// tenant placement · El Cerrito
State law only: 8.8% for Aug 1, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027 under AB 1482. No local cap; the 2019 just-cause ordinance was repealed by referendum. Priced to the market, screened to a written standard, leased with the notices your city requires.
A vacancy costs more than the leasing fee. At Oakland's average rent of $2,323, every empty week is about $540 gone. We price the unit against what is actually renting nearby, list it with professional-quality photos you supply or we arrange, show it on a schedule that fits working applicants, and screen every file against the same written standard. The lease we sign carries the AB 1482 notices or the local ordinance notices the unit needs, so the first day of the tenancy does not become a problem on the last day.
The full picture for owners is on the El Cerrito page; the service on its own is described under tenant placement.
// questions
There is no city cap. A covered unit is limited to the state 8.8% for Aug 1, 2026 to Jul 31, 2027. An individually owned house or condo with the AB 1482 lease notice is uncapped, with 90 days notice required above 10%.
Yes. Every rental unit reports rent and tenancy to the Rent Registry each year at business-license renewal, $50 per unit, online only from Jul 1, 2026, due Jul 31. You also pay the $138 per-unit business tax and the $247 single-family inspection every two years.
It depends on the price and the season. In Lafayette, one flat-fee competitor reports 14 to 21 days to lease. A unit priced to recent comps in Oakland or Berkeley, listed with good photos and shown promptly, is usually in the same range. A unit priced above the market can sit for months.
You set the standard with us before the listing goes live: minimum income multiple, credit floor, reference requirements. Once it is set, the first applicant who meets it gets the unit. Choosing between qualified applicants on anything else is where fair-housing claims come from, and we will not do it.
California caps security deposits at one month's rent (AB 12), whether the unit is furnished or not. In Berkeley the deposit also earns interest that must be paid to the tenant by Dec 31 each year; the 2025 rate was 0.9%.
Typically half of one month's rent, charged once the tenant has signed and paid. It covers pricing, listing, showings, screening, the lease and the move-in report. Nothing is owed if we do not place a tenant.
// start here
What your place should rent for, what the city will let you charge next year, and what we would do first. Written, within one business day.
// also
Priced to the market, screened to a written standard, leased with the notices your city requires.
The cap, the registry, the fee and the notice for your unit, each on its own calendar.
A 24-hour line, licensed vendors, your approval threshold, and the vendor's invoice with nothing added.
// nearby
// next step
A written rental analysis for your property, free, within one business day. No obligation and no sales call unless you ask for one.