Victory Alert: Claremont Votes NO on Rental Registry
Victory Alert
Claremont Votes NO on Rental Registry
By Janet M. Gagnon, Esq.
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and SVP, Government Affairs
On February 11th, the Claremont City Council voted 2-to-2 in opposition to establishing a rental registry. Mayor Corey Calaycay and Council Member Sal Medina voted against the rental registry realizing that it would be extremely costs for the City and that the funds were better spent on other important issues for the City. In contrast, Council Member Jennifer Stark made the outrageous and unfounded claim that a registry would “benefit” the community without naming a single, specific benefit. However, she also stated that the City should not be gathering data just for the sake of gathering data and acknowledge that it would result in building a larger bureaucracy for rental housing providers. Ultimately, she voted in favor of creating a rental registry. Council Member Jed Leano was clearly in favor of a rental registry and attempted to downplay that every other city in Southern California with a rental registry had done so to enforce local rent control (a/k/a, rent stabilization). Council Member Ed Reece abstained. Fortunately, this bad idea was killed even though the vote was very close.
Unfortunately, other bad ideas are still brewing in Claremont. Specifically, the City Council is still discussing a completely one-sided anti-harassment ordinance. As we know, rental housing providers also suffer from wrongful harassment by renters. It is the City’s duty to protect all residents – renters and rental housing providers – from wrongful harassment. Fortunately, the directive was given to staff to reach out to the community in order to work on this ordinance to provide equal protection to everyone against harassment. AAGLA looks forward to working with the City Council and staff to craft a balanced ordinance as this item moves forward.
AAGLA will keep our members updated on opportunities to engage directly with the City Council and staff on revisions to the draft anti-harassment ordinance.
This article is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions regarding your property or specific leasing issues and the requirements of any legal changes described herein, please consult with an attorney.