Since vacancy decontrol began in 1999, rent controlled units reset to market rate whenever they are newly leased. In 2021, there was robust rental activity as 3,693 units entered new leases and median initial rent rates were significantly lower than those in 2020. 

The average price drop was most pronounced for rent controlled units of three or more bedrooms, which fell by more than 13 percent from a $4,600 median initial rent in 2020 to a $3,995 median initial rent in 2021. 

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/new-rent-control-leases-saw-dramatic-price-decline-in-2021/216871

A former assistant City Attorney, Perry became a champion of Santa Monica property owners after Rent Control was ushered in by local voters in 1979.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2022/April-2022/04_08_2022_Longtime_Santa_Monica_Landlord_Activist_Attorney_Dead_at_75.html

AND: https://www.smobserved.com/story/2022/04/11/news/longtime-santa-monica-attorney-rosario-perry-dead-at-75/6668.html

The Board will hold a public hearing on the feasibility of certain amendments to the City Charter during the Santa Monica Rent Control Board meeting on Thursday, April 14, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. via teleconference:

1)Whether the Board should recommend that the City of Santa Monica adopt an amendment to the City Charter requiring the registration of all non-rent-controlled rental units;

2)Whether the Board should recommend that Section 1806(a)(8)(iv) of the Rent Control Charter Amendment (RCCA) be amended to require that an owner intend to occupy the unit for at least three years instead of one year;

3)Whether the Board should recommend that Section 1806(a)(8)(v) of the RCCA be amended to require an owner to re-offer the unit to the displaced tenant if the owner fails to reside in the unit for at least three years and to allow an owner 60 days, instead of 30 days, to take occupancy of the unit.

4)Whether the Board should recommend that Section 1803(e) of the RCCA be amended to allow Commissioners to be elected to a maximum of three full terms to align with City elected officials; and

5)Whether the Board should recommend that Section 1803(d) of the RCCA be amended to state that an election need not be held if the number of qualified candidates does not exceed the number of open board positions. Instructions on accessing the meeting and speaking to the Board are provided in the agenda. The agenda and staff reports are available on the Board’s website at:  www. santamonica.gov /rentcontrol.

See Agenda on page 3: https://s3.amazonaws.com/smdp_backissues/041122.pdf

Here are some of the most notable efforts that are now underway.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-snapshot-of-new-state-government-efforts-to-tackle-californias-housing-crisis/ar-AAW5Hgh?li=BBnbfcL

Residents of two Santa Monica neighborhoods are eligible to apply for LA County’s new $1,000 a month guaranteed income program. 

The program, called “Breathe”, launched on March 31 and will award 1,000 randomly selected qualifying residents $1,000 a month for three years. 

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/04/residents-in-certain-santa-monica-neighborhoods-eligible-for-la-county-guaranteed-income-program/

In this installment, we explore this proposed tax within the context of its role as a leading indicator of the fundamental restructuring of the city’s commercial and residential municipal revenue balance to fund the city’s ongoing, and growing, spending requirements.  

The long-term implications of this commercial and residential rebalancing go far beyond this proposed ballot initiative. While it may impact every resident with various taxes and fees, it will especially impact single-family homeowners, as Part II will discuss.  

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/04/sma-r-t-column-new-city-financial-plan-the-resident-homeowner-bank/

A slow growth Santa Monica group with a hefty legal warchest is taking on the city's biggest housing development in more than half a century, despite warnings the project can't be stopped under State law.

The Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City (SMCLC) announced Thursday that it had "served objections to the completeness of the application" for the nearly 900,000-square-foot project at the Gelson's site at Lincoln and Ocean Park boulevards.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2022/April-2022/04_07_2022_Slow_Growth_Group_Launches_Battle_to_Stop_Project_on_Gelsons_Site.html

Dear Editor,

Tax the rich! Yeah! But where will that ocean of money go? ("Mayor Launches Campaign to Hike 'Luxury' Real Estate Tax," March 31, 2022).

It will pay for huge numbers of giant buildings for non-residents -- many will be built on your street. But you won’t be allowed to live in them because you’re not homeless and you already have a rent controlled apartment.

In particular, officials are seeking to support landlords who are unable to pay their property taxes or mortgage as a result of the County’s tenant protections during the pandemic. 

As the April 11 delinquency date for property taxes approaches, the County has opened up an online portal for landlords to request a penalty cancellation.

 Santa Monica landlords who are struggling with mortgage payments can seek relief through the Los Angeles County Mortgage Relief Program.

Read More: https://www.smdp.com/county-offers-relief-to-landlords-impacted-by-covid-related-nonpayment-of-rent/216622

This new proposal would rise at the closed BancWest site on the corner of 4th and Colorado Avenue at 407 Colorado. It would be a 60 unit complex with roughly half being studio units and the other half being one bedroom units. Six of the one bedroom units would be deed restricted as affordable housing for very low income households. The proposal lists no planned parking structure. 

Read More: https://smmirror.com/2022/04/five-story-mixed-use-development-seeks-approval-in-downtown-santa-monica/