A survey indicates majority of Pasadena voters support annual limit rent control and Just Cause Eviction (Photo – ColoradoBlvd.net).
A recent survey indicates majority of Pasadena voters support annual limit rent Control and Just Cause Eviction.
By Kate Bartlett
Survey results are proportionately consistent across all age, gender, party registration, city council district, homeowner/renter and ethnic groups.
The survey was conducted by David Binder Research on behalf of Pasadenans Organizing for Progress (POP). The survey included 700 likely voters (based on voting in 11/16 or 11/18 or registration since 11/18). The survey was conducted by telephone interviews (69% cell phone and 31% landline) from January 30 to February 5, 2019. The scientific survey has an error rate of +/- 3.7%.
Of such voters, 69% strongly supported adoption by the Pasadena City Council of a rent control law placing an annual limit rent increases. The survey also showed that 82% of such voters supported adoption by the City Council of a prohibition against eviction without just cause. Landlords would be able to evict for cause, such as not paying rent, destruction of property or exhibiting loud or violent behavior.
Ed Washatka, chair of POP’s housing committee, stated:
The voters are telling the Mayor and City Council that they want them to pass laws that protect renters against skyrocketing rent increases and unjust evictions.
POPs Board has voted unanimously to support the campaign of the Pasadena Tenants Justice Coalitions (PTJC) to put a Rent Control and Just Cause Eviction measures on the November 2020 ballot. The PTJC initiative would allow annual rent increases based on increases in the Consumer Price Index, and landlords would be able to recover the costs of capital improvements.
“Lots of research shows that students do better in school if their families have stable housing,” said Juliana Serrano, a member of POP’s Board.
Kim Douglas, POP co-chair, stated that POP is about to launch a major voter registration drive. “We want tenants’ voices to be heard. We’re also heartened that so many homeowners recognize the importance of protecting the city’s affordable rental housing so that janitors, nurses, teachers, retail clerks, waiters and waitresses, social workers, and others can live in our city.”
Survey chart by Council Districts (Photo – POP)
David Binder Research has provided research and insight to political, government and private sector clients for over 25 years. Its report states that its strength lies in pioneering use of new research technologies, hybrid qualitative and quantitative techniques and the ability to devise innovative, customizable services that suit the specifications of each individual client.
Pasadenans Organizing for Progress (POP) is a multi-issue community organization. Kim Douglas, its co-chair, states, “We led the fight to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and we’ve worked with the City Council and Pasadena Police to protect immigrants. We’ve been working on reforms to limit the use of lethal force and racial profiling by Pasadena Police Department. Now POP intend to organize the community to support the PTJC ballot initiative on rent control and just cause eviction.”
F***in finally
rent control= hell and no!
Let’s bring it to the ballot.
If only the people surveyed would actually show up and vote. Instead people who like making things more expensive have shown up in droves.
I agree that’s gonna be a challenge. want to join voter-registration efforts and/or general canvassing efforts? Sign up to volunteer at ptjc2020.org
thank you so so much
What else do people really need which can be price controlled?
Hi Jim, I agree with you to a limited extent — landlords, in some cases, really might be depending on rental income to ensure a healthy retirement, and I suppose I don’t want anything too disruptive to happen to anybody’s plans for a secure future. That’s why I would want to see a comprehensive overhaul of the way we treat housing — secure, stable housing should be our priority, and housing should not ever be used as a commodity.
But until then, rent control keeps people in their homes. Landlords will need to just deal with slightly decreased profits as rent increases would be tethered to the CPI.
Another note: one barely needs to speak up on behalf of landlords. The city council is already overwhelmingly hostile to the idea of tenants’ rights, and several council members ARE landlords.
It is going to be a struggle to secure some stability for Pasadenans.
Landlords don’t evict often unless there is a problem with a tenant or they want to sell. If it is just a rental rate increase they want, they just do that — and almost always because they have heard someone else is getting more. Protection of rate increases beyond the costs of repairs/upgrades/and inflation should be limited. Too often though, the control rate is too low sometimes below inflation, and rental stock is turned into condos instead, or maintenance isn’t done. The City also should protect Landlords 🙂
also I am currently in touch with a few tenants who have received eviction notices — in both cases it is clear the owner wants to slightly remodel and ~double the rent. In both cases the existing tenants were not even given a chance to try to pay more, they were just summarily evicted. The first tenant raised his children here, send his kids to public schools here and to PCC, and went to PCC himself. He’s also a goddamn nice guy and I’m heartbroken that Pasadena is losing him.
The second tenant is a third-generation Pasadenan, and a grandfather. All his grandkids’ friends live in Pasadena. He’s also a wonderful guy and we’re losing him, too.
Landlords evict to increase profits and they will do so in the manner that is most convenient for them
Hi Bev, I’m not sure rent control would have much effect on new building. Over the past 12 years without rent control/eviction protections, the total rental stock seems to have neither increased nor increased:
so this makes me ask, what have landlords/development companies been doing? What does their work consist of? And it seems from that graph (binned into 5 coarse bands) that the primary effect of their work has been to convert existing affordable stock into pricier, even luxury housing.
so I don’t expect rent control would have much effect on development rates, but it would
limit gentrification of neighborhoods that have been stable in Pasadena for generations.
Rent control is a renter’s protection during inflation
what protects landlords against falling prices during a market contraction?
Have you ever known rents to go down? You might get an incentive or two, but actual reductions?!
Because Pasadena is now primarily a rental market with high rise buildings lining the freeway and Gold line. The tipping line has been passed.
Hell no.
John Pearson if you don’t like it, you can always leave ??
Sean Thornton He doesn’t even live in Pasadena so I don’t know why he is even commenting
How about a limit on high density, soul crushing, community killing, over priced development???
Excellent idea. It means that not a single additional apartment will be built, thus limiting the crowding. SCORE!
Rent control doesn’t stop the building of new apartments. Look at all the new apartments that have built in Santa Monica and Los Angeles and they have had rent control for years.
Somehow, I’m not surprised that a majority doesn’t realize that any cap on rents will immediately and forever decrease the quantity and quality of rental housing.
This is a poorly written and misleading subject line. Only 700 voters were polled. 700 is definitely not a majority. Most people are ignorant on the downside of rent control so they obviously will be in favor of it.
Mark DeFazio it’s a race to the bottom, Mark- and Pasadena is happy to lead it.
Not sure what that meant but ok.