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May 1, 2020 Mayor Miguel Pulido and Councilmembers Vincente Sarmiento, David Penaloza, Jose Solorio, Phil Bacerra, Juan Villegas and Cecilia Iglesias Dear Mayor Pulido and Councilmembers, On April 7, 2020, the City of Santa Ana mandated a rent freeze. We are very concerned about and opposed to this punitive measure. We believe it is unlawful. We implore you to rescind this draconian measure. Apartment firms have been bracing for an uptick in late payments and skips and are gravely concerned about their ability to keep up with their financial responsibilities, which remain unchanged as more jurisdictions adopt renter protections with limited relief for housing providers. Owners and operators rely on rental income to pay employee payroll, mortgage payments, taxes, insurance and, importantly, use the funds to maintain continuity of essential services for apartment communities as many renters must shelter in place. In addition to those pressing concerns, our state faces a housing affordability crisis — brought on by a housing supply shortage and crumbling infrastructure —long before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. If lawmakers do not act to support landlords as well as renters, this ongoing crisis, paired with the economic downfall brought on by COVID-19, will only worsen. Apartment operators, employees and residents need additional economic relief to avoid a total collapse of the rental housing sector, which contributes $3.4 trillion annually to the U.S. economy. For this reason, we are asking you to create more direct rental assistance for landlords and the rental industry. This needs to be a direct emergency rental assistance program particularly for those who do not presently receive housing assistance. Freezing rents is not the answer. Like other Americans, housing providers have financial obligations to meet on a regular basis and this crisis is impacting large, medium and small housing providers, but could be especially devastating to smaller housing providers who ultimately make up the majority of rental property owners. These small businesses often function on low margins that cannot sustain substantial losses of rental income for any period of time. This could result in a reduction of housing quality and services as owners make tough decisions about reserves and reducing expenses.