Making Concord a Home for All Families: Sensible Solutions to the Housing Affordability Crisis

Welcome! We will begin the webinar shortly.

Reverend Dr. Leslie Taylor

Senior Minister at First Christian Church of Concord

Webinar Agenda

1. Welcoming Remarks - Rev. Dr. Leslie Taylor
2. The Crisis of Unaffordability in Concord - Alex Werth, Ph.D
3. Housing Instability Affects Children’s Health - Monisha Merchant
4. Rent Stabilization as Effective Housing Policy - Tram Hoang
5. Policy Recommendations - Jennifer Morales & Betty Gabaldon
6. Take Action-Betty Gabaldon

Alex Werth

Policy & Research Advisor for East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) & the Raise the Roof Coalition

Concord is Becoming a City of Renters

Between 2010 and 2019, the number of homeowners decreased while the number of renters increased.

The city’s growth is now driven by renters.

Source: Concord Housing Element.

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Rents Have Skyrocketed, Wages Have Stagnated

Since 2016, Concord has seen one of the sharpest increases in rental costs anywhere in Contra Costa County.

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Source: Zumper.

Renters are Forced to Pay Too Much for Housing

When rents rise faster than incomes, families are forced to spend more and more of their wages on housing.

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When families are “cost burdened,” even small economic setbacks can result in displacement in homelessness.

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Source: Concord Housing Element.

Essential Workers Can’t Afford a Home

Our community depends upon these workers. But increasingly, essential workers can’t depend upon a home in our community.

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Source: Zumper, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Note: Average wages are for Contra Costa County as a whole.

Housing Justice is Racial Justice

In Concord, White households are almost twice as likely as Black and Latine households to own their homes.

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As a result, 57% of Black households and 47% of Latine households are forced to pay too much for housing, while only 35% of White ones are.

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Source: Concord Housing Element.

Housing Justice is Racial Justice (cont.)

Inequitable access to affordable housing leads to inequitable patterns of displacement.

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Since 2019, a disproportionate share of evictions (52%) have occurred in the 94520 zip code, the most diverse section of the city.

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Source: Contra Costa County Sheriff, U.S. Census.

Evictions Lead to Homelessness

Since Concord tenants started calling for tenant protections in 2016, the number of unhoused residents in the city has increased 230%. Black people are overrepresented among unhoused people in Contra Costa by 300%.

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Source: Contra Costa County Point In Time Counts.

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Young People and Families Are Hurting

Young people are much more likely to rent their homes, making it hard for people who grew up in Concord to stay here.

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Between the 2016-7 and 2019-20 school years, the number of unhoused students in the city’s public schools increased by 15% to 371.

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Source: Concord Housing Element.

Large Corporations Are Profiting

The top 30% of landlords in Concord own more than 75% of all apartments. 63% of apartments are concentrated in the hands of just 10% of landlords.

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Large corporations shouldn’t profit at the expense of our community.

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Source: Regrid, Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.

Rent Stabilized Housing Is Affordable Housing

Rent stabilization is the most comprehensive, cost-effective, and quick way to create and preserve affordable housing–especially in California, where land and labor are expensive.

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Source: PolicyLink, Our Homes, Our Future: How Rent Control Can Build Stable, Health Communities.

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Monisha Merchant

Contra Costa County Economic Opportunity Council Member

Tram Hoang

Senior Associate at PolicyLink

Rent Stabilization as Effective Housing Policy

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Presented by

Tram Hoang

Senior Associate

PolicyLink

Benefits of a Well-Tailored Rent Stabilization Policy

What is Rent Stabilization?

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• Immediately addresses the crisis at scale
• Works to increase housing stability and affordability for current tenants and prevents displacement
• Cost-effective
• Protects low-income households and advances racial and gender equity
• Cascading benefits: economic, health, educational, climate-friendly development, civic participation, long-term housing affordability and stability

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What is Rent Stabilization?

• Sets maximum allowable rent increases to prevent predatory and egregious rent hikes, stabilizing housing costs and granting greater ability to afford housing costs
• Provides consistent and predictable rent increases, protecting against destabilization and reducing sudden evictions and tenant turnover costs
• Establishes rent boards that serve as mediators between landlords and tenants, leveling the playing field in the landlord-tenant relationship
• Creates rental registries to track compliance and enforce penalties, maintaining housing habitability and greater transparency in the landlord-tenant relationship

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Why Rent Stabilization?

