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A A California ApartmentAssoclation Orange County 23496 Madero Road, Suite 240 Mission Viejo, CA 92601 g49.9S5.3695 • caanet.org February 5, 2018 The Honorable Miguel Pulido Mayor, City of Santa Ana 22 Civic Center Plaza Santa Ana, CA 92701 Re: CAA Opposes Rent Control; Alternative Rental Housing Policies Dear Mayor Pulido and Council Members: The California Apartment Association, Orange County Division, which represents more than 100,000 units throughout Orange County vehemently opposes rent control or rent stabilization in any form. Studies clearly show that fixing the price of rent does not help solve an affordable housing crisis. Several studies on rent control can be found at whatisrenteontrol.org. Economists agree rent control increases the severity of the problem. 'Economists reckon a restrictive price ceiling reduces the supply ofproperty to the market. When prices are capped, people have less incentive to fix up and rent out their basement flat, or to build rental property. Slower supply growth exacerbates the price crunch. And those landlords who do rent out their properties might not bother to maintain them, because when supply and turnover in the market are limited by rent caps, landlords have little incentive to compete to attract tenants. " - The Economist (Aug. 201 S) Rent controls also lower the quality of life within communities. Plummeting property values adversely impact schools and city services. As home and apartment values decline, revenue from the county also declines. This jeopardizes the long-term health of schools and city infrastructure such as police, fire, and other services. While CAA is strongly opposed to any form of rent control or just cause eviction ordinances, we do applaud the city for exploring ways to address Santa Ana's affordable housing needs. The obvious long-term solution is to build and increase the city's housing supply; however, we do recognize there are immediate challenges between tenants and rental housing owners. Until our housing supply catches up to demand, we would like to present new ways to work with the community and City Hall on measures that will ease the pressures felt by all members of our community To begin, CAA recommends the city establish a Housing Task Force comprised of tenant advocates, local landlords, and other stakeholders. This group would be assigned with generating policies and programs that will better serve the communities in Santa Ana. As a proposed member of said Housing Task Force, CAA is prepared to elaborate on the following concepts: