Presidents Message

President’s Message

In his book, “A Tale of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens wrote, ““It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

So much of Charles Dickens’ epic beginning of his great novel holds true for us today as we finally, after more than three years, transition beyond pandemic precautions and government’s response that has been so challenging for those of us in the rental housing business.  As we see a glimmer of hope in our future, we continue to struggle under moratoria against evictions and rent increases – “it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness.” As I write this, we do not really know where we stand as talk among County Supervisors seem to indicate further extensions of the past three plus years of “temporary” protections may be possible. Really, “it was the age of foolishness,” and in fact it is!

Rent control and “just cause” eviction ordinances continue to expand throughout the Southland.  Aggressive tenant groups are storming the halls of government advocating to make rent control and “just cause” eviction the law of their local municipality through ballot initiatives or by pressuring local politicians with pleas of poverty and stories of unscrupulous property owners.  And, politically motivated to garner tenant votes, local politicians are listening and responding by passing some of the most draconian housing regulations ever. 

Most of our members at the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles have worked all their lives to afford a small income-producing property.  Many do not or did not have jobs that gave them pensions during retirement like the generous pensions given by us taxpayers to elected officials, or that even had employers that offered 401(k) plans.  No, our members chose to put their hard-earned savings into real estate rather than stocks and bonds on Wall Street.

While we continue to deal with these challenges and seeming constant attacks on those of us in the rental housing business, I believe we are still in a business of opportunity. Things can only get better from here, and I am honored to serve in a leadership role as your president. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles continues to gain momentum through advocacy and legal challenges. There has been growth in every area of the organization, including education, website enhancements, social media presence, media attention, staffing, and most importantly, our membership counts. There’s still money to be made in the rental housing industry and real estate investments are still the most stable given the risks associated with investments in stocks and bonds.

We will continue to focus on the value and support we deliver to you, our members, by sharing knowledge, and advocating for the protection of your property rights at all levels of government. For more than 106 years, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles has stood steadfastly by its members through “thick and thin.”

You may ask, what more can we do to address the undue influence of the tenant advocacy groups’ efforts to erode our property rights in the state legislature. This month, I will have the pleasure of leading a delegation of our members to Sacramento in order to advocate on behalf of all rental housing providers.  In all, a total of nine apartment associations from throughout the State of California will congregate in Sacramento to advocate and try to influence the outcomes of several proposed assembly and senate bills that could be detrimental to property owners. Our meetings and other activities will be organized by the California Rental Housing Association (CalRHA), which is being led this year by Earle Vaughan, who served two terms as President of the Board of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, before being elected as the new state-wide President for CalRHA.  Most of us will spend two days in Sacramento discussing issues of vital importance to those of us in the multifamily housing industry in California, including a full day of walking the halls of the State Capitol building meeting with elected representatives throughout our respective territories.

Later this year, in June, we will be taking a similar advocacy trip, but that time to Washington, D.C. along with 100s of other rental property associations throughout the U.S. all affiliated with the National Apartment Association to meet with members of the Senate and Congress. This year, we will certainly be having discussions about President Biden’s proposed, national tenant protections. And as we often do, I am certain we will advocate for government grants to assist California rental property owners with covering the cost of expensive earthquake seismic retrofitting costs. It is far less costly to retrofit a building today than to rebuild a building after it has failed in an earthquake. 

As a member of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, by the way, you should know that you are automatically a member of CalRHA and the National Apartment Association for no extra cost. For those of you who may be interested in joining us on either of our trips to Sacramento or Washington, D.C., look out for announcements in our emails and magazine, or please reach out to our Executive Director, Daniel Yukelson.

Now more than ever before, please become active and help our apartment association to advocate and prevail in the face of ongoing threats against the multifamily housing industry in California. Attend our meetings and webinars, read our emails and magazine to stay informed on the issues, write to your elected officials and local newspapers, and most importantly, give generously to the our Political Action Committees and Legal Fund.  Unfortunately, it takes money to defeat bad legislation.  So, please give so that you can help us to help you.

I want you to know how truly proud I am to serve as your President during what is now my third annual term. As a rental housing provider like you, I share your same concerns and challenges, and I promise that I will continue to work extremely hard during this term to oppose legislation that negatively impacts our rights as property owners, and to offer solutions for the betterment of our industry and society as a whole.