Affordable housing and rent stabilization are two entirely different issues and even if Culver City were to create more affordable housing at this juncture, which of course Culver City also desperately needs, it would still not negate the need for rent stabilization and tenant rights.
Mayor Jeff Cooper has been trying to dance around the movement for Rent Stabilization and Tenant Rights apparently thinking that he could veil his disinterest by suggesting it be mixed in with affordable housing as he did at the City Council meeting on January 27, 2014 and implied in an interview with NBC4 on February 7, 2014.
Renters come in all shapes and sizes, cross all demographics and socio-economic groups. What they all currently have in common is that none of them are protected from massive rent increases, none of them are protected from more than one yearly rent increase, none can rest easy in the knowledge that no-fault evictions in Culver City are legal. As if that weren’t bad enough, should one be forced to move through no fault of their own in a fleeting 60 days, as so many have been, the landlords are not legally required to pay the tenants so much as one cent in relocation fees.
Most socially conscious and progressive individuals would find this status both reprehensible and unconscionable. Apparently not Mayor Cooper who purports to be a Democrat and yet whose actions and spoken words appear clearly to the contrary. Mayor Cooper and his fellow Councilmen who appear to be of the same mindset should pause for reflection and consider their responsibility to serve the whole community.
Enough of coddling the few with deep pockets at the expense of the many.
Simple arithmetic will show that for each landlord, there are many renters. More important to the council, landlords often don’t live here and therefore don’t vote here. Renters do.
We’re not asking for anything unjust or unfair. If you look at our website (www.culvercityrencontrol.com) we are not even seeking anything close to the measures which Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Santa Monica have, so to try and pretend we are obscures the truth.
What We Seek In Rent Stabilization And Tenant Rights
• A cap on the percentage of allowable rental increase, tied into the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• A prohibition of more than one rental increase per year
• Only just cause evictions will be permitted.
• That relocation fees be paid by the Landlord in the event the tenants are required to move through no fault of their own and said fees be tied to a sliding scale dependent on how long the tenant has lived at the property.
A modicum of legal protections as set out above for your renters should not be too much to ask. We are asking you to step up to the plate and do the right thing, by your constituents and by societal norms and institute these much needed measures.
Shireen Daytona
I completely disagree with the above statement.
Renting comes with certain responsibilities too such as signing a lease to a term that makes sense for both parties,a 1 or 2 year lease. And requiring a property own to pay relocation is rediculous unless the owner is breaking a lease or the property is uninhabitable. You’re a renter and that is what renting entails. If you don’t agree then you should buy in an area that you can afford and drive like most people do in Southern California. A property own should not be held hostage by their Tennant that does not want to move and allow the owner to make the prevailing average rent based on unit size and location. I do disagree with a drastic above average rent increase to move the tennant out for no reason or because they “just don’t like them.” But there are just as many Tennant horror stories as there are owner stories. But because owners are seen as ultra rich people the tenants get the benifit of the doubt. In many cases that is not true.