A version of the following was written by housing provider and attorney Michael Millman. In 2018, Michael Weinstein, President of the AIDS Health Care Foundation, promoted Proposition 10 to extreme rent control to approximately 540 cities throughout California. It was defeated by almost 70% of the voters. Proposition 21, of course, is the “son” of…
Settlement agreements send a clear message to all property owners and landlords that HUD is committed to taking appropriate action when offenders act in behavior that violates the Fair Housing Act. Landlords to Pay Tenants to Settle Sexual Discrimination Complaint The owners and manager of a Bakersfield, California apartment complex have agreed to pay $14,500…
The circumstances with rent control and other regulations remind me of the 1960s in New York City. My grandfather owned some rent-controlled apartment buildings in New York. As time went on, the cost of maintenance and taxes exceeded the rental income. This was accelerated because the tenants would destroy plumbing fixtures to be able to…
By now, many of us are growing tired of the burdens that COVID-19 has placed upon us. From job losses to restrictions on travel and other leisure activities, the coronavirus continues to shape our lives. Worse yet, it does not appear to be going anywhere soon. Many of our elected officials have suspended several tenant…
These are indeed troubling times in our country. It began with the late March economic lockdown. It worsened in June with nightly protests in some of our largest cities over the tragic killing of a black man by police in Minneapolis. Sadly, the nightly protests have morphed into widespread riots, violence and looting by criminals,…
Come November, Proposition 13 faces its biggest political battle at the ballot box. It is instructive to ask whether that iconic tax affordability measure remains good tax policy for California. As the just-released property tax assessments rolls from several California counties reveal, Proposition 13 is working exceedingly well at keeping homeowners and small business owners…
For entities who wish to bill for water, sewer, gas, or electricity, submetering may not be an option due to construction restrictions or, a limited budget. As such, owners, and operators are left searching for alternatives in the absence of submetering. The most equitable alternative is to deploy a Ratio Utility Billing System, commonly referred…
Today, estate tax exemptions probably protect 99+% of American families from the risk of transfer taxes (death taxes, gift taxes and generation skipping taxes). But, if there is a change of control after the 2020 election, or if control changes later, all of that will probably change dramatically for the worse for many thousands of…
Question One: We have a tenant whose parking space is blocking the trash bin. Since the 80’s, there hasn’t been a problem with trash being picked up until now. He intentionally parks his car so that trash doesn’t get picked up, in hopes of getting a different space. There are no available spaces at this…
Are California landlords losing control over their properties, rental income, and possibly future appreciation? It sure seems that way with the passage of new laws like statewide rent control and expanded tenant rights (AB 1482), mandatory Section 8 housing (SB 329), etc. What may have taken a lifetime to accumulate could now be threatened by…