Why AAGLA? Advocacy, Education, and Expert Property Management Advice

Why AAGLA?

Advocacy, Education, and Expert Property Management Advice

As an organization with about 10,000 members, there is a strong likelihood that we have never met, but please allow me to introduce myself, as I am your political advocate.

For many years, or maybe only recently, you have been a member of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. You have joined this great organization for many reasons, perhaps. You may be merely seeking lease forms, or you might enjoy our numerous webinars and in-person “Lunch and Learn” seminars, or perhaps you appreciate the great advice given by our Operational Advisors, Mona and Jennifer. Like many organizations, we do try our best, but we are not always perfect and appreciate the feedback we often receive.

Why Continue Your Membership?

But, let me tell you why you must continue to maintain a membership in the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. To put it succinctly, we “cover your ass” when it comes down to the constant barrage of harmful regulations at both state and local levels.

Recent Activities and Achievements

Here’s some of our more recent activities that deliver value to you and help maintain the value of your real estate portfolio:

Litigation Efforts

We have 3 outstanding lawsuits against the City of Los Angeles today and we will likely be filing more as and when the city or any other jurisdiction oversteps its constitutional authority. Each year, we are spending 100’s of thousands of dollars on litigation

• Vs. City of Los Angeles to overturn Measure ULA, the 4%-5.5% real estate transfer tax (Co-Plaintiff with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association)
• Vs. City of Los Angeles to seek damages for 4-years of no rent increases and for illegally changing existing rent increase formula which reduced allowable increases from 7% to 4%.
• Vs. City of Los Angeles to eliminate the new tenant protections that (i) require an “economic threshold” be met before an eviction may be initiated, and (ii) require payment of relocation fees when a tenant moves due to an excessive rent increase at an exempt from rent control property.

4-Year Rent Increase Freeze

We got the 4-year rent freeze, unfrozen. Originally, the City of Los Angeles Housing Committee was going to extend the “freeze” by at least 6 months. We were integral in forcing the Los Angeles City Council to vote against that proposal and at least give us a 4% increase.

Eviction Protections for Rental Relief Applicants.

Just recently, we stopped the “blanket” prohibition on evictions for any renter that filed an application for rent relief within the City of Los Angeles. Due to our efforts, the eviction prohibition applies only to “approved” applicants and not everybody.

Statewide Lobbying Efforts

Our lobbying efforts in Sacramento led by Kate Bell Strategies helped to defeat several proposed bills this year (and in years before), including

• “Ban the Box” which would prohibit asking rental applicants about past criminal convictions.
• “Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act” which would allow tenants and non-profits to hold up the sale of a rental property while they have a first right of refusal.
• A proposed repeal of the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
• A proposal for expanded disclosure requirements in rental property advertisements.

➡ ️This past legislative session included dozes of proposed housing bills, and through our efforts and those of others, over 90% of proposed, harmful bills failed.

Fundraising and Community Impact

Rent Control Ballot Initiative (Weinstein 3.0)

We have already raised $0.5 million so far to help fund statewide opposition efforts against the “Justice for Renters Act.” In past years, with Propositions 10 and 21, in addition to raising money for our statewide opposition campaign, we spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a local billboard campaign.

What Did the California Apartment Association (CAA) and Apartment Owners Association (AOA) Do?

Unfortunately, CAA was not very helpful this year when the “caved” on Assembly Bill 12 (30-day security deposits) and Senate Bill 567 (expanded no-fault eviction protections). Why CAA did that, only they might know, but we fought these harmful bills to the very end.

➡ ️The Apartment Owners Association, our “no-frills” competition at $99 per year does not do any advocacy, but they are standing by to be your broker when ready to unload your properties.

Threatened Roll-Back of Allowable Rent Increases

Both the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County are discussing ways to revise their current rent increase formulas. One of the most extreme proposals coming from Democratic Socialist members on the Los Angeles City Council would be to “cap” allowable increases at no more than 3%.

➡ ️We have been on the forefront of fighting back against this concept for about a year or so, and we have so far been able to maintain the status quo.

Is Your Property “Cooling Ready” and Ready to “Go Green”?

Discussions within the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County have surrounded requiring housing providers to install or allow the installation of air conditioning units, which can entail costly electrical upgrades. Additionally, one of the more extreme measures could involve replacement of all gas appliances (e.g., ovens, heaters, dryers, etc.) with all electric appliances.

➡ ️The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles has been on the forefront in pushing back on these radical proposals.

AAGLA Covers Much of Southern California

Our local government affairs team covers over 100 jurisdictions throughout Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino Counties.

➡ ️We keep members apprised of the latest proposals and new ordinances throughout our territory in addition to state legislation.

Certified Apartment Maintenance Technician (CAM-T) program

In addition to providing members with ongoing educational opportunities via webinars and seminars, and providing constant updates about proposed or recently passed ordinances and regulations, we are giving back to local communities through our Certified Apartment Maintenance Technician (CAM-T) program that trains “challenged young adults” to become apartment maintenance technicians. Many of our students had previously been homeless, incarcerated, or have come out of the Foster Care program, and they are being trained and earning living wage jobs in our industry.

➡ ️Perhaps your company can benefit by hiring these students as interns and later full-time as employees. Everyone I speak to in this business is having trouble finding qualified maintenance personnel!

Final Thoughts

Do you see the value here? Stick with us and encourage others to join. Please, continue supporting an organization like ours that has your interests at heart. We are always here to ensure bad legislative ideas do not end up turning into reality.