CORRESPONDENCE - WS-1 OPPOSITION

Home Browse Search

Landlord/Tenant Education Often local renters are unaware of their rights and responsibilities. Through better education and outreach we can ensure that renters understand the resources available to them. CAA is committed to working with the city to develop a multi-lingual, multi-media program to provide information to renters on local laws, their rights, and available resources to help residents resolve their housing issues, available funding sources for assistance, and prevent and defend evictions. CAA already publishes several educational tools to help renters with this information and we look forward to identifying ways to further promote this type of program in the city of Santa Ana. Voluntary Mediation Program CAA and our members support voluntary programs that provide opportunities for rental owners and their residents to engage in a dialogue. This would allow for both parties to understand each other's challenges on maintaining rising operational costs and living expenses in a neutral setting with the goal of arriving at a mutually agreeable solution. Minimum Lease Terms CAA does not oppose giving rental property owners the choice to offer residents the option a 6-month or 12-month lease at the inception of the tenancy. Contractual relationships between a landlord and tenant offer some assurance of stability under the terms of a written lease so as to minimize displacement of tenants into a housing market which may afford them few options. With the option of a 6-month or 12-month lease, residents who rent will have the ability to seek a guarantee of the rent to be paid for 6-months or one full year without fear of an increase and the residents can be assured that for the duration of this contract, they will not be evicted or asked to move unless there is a breach of the rental agreement. Relocation Assistance for Renovations A tenant relocation assistance ordinance would require landlords to provide relocation assistance to eligible tenants displaced from rental units because of renovations, redevelopment, and similar activities. This type of policy is intended to help residents with moving costs, deposits, and securing replacement housing. A targeted relocation assistance program would apply when the landlord seeks to recover possession to demolish or otherwise remove a residential rental housing unit from residential rental housing use to make repairs or renovations after having obtained all proper permits from the city, if any such permits are required. This program would NOT apply when an owner needs to recover possession of the unit to repair the damage or destruction of the unit which is caused by a fire or natural disaster or where tenants have been provided with alternative housing on site or nearby. Rather than tie the relocation assistance benefit to any formula based on tenancy or economic indicator, it should be a standard formula, for example: • Landlord must provide 90 days' notice to the tenant • Landlord must provide a full refund of the tenant's security deposit • Landlord must pay the cash equivalent of two months' rent City Funding for Affordable Housing Affordable housing is truly a community-wide issue and it warrants a community-wide solution. CAA recommends the city study the feasibility of broad based funding mechanisms to create affordable housing; for example, the consideration of a regional parcel tax, sales tax, and/or general obligation bond. These measures may provide an ongoing source of revenue for housing-voucher assistance and help finance the construction and preservation of housing. Such a measure would address affordable housing policy through community action and