Guest Opinion | Blake Boyd and Mike Lewis: Time For Review – Let the Voters Decide About The Future Of Renting in Pasadena

In 2022, the voters of Pasadena were told they had the opportunity to adopt rent control.  That vote resulted in a complex 42 page change to Pasadena’s governing charter that that in all likelihood very few voters have read in its entirety.  Within its provisions, Measure H:

1. Created the Pasadena Rental Housing Board, which was intended to have a tenant majority, but in reality contains only two landlords following the appointment of tenant activists to three of the five supposedly neutral positions;
2. Instituted relocation payments that can exceed $37,000 for homeowners who want to move back into their properties (including apartments, ADUs, single family homes & condos);
3. Imposed a tax on anyone who rents out their own property, including single-family homeowners, condo and co-op owners, to raise millions annually.  Tenants pay no part of this tax.  

After 18 months, it’s time to allow voters to review their decision and adjust the parts that aren’t working.  We’ve seen that the lack of business experience on the Rental Board has led to bad decisions – this newspaper reported on July 28, 2023 on the $425,000 no-bid contract with a brand-new consultancy called bhyv, which has yet to deliver the legally mandated rental registry it was contracted for.paid for.  This and many other problems need to be addressed by Pasadena’s voters.

As Measure H is called the “Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment,” Pasadena Housing Providers, representing Pasadena’s landlords and property managers, calls on the City Council to allow voters a chance to make the following changes to ensure that the charter is actually fair, equitable, and in the best interests of Pasadena in the short and long term. 

With just five changes, which don’t impact rent control at all, Pasadena can benefit from a Rental Board that actually protects tenants and landlords, speeds up the resolution of disputes, lets homeowners move back into their properties without destroying their own financial positions, and allows a diverse spectrum of opinions and knowledge that can help us work through our current housing crisis.  We ask the City Council to assess the following five issues, with the aim of letting citizens of Pasadena decide in November to:

1. Create a fair, inclusive and equitable Rental Board by expanding it to include more landlords (Section 1811.a)
2. Reduce the burden on small owners by exempting single-family homes,  condos, co-ops, ADUs, and properties with four or fewer units in line with existing zoning codes, and Section 8 tenancies (Section 1804.a.4 and 1805.a.6)
3.   Allow half of the rental registry tax to be passed on to tenants, like other cities do, so that both sides are accountable.  This would ensure there is no incentive to overcharge, and encourage cost-effective management. (Section 1811.l)
4.   Fix the unclear enforcement mechanism that criminalizes every minor failure to comply with this complex and contradictory Measure (Section 1817.g and 1817.h)
5.   Ensure a real “right of fair return” instead of the activists’ complex, unclear and unfair definition.  This should be resolved through regulation, NOT through Charter definitions.

While some activists will try to block this by claiming that voters have already delivered their decision, many property owners, city managers and elected officials were left unaware that many elements of Measure H also cover private individuals who rent out their single-family homes, ADU’s, and condos, as well as Section 8 residency.  In fact, the past 18 months have revealed an overarching goal, of some on the rental board, to eliminate private ownership and control of rental housing.

As Rental Board Chairman Ryan Bell is reported to have said shortly after Measure H became law, in an interview with the socialist magazine Jacobin, “What I really wanted to tell developers and landlords during the campaign was that our eventual goal is to convert that housing into public housing.” 

(see https://jacobin.com/2022/12/pasadena-tenants-union-rent-control-measure-h-organizing)  

Let’s allow the voters to decide in November….and this time, let’s make sure the voter is told the whole truth. 

Sincerely, 

 

Blake Boyd & Mike Lewis
Pasadena Housing Providers  
www.PasadenaHousingProviders.com