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Local Advocacy Update
Local Advocacy Update
By Danielle Leidner-Peretz, Director, Government Affairs & External Relations
The 2022 year is now well underway, if the first three months of the year are any indication, this year is predicted to be another dynamic and challenging year for the multifamily housing industry.
March began with the City of Los
Angeles once more extending its local emergency and with that extension, the extension of the City’s eviction moratorium and rent increase freeze as both ordinances’ expirations are directly tied to the expiration of the local emergency. Discussion and/or action was also taken in the Cities of Beverly Hills and Santa Monta, both of which currently maintain local
eviction moratoriums and/or rent increase freezes.
In Los Angeles County, where the Countywide eviction moratorium and a rent increase freeze for unincorporated areas remain in place through 2022, Supervisors Barger and Hahn advanced a motion to help property owners negatively impacted by the County’s eviction moratorium. As a result, the Treasurer and Tax Collector has been directed to “consider and cancel real property tax penalties, interests, costs, and fees under qualifying circumstances for those property owners negatively impacted by the Tenant Protections until it expires.” The motion also calls for exploration of “all funding opportunities to expand the County Mortgage Relief Program for all residential property owners who have been negatively impacted by the Tenant Protections and are at risk of foreclosure on their property.” The motion was unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors at the March 15th Board meeting.
Due to the myriad of jurisdictions, each with different rules, we encourage members to confirm the status of any local moratoriums / rent increase freezes in localities in which you have property and consult with an attorney with questions related to specific tenancies and the applicability of local ordinances.
The challenges facing rental housing providers in the City of Los Angeles was further compounded by a package of proposals advanced by Los Angeles City Council Members Bonin, Raman and Harris-Dawson which would have catastrophic effects on a rental housing provider’s ability to conduct essential evaluations of prospective renters by prohibiting use of criminal, eviction, and credit
histories as part of the rental application process. The Association is adamantly opposed to these proposals and will vehemently advocate against their advancement.
Our Association is continually monitoring and advocating for our members interests in localities throughout Southern California on a multitude of critical issues affecting the rental housing industry. Summarized below are some of the issues that will be coming up, that were recently considered or that have been approved.
Los Angeles City Council Proposal to Ban Vital Renter Screening Tools
On March 9th, a proposal package was introduced by Los Angeles City Council Members Mike Bonin, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Nithya Raman that would prohibit owners from using eviction, criminal and credit history information as part of an evaluation of a rental application.
The package includes three proposals:
• A “Fair Chance Housing” ordinance, which would prohibit using and/or inquiring about a prospective renter’s criminal history as part of the screening process.
• A “Rental Access” ordinance, which would prohibit administering a credit check or asking about a renter’s credit history including prior evictions. Owners would also not be permitted to ask prospective renters about unpaid rent or utilities from during the COVID-19 pandemic or use automated screening tools.
• A “Rental Transparency and Accountability” Ordinance which sets forth numerous requirements related to screening criteria, providing screening criteria to prospective renters “at first interaction” and as part of any advertisement. Additionally, it includes requirements regarding providing the reasons for rejections and affording the rejected prospective renter with an opportunity to request reconsideration which will prolong the process and delay renting vacant units.
All of the above proposed ordinances include a broad- based private right of action for the prospec-tive renter
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