilings of this chapter and shall apply only for so long as the regulatory agreement is in effect. This exemption shall not apply to rental units at the property that are not subject to a regulatory agreement with a governmental agency or that are rented by a tenant who occupied the unit prior to the property’s acquisition by the tax-exempt organization.

L. Rental units in a facility owned or leased by an organization exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that has the primary purpose of operating a treatment, recovery, therapy, sanctuary or shelter program for qualified clients, where such rental units are provided incident to the client’s participation in the primary program and where the client has been informed in writing of the temporary or transitional nature of the housing at the inception of his or her participation in the program. However, except as may be preempted by the Transitional Housing Participant Misconduct Act (California Health and Safety Code Sections 50580 et. seq.) or other state or federal law, such rental units shall not be exempted from the terms of Section 13.76.130, Good Cause Required for Eviction. For purposes of Section 13.76.130.A.2, the client’s continued eligibility for participation in the treatment, recovery, therapy, sanctuary or shelter program shall be deemed a material term of the client’s rental agreement with the program’s operator.

M. A rental unit or room which is rented by an active member of a fraternity or sorority recognized by the University of California Berkeley, or a rental unit or room which is rented by an active member of a fraternity or sorority identified by Rent Board Resolution. To qualify for the exemption, the rental unit must be owned by the fraternity or sorority or by an entity whose sole purpose is the maintenance and operation of the fraternity or sorority’s rental units for the benefit of the members in order to provide housing to said members at cost.

N. A rental unit in a residential property containing only a Single Family Dwelling (as defined in Subtitle 23F.04 of the Zoning Ordinance) and one lawfully established and fully permitted Accessory Dwelling Unit where the landlord also occupies a unit in the same property as his/her principal residence. This subsection (13.76.050N) shall only apply to properties containing a single Accessory Dwelling Unit, shall only apply to units compliant with all applicable requirements of Chapter 23C.24 ("Accessory Dwelling Units"), and shall only apply to tenancies created after November 7, 2018.

O. A dwelling or a unit alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit unless the tenancy commenced before January 1, 1996. However, the exemption of such units shall be limited to their exemption from the terms of Section 13.76.100, Establishment of Base Rent Ceiling and Posting: Section 13.76.110, Annual General Adjustment of Rent Ceilings; and Section 13.76.120, Individual Adjustments of Rent Ceilings, of this chapter. A property owner who owns only one residential unit in the City of Berkeley, and occupied that residential unit for 365 consecutive days as their principal residence immediately prior to renting the unit, and is absent from the unit for a period not to exceed 24 months, and such period is specified in the lease, shall also be exempt from the terms of Section 13.76.080, Rent Registration, of this Chapter. The exemptions provided in this Section shall apply only as long as the pertinent provisions of California Civil Code Section 1954.50 et. seq. ("Costa-Hawkins") remain in effect and require such an exemption. (Ord. 7747-NS § 1, 2020: Ord. 7637-NS § 2, 2018: Ord. 7525-NS § 1, 2016: Ord. 6833-NS § 2 (part), 2004: Ord. 6354-NS § 1, 1996: Ord. 5872-NS § 2, 1988: Ord. 5467-NS § 5, 1982: Ord. 5261-NS § 5, 1980)