News: Posts by Mike Nemeth

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The Inglewood City Council this week adopted a long-term rent control policy that caps annual increases at 3%. The Housing Protection Initiative also creates a per-unit fee of up to $168, with 50% of the fee eligible for a pass-through.

Tagged: Los Angeles

Several more California cities this week, including Long Beach and Pasadena, rushed to pass urgency ordinances aimed at preventing no-cause evictions until the state implements Assembly Bill 1482.   The stopgap ordinances target 60-day eviction notices already pending and set to terminate tenancies before Jan. 1, the day that AB 1482 takes effect and implements a statewide rent cap and “just cause” eviction policies. Oct. 31 was the last day that California landlords could issue a 60-day notice.  

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An urgency ordinance preventing termination of tenancies without cause in Sacramento County failed to muster enough votes to pass. The ordinance was intended to stop rental owners from ending tenancies in order to avoid rolling back rents or being stuck with below market rents once a new state law, Assembly Bill 1482, takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Similar ordinances were recently passed in several jurisdictions throughout California, including Los Angeles and Milpitas. The ordinance was proposed by Supervisor Phil Serna after several residents of Bell Oaks Apartments, with the support of tenant-advocacy organizations, demanded that the Board of Supervisors… Read More

Tagged: Sacramento Valley

The city of Fresno next week will begin levying harsher penalties against landlords who chronically violate city codes at their rental properties. The steeper fines, which go into effect Nov. 11, are reserved for property owners with more than 10 citations in one year — a distinction that will earn them the label of “serial violator.”

Tagged: Greater FresnoCentral Valley

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will consider an emergency “just cause” ordinance Tuesday, Nov. 5.   To pass, an urgency ordinance requires approval from four of the five board members. The ordinance would immediately impose just-cause restrictions similar to those in AB 1482, the statewide rent control and just-cause eviction law taking effect Jan. 1.  

Tagged: Sacramento Valley

The Inglewood City Council has decided to make its cap on rent increases even more draconian.   Despite opposition from the California Apartment Association, the council Tuesday voted unanimously to lower the city’s annual cap on rent increases to 3% — two percentage points lower than the 5% interim rent cap adopted earlier this year.   The rent control ordinance green-lighted this week, dubbed the Housing Protection Initiative, is scheduled to sunset in five years.   The City Council still must formalize approval of the ordinance with a second reading expected in 30 days.  

Tagged: Los Angeles

Several more cities this week approved stopgap ordinances to begin enforcing elements of Assembly Bill 1482 before the statewide rent control and “just cause” eviction law takes effect Jan. 1.  On Monday, the municipalities of Redwood City and Daly City, both in the San Francisco Bay Area, approved measures that prohibit no-cause evictions on housing that will be covered by AB 1482, the newly approved statewide rent-cap legislation. In Southern California, the city of Bell Gardens also approved a stopgap measure Monday.   On Tuesday, the city of Santa Cruz on the Central Coast adopted an urgency just-cause measure during a special council meeting. While this ordinance mirrors the just cause… Read More

Tagged: Los AngelesTri-County

Question: One of the recent applicants to our apartment community claims he is paid “under the table.”  How do I verify his income?

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High winds and resulting fires and evacuations prompted the governor this past weekend to declare a statewide emergency, a move that’s triggered protections against price gouging, including rent increases over 10% anywhere in California. The cap applies to both existing and prospective tenancies, meaning a landlord cannot raise the rent on a vacant unit beyond the 10% mark. Further, an owner cannot terminate at tenancy in order to charge a new renter more than the cap would allow for the evicted renter. The rent-gouging protections apply to all housing types, including vacant units. The state of emergency is slated to… Read More

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The Mountain View City Council next month is expected to move forward with a city-sponsored ballot measure aimed at changing the local rent control law approved in 2016. On Nov. 12, the council is expected to decide whether to place such a measure before city voters in the 2020 election.

Tagged: Tri-County