Oakland COVID rent cap

[Carrie K.]

I notified residents of a rent increase of around 7 percent, since we'd banked a few years' increase. The City of Oakland then passed an Emergency Ordinance capping rent increases, which states: "any notice of rent increase in excess of the CPI Rent Adjustment [3.5%]... shall be void and unenforceable if the notice is served or has an effective date during the Local Emergency, unless required to provide a fair return." 

I'm interpreting this to mean that my April 1 increase is completely void and that, rather than dropping the increase to 3.5%, I have to start again with the notice process. Has anyone else dealt with this? I wish I'd contacted the city last week to ask, but we're at the 24th of the month, so I have to mail the notice tomorrow if I want the 3.5% increase to start June 1. Armchair legal advice is welcome.

(For anyone concerned about the tenants, we've contacted everyone one-on-one and are giving a temporary abatement to anyone financially impacted. Most tenants are still fully employed. This rent increase is definitely overdue, so I do want to keep moving ahead, but we've also taken extra caution given the situation.)