WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS
NOT READ INTO THE RECORD
From: Dan Yukelson
To: Julian Gold; lili Bosse; Lester F; Wunderlich Robert; John Mirisch; George Chavez Cc: Ryan Gohlich; Helen Morales; City Clerk
Subject: End of Rent Freeze and Eviction Moratorium
Date: Saturday, January 15, 2022 3:53:39 PM
CAUTION: External Sender
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The City Council will be discussing the City's rent freeze during its study session on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. It has been nearly two years, and despite the latest Omicron strain, things have been getting back to normal. Both the Federal and California governments, and virtually all municipalities across California have ended or allowed to expire moratoriums on evictions and rent increases imposed back in March or April 2020.
As a rental housing provider here in the City, I am facing unprecedented cost increases due to rising gasoline costs, higher maintenance costs due to lack of labor and increased supply costs, and other inflationary pressures.
I admit that I had been fortunate throughout the pandemic because my renters were unaffected by the pandemic and their careers went on without disruption, and in fact, they thrived.
However, in the face of increased expenses, I have been unable to increase rent.
To make matters worse, I have renters who did not receive an increase for as long as 3 years before the pandemic hit. That means, for some, I have now gone 5 years without increasing rent.
Many housing providers have had it much worse because of renters who simply did not pay rent, whether impacted by COVID or otherwise. Yes, there are renters out there gaming the system and taking advantage of the no eviction protections, particularly now that the Federal government has provided funding to pay past due rent. There were no checks and balances put into place when imposing the eviction moratorium, nor did the City step in with meaningful funding to help pay rent to keep its residents housed. Owners were forced to take the word of their tenants - mention "COVID" and owners were given no remedies for renters who were untruthful.
No matter when you decide to start the one-year clock for paying past due rent, you should realize that for some renters who owe thousands of dollars today, twelve months is not realistic and the housing providers will never see more than cents on the dollar. This is a terrible burden and loss being faced by many who have been forced by City ordinance to provide housing services for free for nearly two years now.
So many rental property owners that I have spoken with in the Greater Los Angeles Area have been forced to liquidate retirement savings, forgo living expenses and make sacrifices in order to keep their properties afloat and to pay their ongoing living and medical expenses.
A case in point is my sister-in-law and brother-in-law who are both in their mid-70's. Once their $4,200 per month renter
learned about the State rental relief, their tenant stopped paying her rent after uttering the magic word, "COVID." In order to cover personal living expenses, their mortgage, medical expenses and provide financial support to their disabled son, among other things, they have had to make-up the lost rent by pulling money out of their savings. Unfortunately, state rental relief is probably not available to their renter because she (or her sister who guarantees the lease) falls far from the 80% AMI criteria needed to qualify. What the City has done to its housing providers is awful, especially to those like me who also live in the City and have made significant contributions within our community. Just imagine for a second if you owned rental property yourself and had been personally impacted by the regulations imposed - I could just see Les giving out free legal services or Julian giving away his medical services, etc.
I urge you to end the eviction moratorium and rent freeze immediately, and allow housing providers, particularly those that are owed thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, to make-up forgone rent increases so that they have a chance to survive this period of inflation. Please come up with a solution to help owners "make-up" for years of lost rent increases. Many owners are now desperate and "on the ropes." Don't force people to sell their properties they had invested in to fund retirement dreams.
APARTMENT ASSOCIATION OF GREATER LOS ANGELES
AAGLA
“Great Apartments Start
Here!”
1 Danielle Leidner-Peretz
Director, Government Affairs
& External Relations
[email protected]
213.384.4131; Ext. 309
January 18, 2022
Via Electronic Mail
Hon. Mayor Bob Wunderlich
and the Members of the Beverly Hills City Council
455 North Rexford Drive
Beverly Hills, California 90210
Re: Update and Options Regarding the City’s COVID-19 Related Rent Protections (Agenda Item A2) Dear Hon. Mayor Wunderlich and Members of the Beverly Hills City Council:
The new year 2022, and two years have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began and, in that time, so much has changed, so much has been learned. While we continue to deal with COVID19 related challenges and a variety of variants, we have come a long way from where we were two years ago. Today, vaccinations and a booster are available, the State has provided renters with comprehensive eviction protections and a COVID-19 Rent Relief program for eligible renters and rental housing providers. The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA or Association) urges the City Council to recognize the significant changes that have occurred since the City adopted its eviction moratorium in March 2020 and seek a path forward today and the conclusion of these interim emergency measures.
