News and Events

Newsom signs flurry of housing bills

Legislation aims to increase density and available sites for development

Just over one year after greenlighting SB 9, arguably California’s most significant new housing law in generations, on Wednesday California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a flurry of additional pro-density housing bills that are likely to influence development in the state for decades.

The most significant are AB 2011 and SB 6, two companion bills that remove rezoning requirements for residential development on former office and retail properties and which supporters argue could eventually lead to the creation of millions of new housing units.

Read more

LA’s eviction moratorium continues for at least a month

City staff report recommends extending protections until end of year, while landlord group says rule is “dragging out the emergency”

Los Angeles City Council voted Aug. 26 to extend for another month one of the longest-running pandemic moratoriums on evictions in California.

Los Angeles’ eviction moratorium started in March 2020 and was intended to protect renters from becoming homeless during the economic disruption of the pandemic. Councilmember John Lee, who represents the city’s 12th District, was the sole vote against continuing the declaration. At a previous council meeting, he said that the eviction moratorium unfairly penalized landlords months after other governmental bodies, including the state of California, let eviction moratoria expire.

Read more

City Council Approves Temporary Eviction Moratorium for Rent-Controlled Tenants Facing Rent Increases Starting September 1

At last night’s meeting, the Santa Monica City Council approved an emergency ordinance allowing a temporary eviction moratorium to take effect immediately for rents due September 1, 2022 for residential tenants in rent-controlled units. The moratorium is a measure to safeguard Santa Monica residents who may be unable to afford potential rent increases of up to 6% due to an increase in the maximum allowable rent (MAR) for rent-controlled housing. “We are doing all we can to protect our residents in rent-controlled units through the soon-to-launch rental assistance program and this eviction moratorium,” said City Manager David White. “Santa Monicans living in rent-controlled units should be aware of these two vital safety net measures leading up to September 1.”

Read more

Santa Monica moving to tighten rent control rules

UPDATED, July 27, 2022, 9:22 a.m.: In a climate of soaring rents, rampant inflation and escalating recession fears, one of Southern California’s most expensive cities is moving closer to implementing new rent control measures. During a 10-hour marathon session on Tuesday, the Santa Monica City Council discussed new initiatives that include lowering the city’s maximum annual rent increase cap from 6 percent to 3 percent and granting a rent control board the power to freeze hikes altogether under a declared emergency. But, the Council did not come to an agreement and will resume talks on Aug. 6.

Read more

Santa Monica puts rent control measure on November ballot

via TheRealDeal.com

"After weeks of public rhetoric — and spirited opposition from landlords — the Santa Monica City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of a November ballot measure that would reduce the city’s maximum annual rent increases.

“One sentence,” Councilman Phil Brock said after the vote: “I hope all of our rent control renters will sleep better this evening.."

Read more

2022 Landlord-Tenant Legislative Update

Tracey L. Merrell, Managing Partner of Education, Kimball, Tirey and St. John LLP

About this event

In this AOA Live Stream, you will discover

• 2022 Clarifications to AB 1482
• What's needed to comply with new landlord-tenant laws
• How to navigate fair housing law updates and other trending topics affecting landlords
• How to avoid challenges as a property owner and manager

Read more

Attorney Mike Brennan: Rental Screening Policies for the Post Covid Era!

The COVID pandemic has changed many things in the rental housing industry. However, landlords must have comprehensive and fair rental screening policies that remain consistent. That said, many renters had their income interrupted or even faced eviction due to the pandemic. So, how should future landlords view these circumstances? Read more...

Read more

Demand For Electric Vehicles Is Rising. How Can Building Owners Prepare For The Influx?

via biznow.com The research is clear: Electric vehicles are the future of transportation in the United States. Adoption of EVs is growing across the country, with 1.8 million electric vehicles registered in the U.S. in 2020, three times the number of EVs in 2016. More than half of respondents to a 2021 CarMax survey said they expected their next auto purchase to be an electric or hybrid vehicle. Read more..

Read more

Show A Tenant A Building’s Energy Efficiency Score, And They Make Greener Choices

via biznow.com Showing residential tenants how energy efficient a building is when they are looking at rentals nudges them toward making greener choices, a new study has found. The report from The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy found that on a mock rental listings website, the presence of energy labels on listings encouraged a nationally representative sample of U.S. renters to select the most efficient listings 21% more often. Read more..

Read more

CPI Updated: New Allowable Increases Go into Effect Under State Law (A.B. 1482)

The good news for those of us subject to statewide rent control, rent increases this year can be greater, but the obvious bad news is that inflationary pressures have led to rapidly increasing prices for all goods and services. And, to add bad news on top of bad news, the allowable increase under state law, Assembly Bill 1482, is limited to just 10%. Under Assembly Bill 1482, annual rent increases are limited to the greater of (i) CPI + 5%, or (ii) 10%.

This week, the U.S. Department of Labor and Statistics published the updated Consumer Price Index (CPI) for major urban areas. The California (as a whole) CPI is still pending from the California Department of Industrial Relations; however, CPI data is now available for urban areas across California such as Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario and others.

Please be sure to refer to the footnotes when referring to the chart above. For help on which area to use to calculate rent increases, please contact one of our Operational Advisors for assistance.

Read more