Questions from Community Engagement Meeting
1. Who will be controlling the rental increase?
2. Can we have application fees controlled?
3. Why isn't contact information from Rental Registration being used to inform landlord and tenants about this meeting?
4. How does the city plan to educate tenants and landlords about new laws (still unclear on state laws and protections provided by the state)
5. Does the proposed increase percentage include CPI?
6. Why should a tenant need 3 months of relocation fees if they are only to provide a 30-day notice?
7. Will the city provide landlords with notice templets that they can use in multiple languages?
8. Will there be any new development soon that will also help the rental situation?
9. Why does Salinas want different rules then what the State and federal already provide?
10. Can limitations be placed on homes that re-enter the market after being remodeled? Will the extent of the remodel be taken into consideration before the new rental price is determined?
11. Will the rent ordinance apply to those that do not have a lease?
12. How will the decisions on the set percentage be made?
13. What will be the required fee that will be charged to have this ordinance in place? Will it be covered by general funds?
14. At what point will the overcrowding in small units be address?
15. Will the city provide Rental assistance or wraparound services?
16. What is currently being done for properties that are currently not following state laws?
17. Can the city provide more workshops in English and Spanish top help people further understand?
18. Will anything be done for students who can't afford the cost of living?
19. How can we afford the cost of living when it keeps going up and the minimum wage doesn't?
20. Can the City regulate the move in conditions are safe for tenants to move in?
21. What can be done to include mobile homes and single-family homes in this ordinance?
22. What will happen to all the other properties that are not covered under this ordinance?
23. Can more community meetings be held in different districts?
24. How much return / capital is considered enough?
25. What can a tenant do to ensure that the deposit is received when a tenant needs to be relocated due to home repairs?
26. Can unit inspections be done with categories that is available to everyone for transparency purposes?
27. Why can’t the city do rent stabilization / control based on the average salaries individuals make?
28. Does any other city do the 30 days just cause? If so, please provide information on which ones?
29. Can we consider the CPI + the % determined by EPS to be considered.
30. Can we make this ordinance more neutral to help not only tenants but owners & property managers as well. It is very single sided.
Questions on August 1st Community Meeting
o Allowing units to be sent over to market rate incentivizes the turnover to take place and leave those who have left the units looking at units that have now been reset to market value when the reason they left is because they couldn’t afford it. Ordinance is needed but it doesn’t go far enough to drive those that live here and work here. Rents being reset isn’t helping. o Has the data been looked at in a lens of the insurance industry. California properties are getting dropped and are going up by a 384% increase.
o How is rent control creating more housing? How is lowering the rents creating more housing? o Why is your data 5 years old? In the last year and a half there has been an increase of 30-35% groceries and gasoline, we don’t have a rent control problem we have a housing problem.
Before we can have a rent control, we have to have housing to fit everyone in Salinas. These numbers don’t make it affordable (EPS Data) How is this information collected? Its old information.
o Vacancy decontrol is important to landlord feasibility, so what you are saying is this rent control model is not feasible for landlords that have long term tenants. Finding show tenants long term but how long do they need to stay to make it sustainable for a landlord? o Will this lead landlords to sell or convert to condos or townhouses, which will reduce the amount of rental stock?
o What are the most accurate numbers of EPS? (based on the multiple PowerPoints) o Consider on average what cap rates a buyer will purchase a property at based on IRRs? What debt the buyer is going to inquire a building at? How can a landlord stay profitable especially if they have new acquisition if their expenses are growing in 5% but only asking to raise rent only
2.5%.
o Please explain how 2.5 and or 2.75% because I think landlord are not understanding how it can be beneficial for both parties.
o What is the threshold that this program is going to set on the market on average rents. o How is it that with how much restrictions there is on raising rent still not profitable enough to supply more housing and now assuming with the deed restrictions that making ownership less profitable how are there going to be more housing? How are we not going in the direction of Venezuela and Argentina?
o Certain units vs rental units that are not part of the program this will only apply to 18% of the units in Salinas did we look at expanding that? If this only apply to 18% that is only 1 in 5 o This has to be a side by side with rent stabilization and affordable housing. How is the city going to function if not everyone can afford to live here. This will not build housing, but it will be a temporary solution until we build more housing. Supply and demand but will take decades because we are decades behind.
o Concern for everyone in the city that it only applies to 18% how is it going to fix the problem and how would anyone want to invest in the city? Insurance is beyond our control, but I understand that some thing needs to be done. Only a small percentage of homes build go to low income and does not solve the problem. We are the city rich in land but how do we embrace everyone. I’m here in support but this does now answer our needs more need to be done. Are we going to come up with real solutions?
o How will the appeals process look? If our insurance goes up 20-30% can we come to u to appeal for increase more than 2.5-2.7%?
o I have a friend that is afraid to tell her landlord stuff is broken because she’s afraid she’s going to be kicked out. The only thing the landlord was good for was to collect rent. I went back recently and her house is black, it’s going to affect their health. They always charge rent but don’t fix what needs to be fixed.
o What are we incentivizing turn over once the units are sent to market rate. I don’t think its fair for people to have to look for units at the market rate. If they couldn’t afford the units, they left how will the be able to afford the units at the new market rate? o Market rates are determined by what? If I can suggest instead of the Rental registry let’s make it free and ask how much rent is charged to figure out what market rent is. o Who determines the voucher rates for the housing authority? The biggest drives is the housing authority writing blank checks to the property owners.
o Can you explain on the December 31St retroactive date?
Questionnaires
1. Are you a Tenant, Landlord, or Property Manager?
a. Tenant/ Renter (43)
b. Landlord/ Property Owner (9)
c. Property Management (7)
d. Other (3)
2. How often is rent increased?
a. Annually (34)
b. Bi-annually (12)
c. Lease Renewal (6)
d. Other (10)
3. What should be the proposed maximum annual rent increase percentage in the Rent Stabilization Ordinance? The percentages provided are a simulation and do not rely on concrete data.
a. 2% (41)
b. 5% (4)
c. 7% (1)
d. 10% (11)
- We did not have an “other” option but we did have a few individuals not answer and recommended another option. (5)