Post by High Priestess on Apr 25, 2016 16:28:18 GMT
Eager to join in the dogpile of cities using the housing crisis of this era to try to enact ever more extreme and severe rent control laws, Berkeley is now piling onto measures lately enacted by Alameda (a city that does not have rent control) and Oakland (which does). Berkeley has an agenda item for the April 26 meeting in which the city is urged to enact a 90 day moratorium on rent hikes, covering units that are not covered by rent control.
See here: records.cityofberkeley.info/Agenda/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=181&doctype=1
SEe item #54 on the COuncil agenda. Under council action items.
As well, see item #50, they want to develop a "tenant protection ordinance".
Note also item #28. I had no idea, but Senator Mark Leno introduced a bill in the California Senate, which would prohibit Landlords from refusing to consider Section 8 tenants!!
Info on SEction 8: SEction 8 is the government program which gives subsidies to low-income tenants, and this covers all individuals who get disability eg for a physical disability like blindness, or who have a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder. Under section 8 arrangements, the landlord is paid the rent in part from the tenant, and in part from the government. Currently, landlords can legally refuse to accept any section 8 tenants. IF they want to rent to section 8 tenants, they have to basically sign up to do section 8 rentals. They can at any point decide that they no longer want to do a section 8 rental of any given unit, which makes it easier to get rid of a section 8 tenant than a standard tenant in situations where rent and eviction controls would normally apply. They can just terminate their contract with section 8 and then the tenant could only remain if they were able to pay the full rent themselves, which none on Section 8 are able to do.
nonprofithousing.org/wp-content/uploads/SB-1053-Leno-Housing-Opportunities-Fact-Sheet.pdf
THis would be of great concern to landlords, since many of the landlords I know refuse Section 8 tenants, on very good grounds -- namely that they have had absolutely horrible experiences with SEction 8 tenants.
In fact such a bill as Leno proposes, would not stop landlords from refusing SEction 8 tenants, but they would have to do so more cautiously so that their refusal is not viewed as overt. They could no longer state in ads, "No section 8" , yet they would likely continue to find ways to keep out section 8 tenants, which would ultimately mean that section 8 voucher holders would end up wasting vastly more time in applying for rentals that they will never get.
Looking thru this agenda has been instructive. It demonstrates that there are many things cities are doing behind the scenes that are worth knowing about...
See here: records.cityofberkeley.info/Agenda/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=181&doctype=1
SEe item #54 on the COuncil agenda. Under council action items.
As well, see item #50, they want to develop a "tenant protection ordinance".
Note also item #28. I had no idea, but Senator Mark Leno introduced a bill in the California Senate, which would prohibit Landlords from refusing to consider Section 8 tenants!!
Info on SEction 8: SEction 8 is the government program which gives subsidies to low-income tenants, and this covers all individuals who get disability eg for a physical disability like blindness, or who have a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder. Under section 8 arrangements, the landlord is paid the rent in part from the tenant, and in part from the government. Currently, landlords can legally refuse to accept any section 8 tenants. IF they want to rent to section 8 tenants, they have to basically sign up to do section 8 rentals. They can at any point decide that they no longer want to do a section 8 rental of any given unit, which makes it easier to get rid of a section 8 tenant than a standard tenant in situations where rent and eviction controls would normally apply. They can just terminate their contract with section 8 and then the tenant could only remain if they were able to pay the full rent themselves, which none on Section 8 are able to do.
nonprofithousing.org/wp-content/uploads/SB-1053-Leno-Housing-Opportunities-Fact-Sheet.pdf
THis would be of great concern to landlords, since many of the landlords I know refuse Section 8 tenants, on very good grounds -- namely that they have had absolutely horrible experiences with SEction 8 tenants.
In fact such a bill as Leno proposes, would not stop landlords from refusing SEction 8 tenants, but they would have to do so more cautiously so that their refusal is not viewed as overt. They could no longer state in ads, "No section 8" , yet they would likely continue to find ways to keep out section 8 tenants, which would ultimately mean that section 8 voucher holders would end up wasting vastly more time in applying for rentals that they will never get.
Looking thru this agenda has been instructive. It demonstrates that there are many things cities are doing behind the scenes that are worth knowing about...