Dear Housing Providers of Pasadena

You've probably received a letter from the City telling you to sign up for the rent registry. As you know, the Rent Board gave a $425,000 no-bid contract to a brand-new consultancy from Oakland called bhyv to set this up. bhyv's inexperience has led to the registry being delivered nine months late, and they were forced to bring in another outside contractor to finally deliver the registry.

The unelected and unaccountable Rent Board now require you to pay $214.71 per unit, which you cannot pass on to tenants. They also require you to hand over your personal details, along with the details of any co-owners of your apartments. Tenant activists have already said they intend to use this private information to stage protests against us.

Worse still, the Rent Board has cast a wide net in its hunt for money and power. Many of our friends and neighbors received the same threatening letters at their own homes, and have been told they must register their personal properties and then apply for an exemption from payment after they have handed over their personal details.

Please ask your friends and neighbors to tell the City Council how they feel about being forced to give up their privacy simply to prove they are not renting out the homes they live in. You can also point them to the Pasadena Landlord Guide for information on how to deal with this situation.

Housing affordability is one of the biggest challenges facing us in Pasadena. Pasadena Now reports that Council member Tyron Hampton spoke up at a Council meeting about the large number of naturally affordable multifamily residences being sold by their owners in recent weeks. Mayor Victor Gordo said that "maybe rent control" was the issue.

All of us who provide safe, comfortable, and affordable housing in Pasadena know that Measure H is the direct cause of this situation, and that the constant attacks on housing providers by unelected and unaccountable Rent Board members will lead to more exits from the market.

Reach out to Council member Hampton, Mayor Gordo, and your own Council members to let them know that the only way they can save Pasadena's affordable housing from destruction is to let voters undo the damage caused by Measure H.

As we mentioned last week, a poll released by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) shows a 12-point decrease in voter opposition to Proposition 33 compared to prior state rent control measures. The survey shows 51% of voters in support, 46% opposed, and 3% undecided.

Prop.33 is bad for California, and bad for housing providers.

From the statewide NO on Prop. 33 campaign:

If we are to defeat Prop. 33, we must quickly expand our efforts. We need your urgent support to increase television buys and launch a wider voter contact effort earlier than planned. The path forward is clear: once voters understand what Prop 33 really does and how it impacts homeowners, votes shift in our favor. But we must educate voters, especially in light of these new numbers.

If Prop. 33 passes, the consequences for property owners will be catastrophic. We will lose our ability to bring rents to fair market rates when a new tenant moves in. Unelected rent authorities will gain the power to impose new fees and increase our costs of providing housing. And local governments will dictate what we can and can’t do with our own homes.

The campaign is calling for urgent donations. Can you help?

Our friends at the California Apartment Association have helped defeat similar attempts at overturning Costa-Hawkins in 2018 and 2022. We recommend donating to their campaign to protect your investment in California property, but AAGLA and AOA are associations who are also doing great work to defeat this assault on property rights.

Meanwhile, if you'd like a "No on 33" lane sign, just get in touch on info@pasadenahousingproviders.com with your name and address, and we'll make it happen.

Please let us know of any other property owners or housing providers who might want to be on our mailing list.

Regards,

Pasadena Housing Providers

www.PasadenaHousingProviders.com

Pasadena Housing Providers ID# 1464386