Rental Housing Board to Consider Changes to Eviction and Rental Registration Rules

The Pasadena Rental Housing Board is expected to consider amendments to regulations governing just-cause evictions and rental unit registration.

The board will discuss the matters at 6 p.m. on Thursday in City Council Chambers. Members of the public may participate in person, by Zoom, by phone or by submitting written comments before the meeting.

According to the agenda, the Board will review proposed updates to Chapter 4: Just Cause for Eviction, including efforts to clarify relocation assistance rules, strengthen oversight, and streamline procedures tied to temporary evictions for repairs, owner move-ins and other no-fault causes.

According to a city staff report, changes are intended to improve implementation of Measure H, the voter-approved 2022 rent control and eviction-protection charter amendment.

The board wants to establish a more formal process for determining relocation assistance amounts, using the City’s contract with Interwest Consulting Group for third-party review. According to the staff report, the changes would add consistency and help tenants receive relocation payments more quickly.

The proposal also expands options for landlords who choose to use escrow accounts and includes technical clean-up of outdated references and formatting.

The Board will also take up Chapter 9: Rental Registration amendments, including whether to remove escrow-account requirements tied to rent-withholding petitions.

Staff said efforts to secure financial institutions willing to administer escrow accounts at a reasonable cost were unsuccessful, making the existing rules difficult to implement. Only eight rent-withholding petitions have been filed to date, none of which have advanced to a hearing.

Under staff’s recommendation, tenants who are authorized to withhold rent under a hearing officer’s order would retain the funds themselves until a final compliance determination is made, rather than depositing money into escrow.

The board is expected to provide direction to staff on whether to eliminate or modify the escrow requirement and how withheld rent should be handled if a landlord ultimately comes into compliance.