Something to Think About #71 – by Klarise Yahya

If you’ve missed some of the prior articles, basic guidelines on successful investing are in my book “Stairway to Wealth” available at LuLu.com. Continued from Part 70:  Diversification Emily, after reviewing once again the positives and negatives of property ownership, thought there was no question about it: the benefits heavily outweighed the risks . .…

Inspectors Given Authority to Arrest Landlords? Open Letter to Mayor Garcetti – by Michael Millman, Attorney

Dear Mayor Garcetti:  I’m certain that when you served on the City Council and chaired the Council Housing Committee, you always made certain that important housing legislation was thoroughly examined, reviewed and evaluated by not only tenant rights representatives, but also several apartment association staff and leaders.  Your outreach was outstanding.

Landlord Prevails in “First in Time” Seattle Ordinance! – by the Pacific Legal Foundation

In a noble but misguided effort to combat racial discrimination, the City of Seattle passed a series of ordinances forbidding local landlords from choosing their own tenants: A “first in time” ordinance requires landlords to rent to the first financially-qualified tenant who applies. And the “Fair Chance Housing Ordinance” forbids landlords from considering applicants’ criminal…

Discrimination Costs Landlords Thousands! Assistance Animals, Criminal Records and Sexual Harassment From the Editors at Rental Housing Journal

California Landlords Settle Over ‘No Criminal Record’ and Discrimination California landlords have reached a settlement and agreed to pay $8,000 after a complaint alleging they used a policy of “no criminal or police record of any kind,” and in addition discriminated on the basis of race and national origin.

Rent Control Report Post Costa-Hawkins Repeal – November 2018 – by Michael Millman, Esq.

In January 2018, Assembly person Richard Bloom’s AB 1506 was challenged and defeated in the Assembly Housing Committee.  If successful, it would have automatically eliminated and repealed the protections for small apartment owners afforded by the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Fair Housing Act. After the defeat, tenant activists, eviction attorneys, the Statewide Tenant Union, Tenants Together and…

Questions and Answers – by Dennis Block

Question One: My rental is undervalued and I am planning to bring the rent up to market level. I am also planning on increasing the security deposit at the same time. What do I do if the tenant only pays the new rent and refuses to pay the increase in the security deposit?