Break out the pitchforks and torches

***MONDAY, MAY 8***
CALL FOR ACTION

OPPOSE RENT CONTROL
IN PACIFICA

 

On Monday, May 8, the Pacifica City Council will vote on a comprehensive Rent Control Board, “Just Cause” Eviction, Relocation Payments ordinance that has been drafted by out-of-town attorneys, behind closed doors, with no oversight or input from the public.

 

Click here to read the comprehensive rent control ordinance.

 

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PLEASE JOIN US AT THE PACIFICA CITY COUNCIL MEETING.

 

MONDAY, MAY 8 at 6:30 PM

Pacifica City Council Meeting

2212 Beach Blvd, Pacifica, CA  94044

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PACIFICA RENT CONTROL FACTS

Rent control will create a stagnant housing market in Pacifica.  As household incomes naturally increase, instead of buying a home, renters in a rent-controlled environment are incentivized to stay in the subsidized unit – even when they are making well over $200,000 annually, preventing scarce affordable housing from being available to those who really need it.

Rent control will reduce the number and quality of rental housing units available in Pacifica.  Rent control exacerbates a housing shortage by incentivizing tenants to stay far longer in more affordable units. When government places an artificial control on rent, property owners are not able to adjust rents to accommodate increased costs or unexpected circumstances and properties deteriorate.

Rent control will lead to higher rents in Pacifica.  Although people think rent control will lead to lower rents, the exact opposite is true. The rents of available apartments in rent controlled cities are dramatically higher than rents in cities without rent control. In cities without rent control, available units exist all along the spectrum from low-priced to high-priced. In rent controlled cities, the only units available are the highest priced, far above the median rent.  When property owners have the freedom to adjust their rents as needed to accommodate costs, they are able to keep rents low.  Under rent control, no property owner will keep rents low, as their flexibility has been eliminated.

Rent control will take the investment, life savings, and retirement from people in Pacifica who have invested their money in real estate.  Many Pacificans have unconventional retirement plans. Rent control ordinances that prohibit property owners from asking for market rate rents unfairly steal from people’s retirements.

Rent control will bankrupt Pacifica.  Rent control ordinances create substantial administrative costs.  Rent controls require the creation of convoluted bureaucratic systems. Rental property must be registered, detailed information on the rental property must be collected, complex systems for determining rents must be created, and processes for hearing complaints and appeals must be established. Pacifica is currently over $700,000 in debt.  By the end of next year, Pacifica will be well over $2 million in debt.

Rent control will disproportionately harm Pacificans in affordable housing. Poorer families suffer a marked decline in existing housing as the quality of existing housing falls in response to reduced maintenance expenditures. The middle class have greater ability to move out, but poorer families lack this option. In addition, poor families are at a substantial disadvantage when it comes to finding new housing. In a tight market – as we currently have – there are more people looking for housing than available rental units, giving housing providers far more discretion in choosing among competing potential customers. In rent-controlled markets, housing providers turn to factors such as income and credit history to choose among competing renters.

Rent control means expensive consumer entry costs. In many rent-controlled communities, prospective consumers must pay substantial finder's fees to obtain a rental unit, due to the scarcity of available housing. And, in some rent-controlled areas, a "gray-market" in rental housing has developed in which units are passed among friends or family members, or new consumers may be required to pay "key money" or to make other payments to current consumers to obtain housing. Sub-leasing is common in rent-controlled cities.

Rent control will artificially destroy home values in Pacifica. Plummeting values will adversely impact our schools and city services. As home and apartment values decline, revenue from the county also declines. This will jeopardize the long term health of our schools and city infrastructure such as police, fire, and other services.

 

PACIFICA “JUST CAUSE” EVICTION FACTS

“Just Cause” Eviction will punish good renters in Pacifica.  “Just Cause” Eviction ordinances have the detrimental effect of making “good tenants” endure years of harassment, verbal abuse, inconvenience, or dangerous living circumstances where they live in close proximity to drug dealers, petty thieves, and lewd or offensive individuals.  Rarely will the “good tenants” testify in court for fear of their safety.  Instead, they will expect the property owner to handle the problem.  When it is not handled, the “good tenants” suffer.

 

“Just Cause” Eviction provisions dramatically increase the cost to evict problem tenants.  With “just cause” eviction, the property owner has to prove that “good cause” exists, which requires witnesses and additional trial time.  Under these circumstances, the problem tenant’s attorney often requests a jury trial, hoping they can persuade jurors, who are less accustomed to dealing with problem tenants.  In San Francisco, attorney’s fees can exceed $150,000.  These costs are passed on to the “good tenants” who suffer because “Just Cause” Eviction ordinances protect the “problem tenant” over the “good tenant.”

 

Month-to-Month leases will be made virtually obsolete in Pacifica.  While the tenant can serve the property owner with a 30 day notice, the property owner can only terminate the tenancy if the property owner can prove “just cause” in court.  And, while the “just cause” might very well exist, it is extremely difficult to prove this in court, particularly when the good tenants or neighbors are scared or intimidated by going to court and testifying against the problem tenant.

 

There is no need for “just cause” eviction legislation in Pacifica - evictions are already costly and time consuming processes for property owners.   Evictions can take several months and cost many thousands of dollars.  Tenants being evicted often do physical damage to the property.  For property owners, eviction is the final alternative to which they turn, not the first.

 

Gangs and criminal behavior thrive where “just cause” eviction ordinances are in place.  In areas where “Just Cause” Eviction ordinances are enacted, it is virtually impossible for property owners to evict gang members due to the burden of proof placed on the property owner.  In these situations, it is very unusual that a “good tenant,” who is witness to the activities of a gang member, will actually testify in court on what he or she has seen for fear of retribution.

 

Good renters in Pacifica will experience harassment under the “just cause” eviction ordinance.  The worst unintended consequence of all that will be created by this “Just Cause” eviction ordinances is when a property owner – facing tens of thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees and several months in uncollected rent – decides NOT to evict because of this ordinance and leaves the “problem tenant” alone to harass, disturb, threaten, intimidate, or leer at neighboring tenants and neighbors, commit petty crimes, deal drugs, and engage in gang activity.

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John Keener, Mayor Pro Tem
(650) 557-9738
keenerj@ci.pacifica.ca.us

Sue Digre, Councilmember
(650) 278-1606
digres@ci.pacifica.ca.us

Deirdre Martin, Councilmember
(215) 806-8217
martind@ci.pacifica.ca.us

Mike O’Neill, Mayor
(650) 302-2470
o’neillm@ci.pacifica.ca.us

Sue Vaterlaus, Councilmember
(650) 291-0470
vaterlauss@ci.pacifica.ca.us

Gina Zari
GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS DIRECTOR
(650) 696-8209 | gina@samcar.org
850 Woodside Way, San Mateo, California 94401
www.samcar.org  |  www.facebook.com/samcar.fans