Alhambra housing crisis (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net)
As a result of a spike in tenant evictions, early this month the City of Los Angeles instituted moratoriums on no-fault evictions and rent increases until the first of the year when California’s anti-rent gouging and just cause eviction law (AB 1482) takes effect.
By Sean McMorris
Similarly, this week Pasadena Mayor, Terry Tornek, said he will put a rent moratorium and just cause eviction emergency ordinance on the 11/04/2019 City Council agenda.
Some are calling for the Alhambra City Council to do the same. Eric Sunada, who sits on Alhambra’s HCDA Citizen’s Advisory Committee, emailed Alhambra’s City Manager, Mayor, and City Council the following on October 29, 2019:
I have been in contact with the Housing Rights Center and have received confirmation of an increase in evictions of longer term tenants or all tenants by landlords since the signing of AB 1482 earlier this month. It is imperative that you pass a no-fault eviction moratorium asap to protect our community. This is an emergency issue.
Evicting oldest tenants or all of tenants
In correspondence with Sunada, the Housing Rights Center (HRC), which contracts with Alhambra, stated that the majority of cases in October from Alhambra walk-ins are due either to rent increases or evictions since the signing of AB 1482. An HRC representative said that some landlords in Alhambra are either evicting their oldest tenants or all of their tenants.
AB 1482
AB 1482 caps yearly rent increases in the state at 5% plus inflation for the next 10 years beginning on January 1, 2020, with some exemptions. It also institutes a just cause eviction law, which prevents landlords from evicting tenants just because they want to raise the rent above that which would be allowed under the new law. Rent increases above the allowable rate are permitted only if a tenant vacates a unit. The L.A. Times reported that “prominent landlord attorney, Dennis Block, has been advising property owners at local trade shows that they [evict before January 1] and tha tenant groups have reported a spike in 60-day notices.” Thus, landlords may feel incentivized to evict tenants without just cause before AB 1482 takes effect so that they can raise rents above that which the new law would allow.
An increase in no-fault evictions
Sunada told ColoradoBoulevard.net that “Since the passage of AB 1482 and until the law goes into effect in January, we need to be especially vigilant in ensuring tenants are not being unjustly evicted or subject to rent gouging by landlords. This is a no-brainer, the city needs to implement a moratorium on no-fault evictions immediately.”
Teresa Eilers of the United Way’s Everyone In Campaign said:
In light of the passage of the statewide rent control bill, we have seen an uptick of rent increases and evictions throughout the state and there is a growing number of cases reported here in Alhambra.
Eilers noted that there is a direct correlation between evictions and homelessness. She cited data from Pasadena’s most recent yearly homelessness count that found that 58% of people who are homeless in Pasadena previously lived in housing in Pasadena. “There are solutions to deal with this crisis that other cities have already taken,” said Eilers. “We urge Alhambra and all other cities to take similar leadership stances to prevent growing homelessness in their communities.”
Alhambra Mayor, Adele Andrade-Stadler, told ColoradoBoulverd.net that she is aware of Sunada’s email. She said that it is very concerning to her if there has been an increase in no-fault evictions in Alhambra, and she has asked the City Manager to look into the matter further.
ColoradoBoulevard.net reached out to Alhambra City Manager, Jessica Binnquist, for comment but did not hear back from her.
Update
In an update to ColoradoBoulevard.net, Alhambra City Manager Jessica Binnquist said that “Since July 1st, [the HRC has] handled 6 eviction cases for the City, and we have 31,721 housing units. They have not tracked ‘no-fault’ evictions.” She provided the following breakdown of HRC documented evictions: 1 in July, 0 in August, 2 in Sept., 3 in Oct. Binnquist clarified that “HRC’s counselors categorize complaints as an eviction when it is at a later stage in the eviction process, like an expired 30/60 day notice or unlawful detainer.”
The eviction numbers provided by HRC are therefore only a small sample based on people who actually sought HRC services and even then they only represent tenants that have exceeded their 30 or 60-day notice to vacate. Furthermore, there is no tracking of “no-fault” evictions (i.e. evictions not based on tenant delinquency or bad behavior). Thus, it is impossible to know how many Alhambra tenants have been given a notice to vacate within the last 30 to 60 days.
A bleaker picture at hand?
Yet, Eric Sunada received additional figures from the HRC that paint a bleaker picture than the information Ms. Binnquist supplied. The October HRC data acquired by Sunada show 3 evictions, 3 notices, 4 rent increases, 4 substandard conditions, 2 mental disability cases, and 2 physical disability cases. Based on this information,said Sunada, “we could have up to 15 eviction-related cases in Oct if we count all categories except substandard conditions.” Sunada added, “And these are just the ones that had the time and energy to talk to the HRC.”
Enormous rent increases
In addition, an HRC Outreach Coordinator told Sunada, “I want to emphasize that many landlords have given enormous rent increases as another way to evict their tenants without an eviction notice. Also, those in the mental and physical disabilities category are often people who also have gotten notices to vacate, but who I’ve counseled to ask for more time through disability-related reasonable accommodations.”
Regardless of the exact number of documented no-fault evictions, many would argue that one no-fault eviction is one too many. A moratorium on no-fault evictions is simply a safeguard for tenants until the end of the year from landlords who want to unjustly evict or price gouge law-abiding renters. It would not affect landlords who are not looking to pre-empt AB 1482.
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> This is a developing story. Check back again for more details:
1- Alhambra Mayor Requests an Emergency Meeting.
[This article has been updated on Oct. 31, 2019 at 4:55 pm]
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