URGENT ACTION 2/6 @ 6p (in person or online):

DON’T LET THE RENTAL HOUSING BOARD WEAKEN TENANT PROTECTIONS

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Background 

The windstorm and fires have destroyed much of Altadena, as well as many structures in Pasadena. Smoke damage and poor air quality have left tons of homes temporarily or permanently uninhabitable. While outdoor air will improve on its own, indoor environments with smoke and ash damage need professional restoration and environmental testing. A huge number of people have been made homeless. These events have put a huge strain on the rental market, and many opportunist landlords are looking to take advantage of the crisis. The landlords - including those who are currently suing the city over Measure H - have been lobbying the Rental Housing Board (RHB) to gut the relocation assistance regulations that were established in September 2023. Now, the Rental Housing Board is considering possible actions.

Unfortunately, some of the proposals in the agenda are to WEAKEN tenant protections, including DECREASING RELOCATION ASSISTANCE FOR TENANTS. The PRHB could amend the current regulations to reduce the relocation benefits owed to tenants who are displaced by owners who are fire victims moving in. Additionally, the PRHB could consider regulation amendments to REDUCE the relocation assistance that would be owed to tenants ***IF THE TENANT WAS A FIRE VICTIM*** who moved in after the fire and is displaced again within 18-24 months after the fire for an owner move-in. These proposals are suggested under the guise of “encourag[ing] landlords who are reluctant to rent vacant properties to rent the properties to fire victims,” but they would just transfer the effects of this awful disaster to vulnerable tenants.

At the same time, the list of potential actions DOES NOT include an eviction moratorium to ensure there aren’t mass evictions in order for landlords to rent to more desperate people at a higher rate. During the seven months after the fire in Lahaina, the number of residents seeking help with evictions grew by 50%. The PTU is already hearing from many tenants whose landlords are trying to evict them without a just cause or the proper process. It’s also more important than ever that we ensure our landlords are adhering to our existing tenant protection laws and that the Rental Housing Board doesn’t lose sight of that.

We need to ACT NOW to prevent the next wave of this housing disaster and advocate for the clarity tenants need to move forward - NOT a weakening of our current protections!

The Action

  • Give public comment at the Rental Housing Board meeting Thursday, February 6 at 6p. You can give public comment in-person or online via Zoom, or you can email comments to rentalboard@cityofpasadena.net before 3p on Thursday to make sure they’re actually read!
  • WE REALLY NEED PEOPLE TO GIVE PUBLIC COMMENT LIVE (ideally in person, okay if via Zoom).
  • Specifically lobby your district rep. Rental Board Contacts | Find my district?
  • Check out the talking points below if you need help preparing your comment.
  • Spoken comments are limited to 3 minutes, comments of any length can be emailed to rentalboard@cityofpasadena.net. If there are lot of speakers, comments will likely be shortened.
  • Meeting begins at 6p.

How to Submit Public Comment

If speaking in-person:

  • Attend the meeting in the Pasadena City Council Chamber (Room S249) at City Hall (100 Garfield Ave). Public meeting starts at 6p on Thursday, February 6.
  • Fill out a public comment card, check “speaking as an individual” for matters on the agenda, Item 2. Hand the card to one of the staff members.

If attending virtually:

  • Join the meeting by going to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816590299 or dialing 1-669-900-6833 (Meeting ID: 898 165 902 99)
  • When Item 2 begins, use the “Raise Hand” Zoom feature to be recognized for public comment, and a staff member will call on you. If dialing-in, press *9.

Emailing in correspondence:

Pasadena Rental Housing Board Meeting

Thursday, February 6 @ 6p (Agenda, Item 2, memo on “options to consider” on page 21)

Pasadena City Hall, Council Chamber

100 N. Garfield Ave, Room S249

Pasadena, CA 91101

Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89816590299 

Telephone only dial-in: 1-669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 898 165 902 99

Correspondence to: rentalboard@cityofpasadena.net

https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/pasadena-rental-housing-board/

Talking Points for Stories

  • General
  • don’t copy and paste, speak using your own words
  • PERSONAL & EMOTIONAL (if you can)
  • Demands (Comments are typically limited to 3 minutes, but will likely be less if there are many public speakers. You might summarize or pick a few to say out loud and send in an email with the full list of demands.)
  • DO NOT weaken relocation assistance protections
  • Would just transfer the effects of this awful disaster to vulnerable tenants, including fire victims
  • RHB already spent a ton of time and work on crafting the relocation regulations. The Board has a lot of other stuff it needs to be working on, especially in this crisis! (like harassment & retaliation regulations)
  • Hold a press conference and publish a notice to remind everyone of existing processes and resources for tenants:
  • There is relocation assistance and the right to first return.
  • There is a petitions process for a rent reduction if the landlord has failed to make repairs or provide maintenance, including those that are necessary because of the fire
  • Tenants can contact a Housing Counselor for free, confidential support
  • Ensure the Rent Stabilization Department housing counselors are giving relevant, specific, accurate information to tenants who contact them
  • Establish a mandatory timeline for landlords to remediate smoke and ash damage to restore habitability in their rental units, including financial penalties if remediation is delayed.
  • Many tenants are still displaced because their homes are not safe to return to, even though their rental unit didn’t burn
  • Many landlords are refusing to cooperate at all with necessary cleanup
  • Tenants need clear information, processes, timelines, and remedies
  • Even though Article XVII already addresses necessary and substantial repairs requiring the unit to be vacant for 30 days or more, the process and timelines for relocation assistance are not clear when the need arises due to an unexpected natural disaster, and many landlords are not complying
  • Mandate temporary relocation assistance (independent of the eviction process) paid by landlords for renters who will need to relocate for fewer than 30 days during remediation.
  • [continues on next page]
  • Formally recommend to the City Council the following:
  • Enact an emergency rent freeze for all rental units in the City of Pasadena (including single-family homes)
  • Enact an emergency eviction moratorium for all tenants in the City of Pasadena.
  • Many people’s places of employment have burned down
  • Many people’s homes are uninhabitable. An eviction moratorium gives them an extra layer of protection to withhold rent until repairs are made.
  • Many people will be sheltering fire victims. This may have substantially increased their expenses and may make it hard for them to make rent. Their charity in a time of great need should not cost them their housing.
  • Currently, price gouging can only be punished after the fact. This would prevent it from happening in the first place. If tenants cannot be evicted, their units cannot be re-rented for higher rent
  • This is just the start: In Lahaina, many residents who weren’t displaced by the initial fire were displaced by landlords seeking to charge higher rents to fire victims
  • Perform inspections and environmental testing (for lead, mercury, asbestos, other heavy metals, VOCs, PAHs, HCl, and other potential toxins) at a representative sample of rental units that were in the mandatory evacuation zones or downwind of the fires.
  • How the fires have impacted you
  • Home totally burnt down, some burn damage, smoke damage
  • Family, friends, pets,
  • Damage to workplace, school, etc.
  • Evacuated, where are you sheltering now
  • Anything else
  • Any abuse/nastiness by your landlord, harassment or attempts to push you out, threats of eviction, etc
  • Any demographics you are willing to share that would drum up sympathy (race, disability, age, recent hardship, etc)
  • Tenant issues are really widespread - the PTU is actively hearing from dozens of tenants who are actively looking for solutions and getting nowhere.

Links and Additional Information