News Alert: South Pasadena Establishes 45-Day Moratorium on All No-Fault Tenancy Terminations
At its May 17th City Council meeting, the South Pasadena City Council unanimously adopted an urgency ordinance establishing a 45-day moratorium on all No-Fault just cause terminations of tenancy. The urgency ordinance is effective immediately through July 1, 2023. We encourage members who own properties in the City of South Pasadena to view the full details of the Urgency Ordinance (see below).
There was no data presented by staff indicating a citywide issue that would justify the need for an “urgency ordinance on No-Fault tenancy terminations of any kind. An urgency ordinance is only appropriate when there is a pressing emergency that justifies bypassing the normal review process by the Council that allows for full stakeholder engagement before action is taken. Instead, the Council rushed through this ordinance on the basis of 4 renters out of the 26,300+ residents having their tenancies terminated due to the substantial remodel of a single building in South Pasadena. AAGLA urged the Council to reject the urgency ordinance in favor of following the standard process, so that all constituents’ voices could be fully heard. However, such efforts fell on deaf ears as all 5 Council Members voted to pass the urgency ordinance. Apparently, the Council didn’t feel it was important to hear from all constituents, including small mom-and-pop property owners directly impacted by their actions.
AAGLA conducted extensive outreach prior to the meeting with individual Council Members, formal written comments and speaking publicly at the meeting itself. As a result, the Council is considering a voluntary mediation program based on the highly successful program that already exists in Santa Barbara to address the handful of renters experiencing disagreements with their rental housing providers.
Unfortunately, the Council has also instructed staff to study the issue of substantial remodels and develop a draft permanent ordinance to present to Council for consideration that would place additional restrictions on rental housing owners seeking to conduct such remodels.
AAGLA will continue to advocate for our members' interests and provide updates when the draft ordinance is brought forward to the Council for review and consideration.
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific tenancies and the requirements of any local law changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.