Apartment for rent on E. California Blvd. (Photo – Emmanuel Kraultez).
PASADENA — ColoradoBoulevard.net:
The Pasadena Tenants Union (PTU), along with Measure H campaign partners, called on the mayor and members of city council to speedily and in good faith implement the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment.
By News Desk
The Pasadena Tenants Union (PTU), along with Measure H campaign partners, called on the mayor and members of city council to speedily and in good faith implement Measure H, otherwise known as the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment. PTU is also launching a Measure H Tenant Toolkit to assist Pasadena tenants in understanding how the law applies to them and what they need to do to assert their new rights.
Measure H passed with nearly 54% of the vote and a 7.6% margin. It was approved in each of the council districts except District 4. According to the language in the charter amendment, rent control and protections against unjust evictions, along with other protections, will become effective on December 22, 10 days after the city council receives the results of the election today.
Newly elected council members Jessica Rivas from District 5 and Jason Lyon from District 7 issued statements in support of effective implementation.
“I was honored to be an early endorser of the campaign and to work alongside residents to get out the vote,” said Rivas. Now I look forward to continuing working with residents, and also city staff, to ensure the smooth implementation of sorely needed rent control and eviction protections for our city.”
“The votes have been counted and certified,” said Lyon. “The Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment was approved by the voters and is the law of our city. Now begins the work of making the program a reality. This is a groundbreaking initiative for Pasadena. We can expect to encounter some challenges in getting started. As an incoming councilmember, I am committed to working with city staff to realize the people’s will as soon as possible.”
While some parts of the law will take longer to implement, many tenant protections will start on December 22, including eviction protections and a rent rollback. On January 1, 2023, rent will be rolled back to the rent tenants were paying on May 17, 2021 if they were living in their current unit on that day. If they moved in after May 17, 2021, the rent will be the amount they were paying on the day they moved in.
One part of the law the council needs to focus on is the appointment of the 11-member Rental Housing Board by April 21. Seven board members must be tenants—one from each council district—and the remaining four appointees will serve at-large.
For more detailed information on tenants rights according to The Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment, visit PasadenaTenantsUnion.org or Pasadena4RentControl.org.
Edited by Ann Hunnewell
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