ACTION Apartment Association

Letters to the Editor: Small landlords are being hounded out of L.A.

01/22/2024 8:33 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

We too are mom-and-pop landlords, and we own four units. We take our responsibilities as housing providers very seriously, but we and people such as Kamali have been completely abandoned and actually targeted by the Los Angeles City Council and L.A. County Board of Supervisors.

Statewide anti-housing ballot measure threatens housing providers with extreme rent control

01/19/2024 2:42 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

If the Justice for Renters Act were to pass, it would invite a return to extreme rent control policies, like those observed in cities like Berkeley, San Francisco, and Santa Monica before Costa-Hawkins. This would reduce the availability and quality of rental units and deter the development of new rental housing and any additional private investment in upgrading and maintaining quality units.

Small Landlords

01/17/2024 12:25 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Protecting LA Tenants - And Small Lanlords

The city & county have passed numerous measures that are making it almost impossible for small landlords to function & will ultimately end up hurting vulnerable tenants.

Supercharged Densification With No EIR

01/17/2024 11:48 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The following letter was sent to the City Council on Tuesday by Northeast Neighbors Chair Tricia Crane.

Under this second Density Bonus law, a 100-unit project that qualified under the first Density Bonus maximum to grow to 150 units is now eligible to build 200 units.

This stacked Density Bonus law is a massive acceleration of densification that can be applied by developers to ALL affordable inclusionary projects in the city. Nothing of this density multiplying impact has been included in the environmental impact report (EIR) submitted by the City of Santa Monica to the State for the Housing Element.

Rent Control Board follows Council in backing Justice for Renters Act

01/16/2024 10:09 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The Justice for Renters Act serves as California voters’ third chance to expand rent control rules statewide, appealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995 which puts limitations on local regulations. Current rules prevent cities from limiting rents between tenants (allowing the units to hit market rate when a new tenant moves in), and prevents establishing rent control on any unit first occupied after Feb. 1, 1995, in single family homes or condominiums.

S.M.a.r.t Column: A School District Conundrum

01/15/2024 9:31 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

As bond taxes increase, they are passed on to all, directly or indirectly, to owners and renters alike, making the City less affordable for all. SMMUSD, instead of trying to live within its means, increasingly aspires to amp up its building binge on steroids, even delusionally considering taking over the historic Civic Center Auditorium for a volleyball court and wrestling facility: as if that were the real facility shortage at the high school?

If the district wants to pass another bond this year, it will have to be much more credible as to why it wants to continue massively (already over a billion dollars) increasing the public bond debt for a shrinking population of students. It needs to show how each dollar extracted will provide real long-term benefits and sustainability for all residents and not just shiny new buildings to attract out-of-district students.

New Group Formed to Fight City Hall

01/15/2024 8:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monicans United (SMU)

SMU has come together "against a backdrop of increasing deterioration in Santa Monica’s quality of life" due to a persistent homeless problem and a rise in crime, the group said.

"Santa Monica is in crisis, and my heart goes out to the residents and struggling businesses that have been impacted by the city’s decline," Leana Greene, the group's CEO said in a statement.

New Group Formed to Fight City Hall

01/15/2024 8:45 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monicans United (SMU)

SMU has come together "against a backdrop of increasing deterioration in Santa Monica’s quality of life" due to a persistent homeless problem and a rise in crime, the group said.

"Santa Monica is in crisis, and my heart goes out to the residents and struggling businesses that have been impacted by the city’s decline," Leana Greene, the group's CEO said in a statement.

Santa Monicans United

01/12/2024 8:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

SMU is a new organization created by & for SM residents for our safety

For a clean and safe city.

Local rents end 2023 down more than 4 percent

01/12/2024 8:40 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica apartment rent prices went down 3.5% from November to December 2023. The median rent in the city now stands at $2,466 for a 1-bedroom and $2,956 for a 2-bedroom. Nationwide, rent price in December fell 0.8%, acting as the fifth consecutive month of decline after a mid-year peak.