A landlord advocacy group filed a proposed charter amendment with the Pasadena City Clerk on Wednesday that would give property owners and tenants equal seats on the city’s Rental Housing Board, the panel that regulates rents for the majority of Pasadena’s residents.
The filing by Pasadena Housing Providers is the first formal step in a multi-stage ballot initiative process under California election law. Before signature gathering can begin, the Pasadena City Attorney must prepare an official ballot title and impartial summary within 15 days, according to the California Elections Code.
Only after the proponents receive that title and summary and prepare a petition that meets state format requirements can they legally begin collecting signatures from registered voters.
The proposed measure would retain rent control but restructure the board’s composition, merge the Rent Stabilization Department into the city’s Housing Department, cap rent registration fees, and allow voters to revisit the issue in 2038, according to a statement from the organization.
“Property owners have tried to work with City Council and Rent Board members, and been consistently rebuffed,” Pasadena Housing Providers said in its statement.
Under the current structure established by Measure H—the voter-approved 2022 City Charter amendment that established rent control and just cause eviction protections—the Rental Housing Board has seven seats reserved for tenant representatives, one nominated by each Council member, and four at-large seats open to any Pasadena resident. Two alternate positions round out the 13-member body. The Board sets allowable rent increases, adopts the program budget, maintains a rental registry, and oversees hearings and enforcement.
Pasadena Housing Providers said its measure would create a board with equal numbers of tenants and landlords. The organization said this change is supported by 82% of Pasadena voters, citing polling it commissioned from FM3 Research. The group has said Pasadena voters favor a balanced board by a four-to-one margin.
The organization also said the measure would save $3 million per year by merging the Rent Stabilization Department’s activities into the existing Housing Department, according to its press release.
Tenant advocates have opposed efforts to restructure the Board. Liberty McCoy, a board member with Affordable Pasadena, said in December 2024—when Pasadena Housing Providers first announced its intention to pursue a ballot initiative—that “the real estate lobby has lost at the ballot box and in the courts.”
Affordable Pasadena and the Pasadena Tenants Union have argued that the Board already accommodates landlord representation through its at-large seats and that Pasadena is a renter-majority city, with census data reportedly indicating that 57% to 62% of residents are tenants.
The ballot measure filing follows a December 18 ruling by the California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division Seven, that largely upheld Measure H. The court rejected challenges to the Board’s composition, ruling that reserving seven seats for tenants does not violate equal protection.
During oral arguments in the appellate case, Justice John Segal described the Board as “the most unfair, discriminatory rent stabilization board that I have ever seen.” He also said, however, that “the legislature can do unfair things.” The court’s written ruling ultimately upheld the Board’s current structure.
Pasadena Housing Providers describes itself as representing individuals and families who have acquired, maintained, and renovated rental homes in the city. The group describes its constituents as “families providing housing for families,” according to its press release.
To qualify for the ballot, proponents must collect signatures from a required percentage of Pasadena’s registered voters. When Measure H qualified for the ballot in 2022, proponents needed signatures equal to 15% of the city’s registered voters—then 13,555 signatures. Completed petitions must be filed with the City Clerk, who transmits them to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder for signature verification. If certified sufficient, the City Council may adopt the measure outright, submit it to voters at the next election, or order a report on its impacts.
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