ACTION Apartment Association

Editorial: Rent control still can’t solve California’s housing crisis

03/18/2019 10:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Proponents of rent control, which is threatening to make a comeback in the California Legislature, often portray the opposition as consisting entirely of landlords and developers. The implication is that the unbridled greed of real estate interests is all that stands in their way.

What they omit is the consensus against the policy that persists among experts and the public. Last fall, despite the depredations of the housing shortage and its proverbial too-damn-high rents, Californians roundly rejected Proposition 10, a ballot measure that would have cleared the way for more rent control. Yes, those dastardly real estate interests outspent supporters of the initiative 3-to-1. But similarly lopsided campaign spending wasn’t enough to pass measures to expand property tax breaks, for example, or fund a grab bag of water projects.

Perhaps the voters understood that despite its populist appeal, rent control is the wrong answer to the state’s housing crisis.

SACRAMENTO – California lawmakers try again to tamp down rising rents

03/15/2019 9:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

California lawmakers are trying again to tamp down on rising housing costs with bills to expand rent control and stop rental price gouging.

The bills introduced Thursday come after voters soundly rejected a rent control ballot measure last November.

A handful of Assembly Democrats say the bills are needed because California is in a housing crisis. More than half of California renters spend at least a third of their income on rent.

Lawmakers roll out bills to strengthen rent control across California

03/14/2019 6:05 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Democratic lawmakers in the Assembly unveiled several bills today aimed at protecting renters, including a far-reaching proposal for a statewide limit on rent hikes.

About a dozen cities in California already have rent control laws. Chiu’s proposal, Assembly Bill 1482, would apply to cities that do not, including many in and around Los Angeles, from Burbank to Redondo Beach to Long Beach to Pasadena.

Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) is pitching a bill that would allow cities with rent control to establish rent control in newer rental units.

A third proposal, from Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) would make it more difficult for landlords to evict tenants.

Rent control report highlights value of long-term occupancy

03/14/2019 10:00 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Long-term renters in Santa Monica are staying in their apartments but a new tenant would need to earn $91,200 per year to afford a studio, according to a new annual report on the city’s rent control system.

The city is also showing modest gains in its rent-controlled housing supply. 70 apartments and houses in Santa Monica became subject to rent control in 2018, a little more than the number of rent-controlled units that were taken off the market through the Ellis Act, a state law that allows property owners to evict tenants if they want to exit the rental business. The Rent Control Board will discuss the report at its meeting Thursday.

Appeals Court Affirms Santa Monica's Right to Regulate Online Homesharing Platforms

03/14/2019 9:10 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

In a ruling City officials called "a big win," a California Appeals Court on Wednesday affirmed Santa Monica's right to penalize online platforms for booking short-term rentals of properties not licensed under the city's strict home-sharing law.

The ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a U.S. District Court ruling last summer dismissing the lawsuit filed by Airbnb and HomeAway.com.

The plaintiffs argued that the local ordinance is upending their business model by forcing them to remove illegal listings and poses an economic threat to the growing industry if other cities follow suit ("Challenge to Santa Monica's Home-Sharing Law Reaches Court of Appeals," October 15, 2018).

In its ruling Wednesday the panel of three judges affirmed the lower court's ruling that the City's 2015 Home-Sharing Ordinance is a lawful housing and rental regulation.

This Long Beach building came under new ownership and hiked up rents 70 percent

03/14/2019 9:01 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Williams’ notices, reviewed by the Press-Telegram, indicate the building was bought by 2265 San Anseline LLC. According to business filings with the Secretary of State, that corporation was registered on Jan. 29 by Robert Aldoroty.

In a phone interview, Aldoroty acknowledged that his corporation was raising rents, but he said the new rates are not out of line with the market.

Beware of Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in Rental Leases

03/13/2019 10:29 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

by Gary Rhoades, Deputy City Attorney

The inclusion of mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts, whether for rental housing, a car, or downloading a new app, has skyrocketed in this past decade. Like other businesses, some landlords attempt to limit their liability and their exposure to court costs and attorney’s fees by including mandatory arbitration clauses in their leases.

And because the courts have favored the use of arbitration, it’s been much more difficult to fight them or even to shop around for better terms. Still, there are a few things tenants can do to minimize any loss of rights:

Forget YIMBY vs. NIMBY. Could PHIMBYs Solve the Housing Crisis?

03/12/2019 10:19 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

“Some of my comrades down in the L.A. chapter of DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) came up with PHIMBY when we were writing a response to Senate Bill 827,” says Shanti Singh, co-chair of the San Francisco chapter of the DSA.

The bill, proposed last year by state Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, would have allowed for much more densely built housing near transit hubs. It was supported by the YIMBY movement, which began in San Francisco and encourages new housing development as one way to solve the housing shortage in the Bay Area.

California Apartment Association’s campaign contributions’ corrupting influence

03/12/2019 10:16 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Some say, that one way to fight back against the California Apartment Association (CAA) and the corrupting influence of the rental housing industry would be for renters throughout California to appear at the CAA’s Legislative Conference in Sacramento on May 29, between 9:00AM & 4:00PM, to protest against their activities. The CAA’s Legislative Conference in Sacramento is being held at the Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel, in the Grand Nave Ballroom!

City Asks Appeals Court to Allow Council Members to Serve After August 15 Prohibition

03/12/2019 9:02 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The City on Friday asked a California Appeals Court to stay an order in the voting rights lawsuit that would prohibit sitting Council members from serving after August 15.

The appeal was filed one day after Superior Court Judge Yvette M. Palazuelos on Thursday denied the City's request to confirm that the prohibition was mandatory, which would have resulted in an automatic stay.