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the decision and stress of either paying the rent or paying for food. Because of this, we recognize how vulnerable our community is to this pandemic; susceptible to experiencing financial precarity, housing displacement and particularly at risk of losing their lives. The Executive Order which the council enacted, has ensured that tenants — residential and commercial — are able to confidently push back against unscrupulous attempts by landlords to unlawfully increase rents or attempt illegal evictions during this pandemic. We dispute the claims of the California Apartment Association or any parties against the rent freeze portion of the order therein. We maintain that the current moratorium on rent increases, also referred to as a rent freeze, is not in conflict with restrictions imposed by state laws regarding the applicability of local rent control ordinancesa during this pandemic. We have come to understand that state and local city charters grant powers to elected officials in times of public health emergencies such as the current COVID-19 related epochs. Therefore, we call on the Santa Ana City Council to do the following: Allow the rent freeze to extend for six months beyond the date which statewide emergency orders are lifted. This will ensure that tenants do not fall further behind on rent repayment and will match the timeline of the city's eviction moratorium. Continue to exercise its power in the interest of maintaining housing stability in Santa Ana, tenants, and conummity at large. Use any and all ability to create public media to ensure that landlords in Santa Ana make no attempt to evict, harass, bully, or otherwise render tenants' lives more difficult in our current pandemic. This will ensure that tenants can remain confident in their rights to remain in Santa Ana. Assert and defend tenants' right to quiet enjoyment of their homes and rented units. Landlords claim to operate the business of providing housing as a service. As such, landlords are required to provide certain standards of living under the law throughout the duration of the tenancya. This holds that landlords shall be required to maintain properties up to code and respect tenants whether a temporary rent freeze and eviction moratorium is in effect or not. Without this, residents are forced to live in conditions detrimental to their physical and mental health. As elected members by constituents of Santa Ana, we have faith that you will address our concerns and recommendations. While we continue to ask the City of Santa Ana to do more to protect its residents from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by adopting stronger protections (e.g. a complete eviction moratorium and longer repayment periods), at a minimum, the City of Santa Ana should maintain and expand its current Executive Order No. 2-2020 regarding rent freezes. Santa Ana was one of the first California cities bold enough to protect its residents when the COVID-19 pandemic began. We urge that the Council remain bold enough to ensure that residents stay protected against unjust and immoral actions by corporate absentee Santa Ana landlords who are motivated purely by profit. We do not believe in allowing these types of groups and interests to hold weight in our communities. We believe that the value of our city comes from residents and we invite the Council to Itiq