Berkeley Mun. Code Chapter 13.76 § 13.76.135

A. Tenant Association. This section shall be limited to 1) parcels that contain ten or more rental units; and 2) parcels that contain between one and nine rental units, so long as the rental units are managed by a property management company as defined by Board regulation.

Tenants of such a residential rental property may establish a Tenant Association by providing their Landlord a petition signed by Tenants representing at least 50% of the occupied rental units, including Rooming Houses as defined by Board regulation, of the residential rental property certifying their desire to form a Tenant Association, and identifying the Tenant Association. For purposes of this subsection, a petition may include individual written statements signed by said Tenants or some combination of individual and collective written statements.

B. Confer in Good Faith. Landlords and Tenant Associations shall confer with each other in good faith regarding housing services and conditions, community life, landlord-tenant relations, rent increases, and other issues of common interest or concern. "Confer in good faith" means that the parties shall have the mutual obligation, personally or through their authorized representatives, to meet and confer and continue for a reasonable period of time, in order to exchange freely information, opinions, and proposals, and to endeavor to reach agreement. Examples of conferring in good faith include, but are not limited to, maintaining a designated point of contact, engaging in regular communications, responding to reasonable requests for information, allowing participation by non-resident advocates, providing adequate time for limited-English speakers to obtain translation services, providing and adhering to timelines for addressing habitability concerns, and negotiating and putting agreements into writing. In addition, a Landlord may not prohibit a Tenant from allowing a Tenant Association representative to attend meetings involving the Landlord and one or more Tenants. The Board, through regulation, may further define good faith.

C. Organizing Activities. "Organizing Activities" means:

1. initiating contact with tenants, including conducting door-to-door surveys, to ascertain interest in and/or seek support for forming a Tenant Association;

2. joining or supporting a Tenant Association;

3. distributing literature, requesting or providing information, offering assistance, convening meetings (which may occur without a landlord or landlord representative present); or

4. otherwise acting on behalf of one or more tenants in the building regarding issues of common interest or concern.

The term "Organizing Activities" shall include, but is not limited to, the operations of a Tenant Association. A person’s participation or failure to participate in Organizing Activities shall have no effect on whether that person qualifies as a tenant. The Board, through regulation, may further define Organizing Activities. In addition, a tenant’s right to engage in Organizing Activities, to receive assistance from a Tenant Association, and to have Organizing activities occur at the property shall qualify as a housing service, and a landlord’s failure to confer in good faith with a Tenant Association may send the Landlord a single standing request to attend meetings for the duration of the calendar year.

D. A Landlord must on written request of the Tenant Association attend, either themselves or through their representative, at least one Tenant Association meeting per calendar quarter, though more frequent attendance at the request of the Tenant Association is permitted. Landlord or Landlord’s representative must remain in attendance at the meeting until all agenda items are complete, unless the meeting extends for more than two hours, in which case the Landlord or Landlord’s representative may withdraw from the meeting and request that the remaining items be continued to a subsequent meeting. These meetings shall occur at a mutually convenient time and place. To request that a landlord or their representative attend a meeting, the Tenant Association shall send the Landlord a written request at least 14 days in advance; alternatively, if the Tenant Association meets at a regularly scheduled time and place, then the Tenant Association may send the Landlord a single standing request to attend meetings for the duration of the calendar year.

E. Private Right of Action. In the event of a violation of this section, any Tenant Association, or individual tenant, aggrieved by the violation may institute a civil proceeding for injunctive relief, and actual money actual damages as specified below, and whatever other relief the court deems appropriate. In addition to the above awards of damages in a civil action under this Chapter, a prevailing plaintiff shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney’s fees.