ACTION Apartment Association

Santa Monica to Boost Its Homeless Outreach Efforts

09/09/2019 9:38 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica is poised to boost its homeless outreach efforts by spending an additional $2 million over the next two years.

The City Council on Tuesday is expected to modify the City's contracts with OPCC and Los Angeles County that fund two "skilled professional street teams" deployed to "consistently engage persons experiencing homelessness," staff said.

The proposed contract modifications boost funding for OPCC's Homeless Multidisciplinary Street Team (HMST) from $1.65 million to $2.85 million over the current and upcoming fiscal years.

LETTERS -- Don't Force Landlords Who Move Into Small Buildings to Pay Relocation Fees

09/09/2019 9:26 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Dear Editor,

I read in the Santa Monica Lookout that the Council plans to require landlords who occupy their two-and three unit buildings to give tenants relocation payments if they jack up the rents ("Council Moves to Add Tenant Protections to Small Owner-Occupied Buildings," September 4, 2019).

This may have some merit for long-term, low-rent tenants. However, market rate tenants will always take the massive relocation fees if offered -- they are way, way more than the true cost of moving across town.

Pico planning changes to allow bars, restaurants and cultural facilities

09/06/2019 12:46 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Local officials are trying to encourage more businesses to open on Pico Boulevard without accelerating displacement in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.

City Hall is changing Pico Boulevard’s zoning to create a commercial district that better serves the surrounding community, which is more diverse and less affluent than the rest of Santa Monica. Although the city has conducted more than a year of outreach to the Pico community, there is still a disconnect between officials and residents around what types of businesses should be promoted and whether they will contribute to gentrification.

Cracking Down on Home Sharing ‘Hostels’

09/06/2019 12:30 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

City Council to explore limiting numbers of guests in vacation rentals

In 2015, the City of Santa Monica adopted a home-sharing ordinance that aimed to clarify and impose regulations on home-sharing and prevent permanent housing from being used as a vacation rental. According to the ordinance, while at least one resident lives on-site during their guests’ stay, residents can host visitors in their home for up to 30 consecutive days. While residents applying for home-sharing are required to provide a list of each room and maximum number of overnight guests allowed, the ordinance did not set a limit on the number of guests permitted to stay at once.

An Airbnb listing for a five-bedroom, three-bathroom landmarked property in Santa Monica that can potentially house up to 36 guests at once has members of the community frustrated. According to neighbors, the house is being used as a hostel, with people coming and going at all hours and disturbing residents in the area.

Bloom's Bill to Close Ellis "Loopholes" Headed for Governor's Signature

09/06/2019 9:28 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

A Santa Monica lawmaker's bill that attempts to close loopholes in the Ellis Act was approved by the California Assembly Wednesday and is expected to be signed by the Governor into law.

AB 1399, sponsored by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, places conditions and restrictions on landlords who evict tenants in order to exit the rental market under the 1985 Ellis Act.

Under the bill, owners who remove their units under the Ellis Act can no longer pay the displaced tenants "liquidated damages in lieu of offering them the opportunity to re-rent their former unit," Bloom's office said.

Council Moves to Add Tenant Protections to Small Owner-Occupied Buildings

09/05/2019 8:29 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Santa Monica landlords who occupy their two-and three unit buildings may have to give tenants relocation payments if they jack up the rents.

The City Council last week directed staff to draft an ordinance that gives tenants in owner-occupied duplexes and triplexes -- which are exempted under the City's 1979 rent control law -- the same relocation benefits as rent control tenants.

Thousands of California renters with Section 8 vouchers can’t use them. What lawmakers are doing about it

09/05/2019 8:26 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

State lawmakers are trying to improve a severe shortage of housing available to renters who have federal Section 8 vouchers.

State lawmakers are weighing a significant intervention for a state with an intensifying housing crisis that has become a pillar of Governor Gavin Newsom’s first-year agenda.

Santa Monica Moves to Tighten Strict Home Sharing Law

09/03/2019 1:16 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The nation's strictest home sharing ordinance could be further tightened after the Santa Monica City Council directed staff to look for ways to limit hostel-style operations.

The Council unanimously voted to revisit the ordinance last Tuesday after a single-family home was rented to multiple guests in the City's upscale North of Montana neighborhood.

Newsom and top California lawmakers strike a deal to cap rent increases

08/31/2019 8:49 AM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

Millions of Californians would receive new protections against large rent increases under an agreement announced late Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders.

The deal, which needs the approval of the Legislature in the next two weeks, would cap rent increases statewide at 5% plus inflation per year for the next decade, according to Newsom’s office. The legislation, Assembly Bill 1482, would also include a provision to prevent some evictions without landlords first providing a reason.

Lawmakers tackle a severe housing shortage for renters who have federal vouchers

08/29/2019 6:06 PM | Margaret Fulton (Administrator)

The biggest federal housing program for low-income renters is failing to help many Californians because there aren’t enough landlords who accept Section 8 vouchers for rent. State lawmakers are considering two solutions, a carrot and a stick.