From: Thomas Morgan II
To: City Council (San Mateo); Alex Khojikian
Subject: Agenda item No. 30
Date: Friday, July 25, 2025 7:46:28 AM
Dear Council,
I am writing to express my opposition to Agenda Item No. 30 in its current form. While I understand the intent behind the proposal, I believe it introduces significant uncertainty for housing providers. This uncertainty could ultimately increase the overall cost of providing housing, rather than reduce it.
Additionally, while the policy aims to support tenants facing financial hardship, it may unintentionally enable the transfer of problematic tenants from one landlord to another.
This could create further strain on housing providers and diminish the quality of housing communities.
The proposal reminds me of an observation by Morgan Housel in one of his books, who once explained why people buy lottery tickets despite the odds: “When you can’t afford to put groceries in the refrigerator, buying a lottery ticket feels like a small risk for a potentially life-changing reward. If you win, your situation improves dramatically. If you lose, you’re no worse off.” Similarly, this policy may incentivize tenants not to pay rent at all believing that partial payment offers no benefit and full payment is out of reach.
To improve the proposal, I recommend requiring tenants who access these funds to waive relocation benefits and/or other non-essential tenant rights . In addition, I would also recommend a faster pathway for eviction in the event the tenant is legitimately a bad tenant trying to game the system. This would help ensure that the support is used responsibly and does not create further imbalance between tenant protections and landlord rights.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Thomas Morgan