The California Apartment Association is calling on Palo Alto housing providers to contact the City Council ahead of Monday’s vote on a staff recommendation to indefinitely defer two proposals: a local rent control ordinance and an expansion of the city’s rental registry program.

CAA supports the recommendation and is urging members to attend the June 1 meeting, testify on Agenda Item No. 4, and email the council directly at city.council@paloalto.gov.

City staff and the Policy and Services Committee have recommended that the council shelve both proposals after concluding that the data does not support new regulation. The committee voted unanimously in March after first-year Rental Registry data showed most units experienced little or no rent increase. Staff also cited California’s Tenant Protection Act — AB 1482 — as already covering many Palo Alto rental units, making a local ordinance unnecessary.

The two programs would cost a combined $2 million annually and require five new city employees — a burden staff flagged as especially concerning given the city’s multimillion-dollar budget deficit.