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The California Apartment Association is preparing to fight a rent control and just-cause eviction measure that qualified this week for the November ballot in Richmond.
The Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters on Tuesday, July 12, certified that rent control proponents collected a sufficient number of valid signatures to place the measure before voters in the general election.
The measure includes rent control based on the consumer price index, as well as a just-cause-for-eviction provision.
“Rent control is a failed policy that doesn’t work and provides little, if any, relief to the low-income families who need the so-called benefits of… Read More
A voter petition to repeal Burlingame’s longstanding law against rent control fails to meet requirements under California’s election code and cannot legally appear on the November ballot.
The full text of Measure T — which the initiative seeks to overturn — is missing from the petition, which CAA’s lawyers argue invalidates the ballot measure under state law.
Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk, a law firm representing the California Apartment Association, points out the initiative’s legal deficiencies in a July 1 letter to Burlingame’s city clerk.
“By omitting the full text of the proposal as the Elections Code mandates, voters were deprived… Read More
Tenant advocates have now filed petitions in four Bay Area cities to qualify a rent control measure for the November ballot.
The latest filing came Monday, June 27, as tenant advocates turned in more than 11,000 signatures to the San Mateo city clerk.
Tenant groups are trying to qualify the San Mateo Community Preservation and Fair Rent Charter Amendment for the November ballot. The measure would limit annual rent increases to 4 percent and implement just-cause eviction policies.
San Mateo County election officials are now counting and verifying signatures. Rent control supporters needed 7,119 valid signatures to qualify the measure.… Read More
California Assemblyman Tony Thurmond is putting together legislation that would leverage tax credits to address the Bay Area’s shortage of affordable housing, the San Francisco Business Times reported Tuesday.
The Richmond Democrat, who held a town hall meeting on housing this month in Oakland, said he’s prepared to pitch the idea to Gov. Jerry Brown, the article says. Thurmond may have his work cut out for him, considering that the governor has rejected several tax-credit based proposals as of late, including Assembly Bill 35, which would have increased California’s Low Income Housing Tax Credit by $300 million for the construction… Read More
https://youtu.be/I3MNTfdo42U
The Richmond City Council — the first to approve rent control in California in more than three decades — has rescinded the policy in response to a signature-gathering effort spearheaded by the California Apartment Association.
The council’s unanimous vote Tuesday night came after Contra Costa County’s Elections Division certified more than 5,000 signatures collected during the CAA-led petition drive.
“We believed the council had rushed to judgment on a policy that would bring long-lasting, negative consequences for the city’s housing stock and financial stability,” said Tom Bannon, CAA’s chief executive officer. “CAA quickly launched the referendum push so that… Read More
Thanks to a referendum backed by the California Apartment Association and its supporters, rent control in Richmond is on hold.
Today, CAA, on behalf of thousands of local property owners and concerned citizens, submitted 7,025 signatures to Richmond’s city clerk.
The referendum asks voters to repeal a rent control and just-cause-for-eviction ordinance approved by the City Council on Aug. 5. The referendum also postpones implementation of the ordinance, which had been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 4.
The City Council can now either repeal the ordinance or send the issue to voters. If the council chooses the latter, the referendum will … Read More
Tagged: Rent Control
At a special meeting Wednesday, Aug. 5, the Richmond City Council officially approved its rent control and just-cause-for-eviction ordinance and scheduled it to take effect in 30 days.
The council had previously planned to implement the law effective Dec. 1. A council member, however, pushed to fast-track the process, leading to a series of special meetings over the past week.
After Wednesday’s second reading of the ordinance, the council ratified it by a 4-1 vote, becoming the first Bay Area city to adopt rent control in decades. Other cities in the Bay Area also are examining rent control and may… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Contra Costa
The Richmond City Council will hold a special meeting at 6 tonight to implement rent control and just-cause eviction more quickly than previously planned.
The council had decided to implement rent control effective Dec. 1, but this past Tuesday, a council member proposed fast-tracking the ordinance so it would take effect in September. See video
Since the council is entering its August recess, the move triggered the need for a series of special meetings.
Assuming the council approves rent control tonight with an earlier start date — the four votes needed to do so are there — it would then… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Contra Costa
Owners of rental property in Richmond will soon face a cap on rent increases and find it harder to evict problem tenants.
On the evening of Tuesday July 21, the City Council approved a rent control and just-cause ordinance on a 4-1 vote. At the time of the decision, Mayor Tom Butt and Councilman Vinay Pimple had left the meeting, having been denied an opportunity to speak about the proposal.
That denial came when Councilwoman Gayle McLaughlin successfully pushed to halt debate and hasten a vote [see video] following Vice Mayor Jael Myrick’s announcement that he would support rent control,… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Contra Costa
In just four days, the Richmond City Council will again take up a proposal to institute rent control and a just-cause eviction ordinance.
CAA is calling on its members with property in Richmond to attend the Tuesday, July 21, meeting and argue against these flawed policies.
As they have in recent meetings, tenant advocates Tuesday will likely make impassioned pleas for rent control and a just-cause eviction ordinance, while arguing against the creation of a rent mediation board, the most sensible option under consideration.
It’s imperative that CAA and its members continue to dispell the myths surrounding rent control and… Read More
Tagged: Rent Control Contra CostaSolano