• Low-income renters and renters of color are most impacted by egregious rent increases
• Closing the racial homeownership and wealth gap
• Preventing displacement and homelessness
• Slowing down the growth of corporate landlord consolidation in our housing market
• Provides immediate protections that complement our entire ecosystem of housing strategies
• Cascading benefits: economic, health, educational, civic participation, long-term housing affordability and stability

Why Rent Stabilization?

• Immediately addresses the crisis at scale
• Works to increase housing stability and affordability for current tenants and prevents displacement
• Cost-effective
• Protects low-income households and advances racial and gender equity
• Cascading benefits: economic, health, educational, climate-friendly development, civic participation, long-term housing affordability and stability

Common Questions: Impact on Development

Investors and developers are concerned when they can’t set initial rent - and rent stabilization policies do not interfere with that ability. Developers are still able to set rent where needed to satisfy banking/lender requirements. Policies generally only impact rent increases following the determination of initial rent.

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In the real estate sector, there are much larger forces in play: land availability, interest rates, geopolitical risk, supply chain disruption, labor shortage strain. Ex: Urban Displacement Project found that between 2007 and 2013, the six cities that had rent control in the Bay Area actually produced more housing units per capita than cities without rent control.

Common Questions: Is 3% enough?

�Example: A 20-unit apartment building has rents currently set at $1,500 per month. With a 3% annual increase, rents would increase $45 per unit per month, resulting in increased annual rental income of $10,800 for the building.

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Example: Rent is $1100 and $50 of that $1100 goes towards a utility. If the price of the utility increased by 50% (to $75), that would be a $25 rent increase, which is equal to a 2.27% rent increase.

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Rule of thumb: proportionality matters.

Where Rent Stabilization is Working

Rent Stabilization is Nothing New

• 180+ cities in the U.S. have rent stabilization laws in place
• In 2019, Oregon and California passed statewide rent regulations
• Between 2020-2022, 6+ cities have passed rent stabilization laws
• Policies are evolving as we learn from others’ mistakes
• CPI as a tumultuous indicator
• Limiting new construction exemptions
• Vacancy decontrol as an incentive for evictions
• Exemptions creating dual housing markets

Examples of Recent Rent Stabilization Policies

National Movement Towards Rent Regulation

• The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently opened a public comment period for feedback on multifamily tenant protections for federally backed homes
• 3500+ comments were submitted, calling for rent stabilization, just cause, SOI protections, and more
• Economists, academics, researchers, lawyers and members of Congress submitted letters in support of rent regulation
• Read letters here: https://www.policylink.org/FHFA-RFI

Jennifer Morales

Organizing Manager at Monument Impact

Betty Gabaldon

Organizing Manager at EBASE & President of the Todos Santos Tenants Union

Policy Recommendations for Rent Stabilization

• Cap rent increases at 3% or 60% of Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever Is less, to stabilize communities and families

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• Cover Affordable Housing Properties to Protect the Most Vulnerable

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• Retroactive to June 2023

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• Comprehensive Housing Services

Policy Recommendations for Just Cause

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• Effective Immediately upon Move In to Close the Gaps in State Law
• Cover All Rental Units
• Protect Against Abuse of “Substantial Renovations” loophole in AB1482
• Protect Against Fraudulent Ellis Act Evictions

Take Action & Get Involved

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• Attend City Council meeting on September 5th at 6:00 pm (rally begins at 5:15 pm). This is our chance to give input on Rent Stabilization and Just Cause for Eviction policies!

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• Or submit an online public comment before the meeting by 3pm. For more information, please call 510-368-4544 or email kelly@workingeastbay.org

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• Concord residents and workers, sign our online petition today to show your support for the policies in Concord: https://bit.ly/KeepConcordHoused

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• Go Door Knocking or do Phonebanking with the Todos Santos Tenants Union.

Talk to renters about the policies and their experiences!

Questions & Answer Session

• At this time, our panelists will be answering questions from the audience. Please drop your questions into the chat.
• If your question is not answered at the end of this session, please email kelly@workingeastbay.org your answer and the Raise the Roof team will be contact will you directly.

Thank you for attending!