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Local Advocacy Update
about policies that are connected to the City’s declaration of local emergency so that they can determine what actions to consider going forward. The City’s eviction moratorium and rent increase freeze are two ordinances that are tied to the local emergency and; therefore, fall within the scope of the report. We are currently awaiting the release of this report and the Council’s assessment.
The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles has maintained its strong opposition to any extension of the temporary residential eviction moratorium and rent increase freeze and continuously urges the City Council to take immediate action to separate the expiration of these interim emergency measures from the local emergency and allow for these ordinances to expire.
Small business rental housing providers have been and continue to experience severe financial impacts due to the pandemic and broad-based mandates that has resulted in many housing providers depleting their retirement savings, struggling to keep their building, with many now forced to sell their properties. A situation that is further compounded by tremendous increases in building operational and related costs which now with runaway inflationary pressures effecting our economy continue to rapidly escalate. A situation that has been exacerbated by significant City fee increases, including the Systematic Code Enforcement Program (SCEP) which increased exponentially, and more recently, the City’s trash haulers passed-through of another very large, 7.8% price increase following last year’s 6.15% increase. The City’s Department of Water & Power also recently announced price increases for water and sewage. It is unfathomable how the City can continue to institute significant fee increases on owners while maintaining a broad ban on all rent increases applicable to the City’s rent stabilized units regardless of COVID-19 impact for the last nearly two years, and which is to continue for a year following the end of the City’s local emergency, a date unknown.
Based on the City Council’s most recent 30-day extension of the local emergency, certain provisions of the City’s eviction moratorium related to non-payment of rent and repayment of deferred rent will remain in effect, at minimum, until February 7, 2023. The City’s rent increase freeze which applies to rental units subject to the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO), the end of that freeze is set for one-year following the end of the local emergency, which at the earliest would now be February 7, 2023.
We encourage members to review the full details of the City’s rent increase freeze and eviction moratorium ordinances and seek legal guidance as to questions related to the ordinances applicability to a specific tenancy or tenancies.
Alhambra City Council Discusses Rent Control and Just Cause Regulations
At the January 10th Alhambra City Council meeting, the Council received an informational presentation from staff regarding the general provisions of rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinances, and local, county, state and federal protections established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. City Staff ’s recommendation was for the Council to receive and file the report pending action by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors relative to the Countywide Eviction Moratorium, which is currently set to expire on January 31, 2022, unless extended. It is anticipated that the Board of Supervisors will be deliberating this matter at their upcoming January 25th Board meeting.
During the meeting discussion, Councilmember Perez requested that the Council submit a letter to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors expressing the Council’s support for the Board’s extension of the moratorium and further, if the County eviction moratorium is not extended that the City Council adopt an urgency “just cause” eviction ordinance. The Council approved the submission of a letter to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in support of the continued extension of the County’s eviction moratorium. In addition, the City Council tentatively scheduled a special Alhambra City Council meeting for January 31st at 6:00 p.m., to discuss and potentially adopt an urgency “just cause” eviction ordinance should the County’s eviction moratorium not be extended.
As background, the City Council identified rent control and “just cause” eviction as priority objectives in the City’s 2021-2022 Strategic Plan. City Staff are currently researching the components of a rent control ordinance. The Association is strongly opposed to any form of rent control or rent regulations. Moreover, the State’s comprehensive rent control and renter protection law, Assembly Bill 1482 “The Tenant Protection Act of 2019,” already provides significant protections to renters in the City of Alhambra and throughout the state of California, including placing limitations on annual rent increases, institutes “just cause” eviction requirements, and requires relocation fees for no-fault tenancy terminations. The law went into effect on January 1, 2020, and shortly thereafter in March 2020, numerous emergency measures and eviction prohibitions were established; and as a result, Assembly Bill 1482’s full implementation has not been realized. Assembly Bill 1482 must be allowed to go into full effect for a reasonable period of time before the City can determine, what if any, additional local action is needed. We will continue to monitor this issue closely, advocate for our members interests and provide updates.
42 FEBRUARY 2022 • WWW.AAGLA.ORG
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