An Apartment building on S. Eculid Avenue in Pasadena (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net).
On November 8, Pasadena voters amended the City Charter to establish rent control and just cause eviction protections for the City of Pasadena. As of December 22, Measure H is in effect. The protections for which our community has worked so hard are finally here.
By Ryan Bell and Ashay Naren Patel
Tenants should make full use of their new rights under Measure H. If you live in a multi-family building built before 1995, your rent can only be raised by 6%. That percentage will probably change in September, but for now, that’s the limit. Also, on or before January 1, tenants who live in rent-controlled units should notify their landlords that they will pay the lawful rent under Measure H—the rent charged to the tenant on May 17, 2021, if later, the month the tenant moved into their unit, and not one penny more.
Additionally, Measure H protects the vast majority of tenants—not just those in rent controlled units—from unlawful evictions. In particular, the law protects tenants from eviction for “substantial renovation” or “substantial remodeling,” a common tactic landlords use to evict tenants. If substantial renovation is truly necessary, tenants are entitled to relocation expenses and the right to return to their unit once the renovations are complete, at the rent they were previously paying.
Measure H Tenant Toolkit
Please read our Measure H Tenant Toolkit for all the details and avail yourself of these new benefits that hundreds of volunteers worked so hard to get. It is ideal if you work with your neighbors to claim your rent reduction and other protections simultaneously so your landlord cannot try to single you out and intimidate you.
Rent control efforts in California have routinely faced litigation by landlord groups trying to weaken these laws and delay their implementation. Predictably, the historically litigious California Apartment Association (CAA), the main group behind the Measure H opposition campaign, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Pasadena over Measure H. The CAA has not yet filed for a preliminary injunction to stop implementation, but even if they do, it will take several weeks before the request is heard, and the judge may choose to deny it. Meanwhile, Measure H is still the law in Pasadena.
City Council must abide by the entire City Charter
The City Council must abide by the entire City Charter, including Measure H. Section 1823 mandates that the City Attorney “shall take all steps necessary to zealously defend against any legal challenges to the validity of this Article,” but the City has not released any official statements regarding the law’s legal status and the City’s commitment to defend it now and in the future. The City’s silence has spread confusion among tenants, many of whom are facing illegal rent increases and evictions before the holidays. City staff should ensure that accurate factual information is clearly communicated to the community and respect the outcome of the election by smoothly implementing it and vigorously defending it from legal challenges.
“Courts across the country have upheld rent control laws,” said Katie McKeon, staff attorney at Public Counsel. “Until a court orders otherwise, this new lawsuit does not stop Pasadena’s rent control law from going into effect, nor does it release the City from its duty to implement the law.”
If the City reneges on its duty to implement, it not only will violate the City Charter, but it will also betray the democratic will of the voters who amended it.
Lawsuit does not pause implementation
Unfortunately, landlords have been denying tenants the rights granted to them by the City Charter, like claiming that the CAA lawsuit pauses implementation. It does not. These are merely intimidation tactics designed to stop us from asserting our rights. It is this kind of greedy and lawless behavior that prompted Pasadena voters to approve Measure H in the first place.
We urge all tenants to join the Pasadena Tenants Union. Especially if you are facing illegal rent increases, evictions, or harassment, reach out to the Pasadena Tenants Union to learn about your rights and how to exercise them. The people of Pasadena approved Measure H by an impressive margin.
Ryan Bell is an organizer with Pasadena Tenants Union and a member of the Pasadena Northwest Commission. Ashay Naren Patel is a Pasadena renter of five years, member of the Pasadena Tenants Union, and doctoral candidate in Physics at the California Institute of Technology.
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