Rental Housing Board Approves $425,000 Contract for Housing Counseling Services, Establishment of a Rental Registry

The Pasadena Rental Housing Board (PRHB) unanimously moved to increase the contract with consultant Bhyv Consulting from $74,999 to $425,000 so it could provide additional services for the board. 

On June 7, the Rental Housing Board approved a contract with Bhyv Consulting to provide interim staffing and consulting services to the Board for $74,999. 

The Pasadena Charter requires that any contracts that exceed $75,000 must be approved by the City Council.  

In order to avoid any conflict with the Charter and stay within the $74,999 budget, certain services were removed from Bhyv Consulting’s original scope, including the establishment of the rental registry.

The initial scope of services for Bhyv included program development, budget drafting, assistance with adopting regulations and standards and procedures for adjudicative hearings and housing counseling services. 

In the approved amended contract, the Rental Housing Board added the housing counseling services to address public information requests related to the Charter amendment and the establishment of a rental registry, in the scope of services to be provided by Bhyv.

The amended contract also includes the development of an initial staffing plan and budget for the PRHB with a goal of adoption of that budget in early fall 2023. 

“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Pasadena Rental Housing Board requests that the City of Pasadena City Council approve the contract with Bhyv Consulting so that the Pasadena Rental Housing Board can address the immediate need to provide public services to Pasadena landlords and tenants related to the Charter Amendment and comply with the Charter Amendment to establish a Rental Registry in a timely manner,” the resolution approved by the board stated. 

The Charter Amendment requires that the PRHB create a Rental Registry and online portal within one year of the effective date of the Charter Amendment. It became effective in December last year. 

Initial payments to Bhyv Consulting will be sourced from the $500,000 advanced by the City for the PRHB.

Once the PRHB budget is adopted and the Rental Housing Fee is set, it is expected that the costs of the Bhyv Consulting contract will be funded through those rental housing fees. 

The PRHB did not use Request for Proposals (RFP), a process used to select the best candidate for a business opportunity, in the process of acquiring the services of Bhyv.

Chair Ryan Bell explained to the public that the PRHB did not use RFP process because of the urgency of the matter. 

“These are steps we have to take because we are literally embarking upon a project to either start a new organization or possibly a brand new department in our city,” Vice Chair Brandon Lamar said. “And these are the steps we have to take in order for us to lay a foundation to do so.” 

Legal Consultant Karent Tiedemann said in the future, if PRHB becomes a City department, it will have to comply with City procurement requirements. 

“Hopefully, in the next few months, you will start to adopt regulations, including regulations on procurement,” Tiedemann added. 

The contract with Bhyv would be effective from July 26, 2023, to July 26, 2024.

To proceed, the Rental house Board must have the City Council’s approval. The City Council will vote on the contract at their meeting on Monday.