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The San Diego Union-Tribune has joined major newspapers from across California in opposing Proposition 21, the radical rent control measure going before voters Nov. 3.
“Rent control is the wrong way to help Californians struggling with housing,” says the editorial, titled No on Prop. 21: Expanding rent control will make California housing crisis worse. “Lawmakers who are juggling a lot during this pandemic need to not lose sight of that. The long-term solution is listening to experts and building new houses.”
At this point, almost every major California newspaper has editorialized against Proposition 21.
Like its predecessor Prop 10, Prop… Read More
The San Mateo Daily Journal this morning editorialized against rent control initiatives in San Mateo and Burlingame.
The newspaper’s editorial board urges voters to reject the introduction of rent control, just-cause-for-eviction policies and costly rent boards in both cities. The editorial board had met with the California Apartment Association before publishing this morning’s piece.
Last month a group of concerned residents came from Los Angeles to the California Apartment Association headquarters in Sacramento to protest rising rents and urge the adoption of rent control.
Rather than call in the police, or lock our doors, I met them in our lobby and began a dialogue that is long overdue. I did agree with some of their concerns, but I disagreed that rent control is the answer.
In the real world, regulations and restrictions have only resulted in fewer available homes. Since controls are not “means-tested” they do nothing to guarantee that lower-income residents will have… Read More
Tagged: OpinionRent Control
The Orange County Register this week published the following letter by Tommy Thompson, executive director of the California Apartment Association’s Orange County Division. To read it on the Register website, click here and go to the second letter from the top.
Undoubtedly, the new year brings a time of both reflection and excitement for most of us in Orange County. Our county is fortunate to have a large and diverse supply of neighborhoods our residents can call home.
Whether it’s a craftsman-style home in Anaheim or the city of Orange, or a modern loft in downtown Santa Ana, housing choice… Read More
Tagged: Opinion
By ADAM GOLDFARB
It’s only natural for the people of Fresno to experience outrage over the conditions at Summerset Village apartments.
More than a thousand residents went for weeks without heat and hot water. A number of code violations exist, and apartment residents should never have to withstand Third World living conditions –especially in the largest city in California’s Central Valley.
The residents at Summerset Village endured hardships at no fault of their own, and the Fresno community, including responsible rental housing owners and managers, are embarrassed about the substandard conditions.
As our community examines what went wrong, let us… Read More
Tagged: Opinion Greater Fresno
Every year, California experiences thousands upon thousands of small earthquakes – hundreds each day.
Ninety-nine percent are so small we never feel them. Once in a while, though, we get a large tremor — like the 5.1 quake in Orange County this past spring — that reminds us to prepare for the Big One that seismologists keep talking about.
When it comes to the rental housing industry, California lawmakers have authorized local governments to establish seismic-retrofit standards for particular types of buildings they consider to be hazardous during an earthquake.
These would include certain unreinforced-masonry buildings, specified wood-frame, soft-story, and… Read More
Managers of apartments and condominiums should not have to post signs at their swimming pools prohibiting diarrhea-afflicted residents from the water.
Such a ban is unenforceable, health protections are unproven, and the signs – which must have words or a diagram — are a magnet for theft.
Unfortunately, the rule is already on the books for apartment and condominium pools built since September 2012. The California Apartment Association and California Building Industry Association are trying to change that.
On Nov. 5, both trade groups petitioned the California Department of Public Health to exempt multifamily housing from the signage requirement.
As… Read More
Tagged: AdvocacyOpinion Pools and Spas
In this column in the New York Times, TV journalist Scott James tells a landlord’s horror story — it involves a sledgehammer — about renting out his downstairs apartment in San Francisco. He’s not renting out that unit again. Scott admits he’s adding to The City’s housing shortage and gives his reasons. What’s your take?
Tagged: Opinion