OXNARD : Plan Would Increase New Rental Deposits

The Oxnard Housing Authority today will consider for the second time a proposal that could more than double the security deposit charged to new tenants of public housing.

But the plan drops a provision rejected by the authority in September that would have applied the full increase to current residents.

The measure that is scheduled to be discussed at 1:30 p.m. would require current tenants to pay only 20% of the difference between the deposit they have already paid and the new deposit.

Residents would be allowed six months to pay the rest of the increase.

Deposits would increase from $50 to $100 for a studio apartment and from $150 to $360 for a five-bedroom apartment.

The proposal would also assess the full increase to current residents who have damaged their apartments and failed to respond to notices.

The city’s Housing Department proposed the higher deposits because the current deposit has not kept up with the cost of unpaid rents, damage repairs and cleaning charges, department spokesman Bernard Carn said.

After protests of the proposed new deposits by tenants last fall, the Housing Department met with members of the Resident Council to work out the new proposal, Carn said.

Oxnard manages 780 units of public housing.