Victory Alert: South Pasadena Votes NO on Rent Control
Victory Alert
South Pasadena Votes NO on Rent Control
By Janet M. Gagnon, Esq.
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer & SVP, Government Affairs
On February 19th, the South Pasadena City Council voted 3-to-1 against rent control (a/k/a, rent stabilization). Mayor Janet Braun, Council Member Sheila Rossi and Council Member voted against rent stabilization. Council Member Michael Cacciotti was the sole vote in favor of it. Council Member Omari Ferguson was absent.
AAGLA lobbied both during and prior to the meeting with the city council pointing out that South Pasadena had no need for rent stabilization as we had demonstrated to council members that no major increases in rent had been occurring at multifamily properties citywide during the past 5 years. We also discovered and highlighted for the council that the report from the City’s consultant, HR&A Advisors, was fatally flawed by relying upon the Zillow ZORI Index for rent data. The Zillow ZORI Index is flawed because it lumps together pricing for multifamily properties with single-family properties. Single-family properties are not subject to Assembly Bill 1482 (AB1482) rent increase restrictions and is shielded from any form of local rent stabilization so that any new ordinance would not impact them.
We encourage the City Council to instead consider developing a direct rental assistance program for low-income renters impacted by the recent wildfires. Council Member Sheila Rossi also made statements in support of creating a direct rental assistance program for renters in financial need.
However, the City Council is still considering a rental registry even though no other city in Southern California has a rental registry without also imposing rent control due to the high costs of administering such a program. In neighboring Pasadena, for example, the annual cost is $4.7 million per year with 17 full time city staff receiving full benefits and pensions. Further, such information is proprietary for rental housing providers who should not be singled out as small businesses for dissimilar and intrusive treatment forcing the disclosure of sensitive business information.
South Pasadena is not entertaining forcing any other small businesses to disclose their customers’ personal information, pricing or other individual business data to the City. If all the city wants is additional information, they can obtain it through a far less expensive method of subscribing to a national data service such as CoStar or via voluntary city surveys.
We will, of course, keep our members in South Pasadena updated on the rental registry issue as it unfolds.
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.