Guest Opinion | Pasadena’s Measure H: Facts and Fiction

The California Apartment Association and National Association of Realtors have been urging voters to reject Measure H, the citizen-proposed rent control and eviction protections measure on Pasadena’s November ballot.

By Aeryn Levey

Their literature is unsurprisingly full of tired, false arguments we’ve seen before – and doesn’t mention rent control or eviction protections even once!

Costly?

Measure H is funded by a $15/month per-unit fee charged to landlords. That’s less than a Netflix subscription and less than 1% the median rent in Pasadena. The fee is not a new tax and won’t draw funds from the city budget. The fee is per-unit, not per-property, so large landlords pay more than small landlords.

No Oversight?

Renters know the status quo: years-overdue health inspections, invalid eviction notices, and personal harassment can only be addressed with prohibitively expensive court proceedings. Like most other California cities that already have rent control, Measure H establishes a rent control board to enforce the rules. The city council-appointed board includes representation from every council district, must hold all meetings publicly, and can be overruled by the judicial system. Going to the board will be a first step that lets tenants and small landlords alike avoid the expense of going to court.

Unfair?

Local landlords like Affordable Housing Services joined the Pasadena Tenants’ Union to write Measure H, and Mom and Pops signed, signature-gathered, and donated to put Measure H on the ballot. Measure H guarantees a fair return on investment and right to owner move-in for small landlords. It stops anticompetitive corporate practices like rent gouging, mass evictions, and corner-cutting repairs.

15,101 Pasadenans already signed to put Measure H on the ballot. Support them when you vote on November 8.

Aeryn Levey is a resident of Pasadena and one of the co-authors of Measure H.