At this afternoon’s City Council Study Session, the Council will receive an update on the City’s eviction moratorium and will provide staff with further direction relative to the expiration of the moratorium and related provisions which includes a rent increase freeze. It is unclear why staff is seeking direction relative to the end of the eviction moratorium, rent increase freeze and commencement of the one-year repayment period for deferred rent owed, when the City Council deliberated these issues extensively on October 26, 2021 and approved a motion directing staff to prepare an amendment to the City’s urgency ordinance ending the moratorium on March 31, 2022.
The only issue that remained unresolved was related to the rent increase freeze and establishing a mechanism for rental housing providers to recoup the up to three years of foregone rent increases.
The urgency ordinance adopted by the City Council in March 2020, includes a broad ban on all rent increases for all units subject to the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance as set forth in Chapters 5 and 6 of the Municipal Code. This prohibition applies regardless of whether a renter has been financially impacted by the pandemic. As stated in the City’s Staff report “because the Ordinance took
APARTMENT ASSOCIATION OF GREATER LOS ANGELES
AAGLA
“Great Apartments Start
Here!”
2 effect on March 15, 2020, and is still in effect, landlords may have missed as many as two annual rent increases as of today and may miss as many as three annual rent increases as of March 15, 2022”. Annual general rent adjustments are necessary with the ability to recapture any increases that were forgone for potentially three years. Moreover, there are housing providers who had forgone rent increases in the years prior to the pandemic and the City’s emergency measures who may have now gone 3, 4, 5 or more years without rent increases.
It is imperative for owners to maintain a fair return, guaranteed to them by the Federal and State constitutions. Accordingly, we urge the City Council to end the rent increase freeze immediately, allow the City’s rental housing providers to institute annual increases moving forward, and provide a mechanism for owners to recoup the full amount of prior increases phased-in over a reasonable time period. The City’s already struggling rental housing providers should not be compelled to go through a lengthy administrative process and filing of rent adjustment applications simply to obtain past permissible rent increases.
For the last nearly two years, no other service provider has been subjected to greater government restrictions than the rental housing industry. Many of our members are small business housing providers who have endured dire financial challenges, collecting little, if any, rental income, and consequently depleting retirement and other savings or financing critical items with credit cards in order to maintain essential building operations, with many now contemplating or being forced into leaving the business entirely. Our members have often worked with their renters who have been financially impacted by COVID-19, but have also witnessed circumstances where renters, who have not been impacted by the pandemic, have taken advantage of the situation, and simply not paid rent due despite having the financial ability to do so.
This situation has been further compounded by tremendous increases in building operational and related costs which now with runaway inflationary pressures effecting our economy continue to rapidly escalate. For example, property and liability insurance coverage has continually increased year after year and by more than 10% due to continued fires and high incidence of litigation in California. While the City’s small business rental housing providers have been struggling to cover enormous operational costs, simultaneously, they have been banned from issuing any rent increases as the prohibition does not require any demonstration by the renter of substantial financial impact due to COVID-19 and related documentation. What is the City’s basis for denying rental housing providers years of annual general adjustments from a renter who is not financially impacted by the pandemic and may be better financially situated? We are at the start of a new year and entering into the third year of the pandemic. As stated above, circumstances have changed since the City Council adopted interim emergency measures nearly two years ago, the State Legislature has enacted laws providing renters with significant eviction protections and a COVID-19 Rent Relief Program to assist qualified renters and rental housing providers. Renters who have been impacted by the pandemic and have been unable to pay rent will have over a year to pay back deferred rent, cannot be evicted during that time for the deferred rent owed and if they comply with State requirements cannot be evicted for back due rent ever.
March 2020 will forever be remembered as a pivotal historical moment. From the onset of the
APARTMENT ASSOCIATION OF GREATER LOS ANGELES
AAGLA
“Great Apartments Start
Here!”
3 pandemic and governments response, we have urged localities across Southern California to take a balanced and equitable approach that assists all those in need. In the time since, we have made best efforts to work with our renters during these ever evolving and challenging times. The interim emergency measures of 2020 must be replaced with long-term targeted solutions based on current factors and identified need. The rental housing industry like all other industries must be permitted to resume normal operations.
Thank you for your time and consideration of these matters. If you have any questions, please call me at (213) 384-4131; Ext. 309 or contact me via electronic mail at [email protected].
Very truly yours,
Danielle Leidner-Peretz
Danielle Leidner-Peretz