SAN LEANDRO — San Leandro landlords who evict their tenants could be required to pay relocation fees under a new law approved by the City Council.

Landlord also would have to pay relocation assistance if tenants move after their rents are raised more than 12 percent in one year. Passage of the law on a 4-2 vote Sept. 18 capped off more than a year of discussions and debate, along with a wide range of complaints from both landlords and renters.

“This is not an easy decision for anyone; there’s not going to be winners and losers in this situation,” Vice Mayor Lee Thomas said at the council meeting.

“I think the council has worked extremely hard over the last year trying to find something that was going to support everyone here. I don’t really think there’s a solution right now to make everyone happy, considering what we’re dealing with in the Bay Area with housing. The real solution is to get it rolling and build more housing … and I know that’s on San Leandro’s radar as well as the council’s radar,” he said.

Mayor Pauline Cutter was absent from the meeting and did not vote on the law set to take effect Oct. 18.

Councilmen Ed Hernandez and Benny Lee voted against the law, saying that exceptions should be given to landlords with two to four rental units on the same property. The law applies to properties with at least two tenant-occupied rentals on it but excludes houses and individual condos for rent with deed restrictions designating it as an affordable unit.

“I think the issue is that we’re … penalizing a lot of the good landlords, the small-business landlords, who are actually keeping those below-market rates,” Lee said.

“When you’re talking about a cost added onto them (landlords), that’s a transfer cost, and they’re going to have to figure out how to plug that cost by adding onto rents. That increases rents, and that’s not exactly what we want to do as a council,” he said.

The law, in its final form, will require landlords to pay renters’ relocation assistance costs when tenants decide to move because of “landlord-caused” actions, such as annual rent increases higher than 12 percent.

Exceptions include eviction cases when tenants breach their contracts, conduct illegal activities or are lawfully terminated from their jobs. Landlords also will be exempt from paying relocation assistance if they provide short-term, alternative housing for tenants while temporary repairs are made to rented units.

Landlords who informed tenants of their intent to conduct property renovations before leases were signed are also exempt from law. These landlords, however, must submit those plans to the city when eviction notices are handed to tenants.

Exemptions also will be granted for landlords who want to move immediate family members into tenant-occupied units, including their spouses, parents, children and grandchildren.

“For the smaller landlords who want to move in a child or fairly immediate relative, including grandchildren, I think that they should be provided an opportunity to do that,” Councilwoman Corina Lopez said.

“It’s so expensive to buy homes and it’s so expensive in the Bay Area in general, so I would say that the smaller guys should be given a break,” she said.

The amount of relocation assistance paid to tenants can be either three times the current monthly rent or three times the current federal fair market rents for the region, whichever is greater.

Tenants with children under 18 years old, who are at least 62 years old or have a qualified disability can receive an additional $1,000.

The total relocation assistance is capped at $7,000. Landlords and tenants are allowed to negotiate relocation assistance amounts, but landlords are barred from defrauding, intimidating or coercing renters.

The relocation assistance to eligible tenants must be paid in two installments: half within five days of an eviction notice being delivered to a tenant and the remaining half within five days of a tenant moving out.

Overdue rent and damages not covered by a tenant’s security deposit can be deducted from the relocation assistance.

Landlords who terminate a tenant’s lease must attach a relocation and termination notice together and deliver it to renters at least 90 days before their move-out date. Meanwhile, landlords seeking to raise rents above 12 percent must attach a relocation and rent increase notice together and deliver it within 60 days of the rent hike’s effective date.

The council will review the law annually to gauge its effectiveness and make any recommended changes.