After years of working on housing policy, I have found myself frequently referring to Virgil’s Aeneid, the story of the journey of Aeneas from Troy to Italy where he would be the founder of Rome. Like many epics – the Pentateuch, the Mahabharata, or Gilgamesh – the plot is riveting, but so are the images that become…
Below is a letter that was sent by Attorney Michael Millman to Anna Ortega of the Los Angeles Housing Department. Dear Anna: I hope that you, your family, staff and others are well, healthy and safe. We’ve known each other for years. The history is undisputed. The Rent Stabilization Ordinance, (RSO), provides that each year,…
Picture this. Your kids are tucked in bed, the dinner dishes are washed, and you just sat down to relax by watching your favorite TV show. Then the phone rings. As you jump up to answer it your heart pounds, because we all know as landlords when the phone rings during off hours it’s usually…
What is SB 721? SB 721 or The Balcony Inspection Bill, is a state law that requires an inspection of exterior elevated wood elements, such as decks and balconies, for multi-family properties with 3+ units or more. This Bill came about after the 2015 balcony failure in Berkeley, California, which killed six people. Failure was…
Question 1: As always, any updates on the state of the courts and unlawful detainers? Answer 1: As reported in last month’s article, California again updated its comprehensive state law directed at protecting tenants from eviction for non-payment of rent. Originally passed as AB 3088 in August 2020, updated by SB 91 in January, AB…
After a year and change of abject isolation in lockdown, Americans are resuming public activities they once took for granted with renewed vigor. With summer in full swing and life slowly but surely returning to normal, a sort of thaw is taking place across the country. This mounting excitement for things to come has extended…
“Property must be secure, or liberty cannot exist.” – John Adams Property is certainly not secure when our elected officials can force a housing provider to labor and not even receive the minimum wage, pay for outside services such as utilities that renters use and provide housing free of all expenses and charges. All…
What would you think if the government dictated that you won’t be paid for more than a year but you must keep working? As unlikely as you might consider such a scenario, this hypothetical is Howard Iten’s realty. Iten, a commercial landlord in Los Angeles, is under Los Angeles County’s pandemic-driven mandate to continue running…
Ever wonder why some people are wealthy and others are not? Do they take more risks? Do they start with more money? Are they smarter? Are they more passionate or more ambitious? Is it because they are in the right place at the right time, or are there other reasons? It does not take much…
A group of Ohio landlords have agreed to settle a Fair Housing Act lawsuit over sexual harassment of female tenants, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Justice Department said in the release that Toledo, Ohio, landlords Anthony Hubbard, Ann Hubbard, Jeffery Hubbard, PayUp LLC and No Joke Properties Inc. have agreed…