News: eviction

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Tenant activists are again attempting to place a rent control measure before voters in Pasadena. Rent control proponents last month announced they would attempt to qualify an initiative for the November 2020 ballot. Although the measure currently lacks details, tenant activists hope to cap rents at the rate of inflation and include a “just cause” eviction policy in the measure, according to LAist. The Pasadena Tenant Justice Coalition is behind the latest effort. The coalition includes five groups: the Pasadena Tenants Union; Socialist Scientists of Pasadena; Affordable Housing Services; American Civil Liberties Union—Southern California; and the Democratic Socialists of America… Read More

Tagged: Los Angeles

After hours of testimony Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to create a “just cause” eviction ordinance, rejecting two years’ worth of negotiations and compromise by the council-appointed Landlord/Tenant Task Force.   Although they sound innocuous, so-called “just cause” ordinances require rental property owners to prove a cause in court or before a political body every time they need to remove a problem resident.  This makes it very difficult to remove tenants who have no regard for their neighbors, destroy the property, and tenants who are involved in illegal activity. As a result, communities suffer the consequences as nuisance conditions are not easily remedied.  

Tagged: Los Angeles

Over the objections of CAA, the Inglewood City Council on Tuesday agreed to pursue a permanent rent control ordinance, “just cause” eviction policies, and a relocation assistance program tied to rent increases.   The council advanced these policies one week after extending a temporary rent control and just-cause measure for an additional 60 days. The interim ordinance caps rent increases at 5%.   Under the permanent rent control ordinance, rent increases would be limited to 8% each year.  

Tagged: Los AngelesLong Beach

Thanks in part to the efforts of CAA, the Milpitas City Council this week backed away from a proposal to bring impose rent control and “just cause” eviction policies. The council rejected these policies Tuesday after receiving a report from its Tenant Protection Task Force, which included both tenants and property owners. While tenants on the task force demanded rent control and just cause policies, property owners in the group suggested several alternatives, such as conducting educational workshops to help tenants understand their rights under state law, establishing a non-binding mediation program for disputes, and creating a “right to lease”… Read More

Tagged: Tri-County

The Inglewood City Council this week temporarily capped rent increases at 5 percent and imposed an interim “just cause” eviction measure. The rent moratorium and eviction control ordinances are scheduled to last 45 days but can be renewed for up to a year by the council. The rent cap applies to pre-1995 apartments.

Tagged: Los AngelesLong Beach

Proposals that would require Santa Barbara landlords to offer yearlong leases and provide relocation assistance after certain types of displacement continued to move forward this week. On Tuesday, the city’s Ordinance Committee advanced the “right to a lease” and relocation fee proposals to the full City Council, which will consider adopting the measures in the coming months. The committee also voted 2-1 to ask the council to reconsider “just cause” eviction, a policy that the California Apartment Association opposes unequivocally.

Tagged: Los Angeles

A recently introduced bill would authorize tenant groups to orchestrate rent strikes without fear of eviction. SB 529 would allow tenant groups, after a majority vote, to withhold rent payments for up to 30 days in response to grievances or complaints against the landlord.

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Thanks to swift opposition led by CAA’s North Bay Division, the Healdsburg City Council this month rejected an ordinance that would have brought a form of rent control to the city. The proposal would have forced a landlord to pay up to $7,000 in penalties to any tenant who moves because of a “no fault” eviction or a rent increase greater than 10 percent. The ordinance came in response to a new property owner whose plans for major renovations to a small apartment building would force current residents to relocate.

Tagged: North Bay

The Santa Barbara Ordinance Committee this week  requested to review “just cause” and eviction-control policies, veering from two years’ worth of Landlord/Tenant Task Force work and recommendations. On Tuesday, the ordinance committee expressed interest in eviction controls, even though the latest task force recommendations make no mention of this counterproductive housing policy. CAA opposes “just cause” eviction restrictions, which prolong the eviction process and make it more difficult and costly to terminate tenancies. Just cause ordinances also make it more difficult and expensive to provide quality housing at affordable rates. Efforts to bring reasonable rental housing policies to Santa Barbara… Read More

Tagged: Long BeachLos Angeles

The Menlo Park City Council on Tuesday rejected “rent control in disguise” in favor of a more reasonable tenant relocation measure. The rejected proposal, labeled Alternative B, proposed to limit rent increases and restrict an owner’s ability to evict tenants unless the owner paid the tenant up to four times the monthly rent. It was developed by the city’s Housing Commission and modified and endorsed by Mayor Pro Tem Cecelia Taylor and Councilwoman Betsy Nash. Alternative B was criticized as “rent control in disguise” and failed to receive the three votes needed to pass. Instead, the City Council majority adopted… Read More

Tagged: Tri-County