Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles Goes to Washington, D.C.
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles Goes to Washington, D.C.
Delegation of Staff and Board Members Lobby on “Key” Property Rights Issues
A delegation from the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles went to Washington, D.C. along with 100’s of delegations from apartment associations throughout the United States affiliated with the National Apartment Association. The lobbying effort, which took place on March 8th and 9th in Washington, D.C. once again included a half day of meetings on regulatory issues of importance to rental housing providers and a full day of meetings with members of Congress on Capitol Hill.
Attending on behalf of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles were longtime Board Members, Larry Cannizzaro and Curt Knabe, and Executive Director, Daniel Yukelson, and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs & External Relations, Janet Gagnon. The team met with several congressional members and/or their staff, including the following:(“*” denotes meeting with congressional member.)
- Rep. Ted Lieu (D)
- Rep. Mike Garcia (R)
- Rep. Robert Garcia (D)*
- Rep. Pete Aguilar (D)
- Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D)
- Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (D)
- Rep. Brad Sherman (D)
- Rep. Maxine Waters (D)*
The topics of discussion during the meetings included, among other things:
- Revitalizing and Streamlining Section 8 Voucher Program. We discussed the “too many” barriers and red tape associated with the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program and discussed some real-life examples of delays and challenges owners have had with the inspection process. We also spoke about the poor reputation the Section 8 Voucher program has among housing providers and that approximately 10,000 housing providers who participate in the Housing Choice Voucher program leave the program each year due to the poor experience..
- Reducing Barriers to Housing Production. We spoke about the process of entitlements and how nearly one-third of project costs go towards entitlements such as permits, environmental review, legal, etc. We suggested that incentives be provided to encourage states and local jurisdictions to streamline the review and entitlement process, all greater density where appropriate, and provide tax incentives in order to increase the supply of housing, particularly affordable housing.
- CARES Act 30-Day Notice of Eviction Requirement. We asked that the Representatives support legislation to eliminate a remaining provision of the CARES Act that is still effective, which requires housing providers to give 30-days’ notice (vs. 3-days) of eviction if they have any Section 8 tenants at their property or have a Federally backed loan (e.g., Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac) for their property. We made the point that all other provisions of the CARES Act, which had established a 120-day moratorium on evictions due to non-payment of rent, have now expired, and this remaining provision not only harms property owners seeking to collect legally owed rent, but also discourages participation in the Section 8 Voucher program.
All members of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles are welcome and encouraged to attend future lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. taking place in March and in Sacramento taking place in April of each year.