News: Posts by Mike Nemeth

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A petition to put rent control on the November ballot in Santa Rosa has failed to qualify. On Friday, the Santa Rosa city clerk announced that the petition fell short of the required number of valid signatures needed to place the measure on the Nov. 6 ballot. To qualify the initiative, tenant advocates needed to submit 8,985 valid voter signatures. City officials, however, could confirm the validity of only 7,895, leading the city clerk to deem the petition insufficient. “Clearly this is exciting news and a victory in our ongoing efforts to keep rent control out of Santa Rosa,” said… Read More

Tagged: North Bay

Question: I have a two-bedroom apartment rented to two roommates. One roommate always pays the rent on time. The other roommate is habitually late. Can I do an eviction based on a partial payment even though the month is not over? Answer: Both tenants are responsible for the entire amount of the rent so long as they are on the same rental agreement/lease. You should serve a three-day notice to pay rent or quit for the balance of the rent and name both roommates. If they do not comply, commence an unlawful detainer action naming both.

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A combination of wildfires and flooding this week prompted Gov. Jerry Brown to declare states of emergency in several California counties in both northern and southern parts of the state, again activating bans on rent increases exceeding 10 percent in the affected areas. The latest emergency declarations are for San Bernardino, Riverside, Mariposa and Shasta counties. The emergency declaration for San Bernardino county was issued on July 24 due to the effects of a monsoonal rainstorm. The emergency declarations for Riverside, Mariposa and Shasta counties were issued on July 26 due to the Cranston, Carr, and Fergusen fires.

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Los Angeles County supervisors have pulled a temporary rent control ordinance from next week’s meeting agenda. Supervisors had been scheduled to consider a moratorium on rent increases over 3 percent in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, however, Supervisor Sheila Kuehl had the item removed from Tuesday’s lineup. Rather than enacting a rent freeze, the supervisor has decided to bring the proposal back to city staff and is expecting a report in the coming weeks. The California Apartment Association has been mobilizing members to oppose the temporary rent cap.

Tagged: Los Angeles

The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to have city staff identify a permanent funding source to combat homelessness and promote affordable housing. Under the proposal from Councilman Rex Richardson, the city will begin exploring potential funding sources. The California Apartment Association has supported such efforts previously, including Measure H in Los Angeles County and Measure HHH in the city of Los Angeles. You can read motion from Councilman Richardson here. If you are interested in the efforts of the city as it relates to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact CAA representative Fred Sutton at… Read More

Tagged: Long Beach

The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday declined to put forth a local ballot measure that would update the city’s rent rollback date if the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act is repealed. Should Proposition 10 pass and Costa-Hawkins be overturned, the city will instead rely on the Rent Board to adjust the city’s base rent, which remains set at 1978 levels but hasn’t been enforced since Costa-Hawkins became law.

Tagged: Long BeachLos Angeles

California’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has said that Proposition 10 — the ballot measure that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act —  could cost local governments up to “tens of millions of dollars per year” in new costs and that the state could lose up to “hundreds of millions of dollars per year” in revenues. The Legislative Analyst’s Office shared those findings in an analysis of Proposition 10 included in an Official Voter Information Guide published this week by the California Secretary of State’s Office. Of those costs, the San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board writes, “That’s the sobering bill… Read More

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The Civil Justice Association of California this week announced its opposition to Proposition 10, the ballot measure that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and bring extreme forms of rent control back to California. “Prop 10 contains a hidden loophole requiring taxpayers to pay the initiative supporters’ legal bills for participating in certain lawsuits, even if they lose and even if their position is frivolous,” Caitlin Colman, vice president of government affairs for CJAC, said in a news release from the No On Prop 10 campaign. “This blank check benefits lawyers and puts taxpayers on the hook for limitless… Read More

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In the first half of 2018, California lawmakers considered a number of bills that were threatening to the rental housing industry, including proposals to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, impose statewide “just cause” eviction policies, and mandate a training program for landlords. At the same time, legislators considered positive legislation that would boost residential construction, leverage marijuana tax money to confront homelessness, and give renters a boost come tax time.In the paragraphs below, we’ll review some of the best and worst housing-related legislation of the year so far. For the positive bills, we’ll summarize legislation supported by the California… Read More

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Question: We are terminating a month-to-month tenant who has rented the property for over 15 years. We gave the tenant a 60-day notice and the tenant acknowledged this and initially thanked us for giving them more than 30 days’ notice. Now the tenant is demanding an additional 30 days due to their new residence not being ready in time. We have already made other commitments for the property. We stated we cannot extend more time. The tenant states that they are entitled to the extension because they have rented the property for over 10 years.  Where do we stand? Answer: … Read More

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