News: Contra Costa
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If you increase rents in Concord, don’t be surprised if you get a phone call from the city.
Concord has launched a hotline for tenants to confidentially report rent increases either by phone or email.
Tagged: News Contra Costa
The California Apartment Association today announced that Joseph A. Lawton Jr., vice president of Castle Management Co., has begun a one-year term as president of the association’s statewide board of directors.
Lawton began his tenure Jan. 1 and will take his formal oath of office during the association’s Feb. 16 board meeting in Sacramento.
Tagged: News Contra Costa
The California Apartment Association today filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of Richmond’s rent control law.
The lawsuit, accessible here, alleges that Richmond’s rent control ordinance, approved by voters as Measure L, violates state and federal laws in several ways.
CAA also requested a temporary restraining order to halt enforcement of the measure.
The California Apartment Association has prepared compliance information on the rent control laws approved by voters in Mountain View and Richmond in the Nov. 8 election. While the laws will likely face legal challenges, it’s important that property owners and managers understand the sweeping changes that voters approved.
Use the links below to access the compliance papers.
Mountain View’s Measure V
Richmond’s Measure L
Despite objections from the California Apartment Association, the city of Concord has decided to increase the fees for its rental housing inspection program.
The City Council adopted higher fees, more frequent inspections and other changes to its Multi-Family Housing Inspection Program during its Nov. 29 meeting.
Tagged: News Contra Costa
The Concord City Council this week rejected a proposal to temporarily cap rent increases at 3 percent per year.
The urgency measure Tuesday received two yes votes but needed four to pass. The failure of the proposed 45-day rent-increase moratorium came amid a cooldown in the Bay Area’s rental housing market. In Concord, rents have recently dropped for one-bedroom and three-bedroom units.
“I really can’t, in my heart, find the urgency issue citywide,” said Mayor Hoffmeister, as reported in this East Bay Times article.
Concord staff will now look into creating a mediation program to help resolve disputes between tenants… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Contra Costa
Despite aggressive opposition from CAA, a measure to impose rent control and just-cause eviction in Richmond has won passage at the ballot box.
Ballots cast to approve Measure L garnered 64 percent of the vote. Other Bay Area cities with rent control on the Nov. 8 ballot included Alameda, Burlingame, Mountain View and San Mateo.
Voters on Tuesday rejected strict rent control laws in Burlingame, San Mateo and Alameda but approved them in Richmond and Mountain View.
All five measures proposing rent control faced strong opposition from local property owners, homeowners, businesses, real estate groups and the California Apartment Association.
In Burlingame and Alameda, voters rejected rent control by a roughly 2-1 margin. Ballots cast in favor of Burlingame’s Measure R garnered 33 percent of the vote, while yes votes for Alameda’s M1 earned 34 percent. In San Mateo, the rent control measure also failed decidedly, with Measure Q receiving just 39 percent approval.
The Richmond City Council on Tuesday lacked the necessary votes to ban rent increases from now until November’s citywide vote on rent control.
Pro-rent control council members in the city pushed for an emergency moratorium on rent increases as a stopgap measure leading up to Election Day. This pro-rent control bloc, however, lacked the supermajority needed to enact the emergency measure.
https://youtu.be/SeQWhgBqyTE
The campaign against Richmond’s rent control initiative now includes a television spot highlighting the many problems with Measure L, one of several rent control and just-cause eviction measures appearing on the Nov. 8 ballot in Bay Area cities.
The California Apartment Association Issues Committee paid for the political ad, which is now airing in Richmond.
CAA’s Issue Committee also is running TV ads spotlighting serious flaws in the rent control and just-cause eviction measures appearing in Mountain View, San Mateo, Burlingame and Alameda.
Help CAA’s Issues PAC fight rent control. Make checks payable to CAA Issues Committee and mail… Read More
Tagged: ElectionsRent Control Contra Costa