Spurred by 67 evictions filed in Santa Monica last year, the City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to strengthen the City's "robust" tenant protection laws already in place.

The move is a response to a regional increase in eviction filings after COVID-related tenant protections expired during a persistent housing crisis, City officials said.

The added protections -- which will take effect on March 14 -- "clarify and expand the types of actions that constitute harassment" and "outline examples of prohibited coercion and intimidation," officials said.

They approved amendments also include increasing the maximum penalty for harassment from $10,000 to $20,000 per violation "to keep up with inflation and remain a meaningful deterrent," staff wrote in a report to the Council.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2024/January-2024/01_24_2024_Council_Strengthens_Tenant_Protections_Amid_Uptick_in_Evictions.html

AND: https://www.santamonica.gov/press/2024/01/24/council-approves-added-renter-protections-to-combat-rising-evictions

On Tuesday, the board voted to direct staff to start drafting an ordinance that would set a maximum temperature for rental units across much of the county. 

Read More: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-01-23/los-angeles-county-looks-to-require-units-stay-cool-during-summer

by Charles Andrews

Some here don’t like to bring it up because it could be awkward for them. Our City governments and many civic leaders have spent a lot of energy and money, and years of planning, and propaganda, to implement their patriarchal “visions,” their pet agendas for the future of our city. Those plans require ignoring the needs of the current residents – gosh, some might not even be able to live here anymore – and tossing aside a lot of Santa Monica history. 

Read More: https://smdp.com/2024/01/24/its-good-to-know-your-history/

On January 31, the Commission -- composed of four Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) holders and three property owners -- will hold a "first-of-its-kind" Housing Voucher Town Hall meeting on January 31 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

Read More: https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2024/January-2024/01_23_2024_Housing_Commission_Pushes_to_Connect_Voucher_Holders_and_%20Landlords.html

City Staff have been exploring upgrades to the existing tenant protections in the past year including stops at the Rent Control Board and the Housing Commission. Council will hear the proposal to strengthen tenant protections in a variety of ways including new defenses from evictions based on bad-faith rent increases, new prohibitions on discrimination based on housing history (such as homelessness or a lack of a rental history), additional financial assistance for tenants facing an involuntary move through constructive eviction, expanded definitions of tenant harassment and expanded coverage for tenant buyout agreements.

Read More: https://smdp.com/2024/01/22/new-rules-for-densifying-development-hit-council-on-tuesday/

The program’s next round, launching today, keeps the same “shared appreciation” lending model: The state will give first-time homebuyers money towards a down payment — up to 20% of the purchase price or $150,000, whichever is lower — then it will get paid back the loan plus a share of the home’s appreciation whenever it sells again.

Read More: https://smdp.com/2024/01/20/dream-for-all-down-payment-assistance-for-first-time-california-homebuyers-relaunches-with-new-lottery/

The program’s next round, launching today, keeps the same “shared appreciation” lending model: The state will give first-time homebuyers money towards a down payment — up to 20% of the purchase price or $150,000, whichever is lower — then it will get paid back the loan plus a share of the home’s appreciation whenever it sells again.

Read More: https://smdp.com/2024/01/20/dream-for-all-down-payment-assistance-for-first-time-california-homebuyers-relaunches-with-new-lottery/

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.

Read More: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/letters-to-the-editor-small-landlords-are-being-hounded-out-of-l-a-maybe-that-s-what-our-leaders-want/ar-BB1h1ijS?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=ea2f541578444f94857fd63e9afd473f&ei=91

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.

Read More: https://caanet.org/statewide-anti-housing-ballot-measure-threatens-housing-providers-with-extreme-rent-control/

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.

Read More: https://www.pressreader.com/usa/los-angeles-times/20240116/281724094405336