Instead, try making it easier to build more housing!

STEVEN GREENHUT

Several California Assembly members this year introduced a constitutional amendment that declares housing a “fundamental right.” Who knew? Lawmakers have wrestled with innumerable complex issues over the years, but finally someone realized that all they needed to do to magically solve any problem is to pass a new “right” to something.

Expected soon: constitutional amendments declaring “rights” to a million dollars, to a brand-new electric SUV, and to a dog that’s properly housebroken. Sorry for the facetiousness, but Assembly Constitutional Amendment 10 epitomizes the lack of seriousness we’ve come to expect from the Legislature. Actually fixing the housing problem is a tough slog.

By Kari Negri, Chief Executive Officer, SKY Properties, Inc.

• Dear Kari, how should I handle allowing tenants with pets?

In recent years, a remarkable trend has emerged that is reshaping the way we view pet ownership—the rise of the millennial “Paw-rent.” With millennials’ unique values, lifestyle, and priorities, they are leading in a new era of pet companionship that reflects a deep connection with their furry friends. Gone are the days when pets were simply seen as “man’s best friend” or mere companions. For millennials, pets have become cherished family members, their babies, confidants, and sources of comfort in an increasingly fast-paced and interconnected world.

Weinstein / AIDS Healthcare Foundation Again Seek to Dismantle Costa-Hawkins Protections

A rent control ballot initiative very similar to past efforts under Propositions 10 (2018) and 21 (2020) has once again qualified to be on the ballot for the upcoming, November 2024 vote. On July 26^th, the California Secretary of State confirmed that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation initiative, the Justice for Renters Act, had gathered the required signatures to be eligible for the ballot. The initiative, if passed, would repeal the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995 and would allow local jurisdictions to impose the most extreme forms of local rent control on rental housing providers, including the placement of limitations on rent increases for new construction, single family homes and condominiums, and also vacancy “control” allowing cities and counties to dictate the rent that can be charged for a vacant unit.

This represents the third time in four election cycles that the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and its President, Michael Weinstein, has attempted to eliminate the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act through a ballot measure. Supporters of this latest effort had gathered more than 800,000 signatures in favor of the ballot measure while only needing 601,317, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

While Propositions 10 and 21 were ultimately rejected by California voters, rental housing providers and realtor groups had raised $80 million to $90 million for each such opposition effort. According to Daniel Yukelson, Executive Director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, “Like past Weinstein ballot measures, if this latest effort were to pass it would clearly be a “bankruptcy bill’ for rental housing providers across the state.” Yukelson further stated, “Anyone who provides rental housing or that even owns any type of residential real estate better get out their checkbook and support the opposition campaign before it’s too late.” Go to: www.aagla.org/issuespac. 

Industrial Suntan Lotion

Authored by Steve Pinkus, Owner of Royal Roofing Company

The phrase “out with the old and in with the new” sounds great at first, but new often equates to expensive. On the other hand, doing nothing doesn’t help, and ongoing maintenance only works for so long.

If you qualify, a full roof replacement can often be avoided with a roof restoration coating. If your roof is tired from battling the elements, you can likely bring new life to it with a rejuvenating system. A variety of coating options can be used in a restoration that is like a spa day for your roof. They revitalize in the short term, and in some instances, you’ll never have to replace your roof again.

By Christopher Miller, MBA

Recently, I helped a handful of my clients explore Qualified Opportunity Zones a a vehicle to defer their capital gains taxes.  My usual business consists of working with investors who have sold real estate, but these investors had sold stock, personal residences and businesses.  1031 Exchanges, of course, aren’t available to sellers of such assets, so we looked to Opportunity Zones as a way to help with potential tax problems.

The largest Opportunity Zone sponsors in the country don’t plan to offer these investments any longer after their current offerings sell out in early 2024.  This is because they do not expect Congress to extend the legislation that made them possible in the first place.  As this may be the “last call” for Opportunity Zones, I wanted to write about them this month.

By Livable Content Team

Single-family homes, duplexes, multifamily complexes and businesses have traditionally fought for idyllic lawns with the aim of causing envy among neighbors and passersby. But at Livable, we think we have a better idea! 

It’s time to level up and consider trading the battle of lawn envy for a healthier, more colorful and more sustainable option: building a garden. Replacing lawns with gardens is a fantastic option for a better environment and overall way of living. Check out our reasons for installing a garden over the manicured grass, plus suggestions for the kind of garden you could opt for. Now is the time to start planning for an amazing garden this summer! 

Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP

1.  Question: How can we determine if the roaches in the apartment were the result of bad housekeeping?  Is it our responsibility to get rid of the roaches?

Answer: Ask your pest control professional to give their opinion.  The court will rely heavily on expert testimony in these cases.  If you can prove the tenant was responsible for the infestation, they are responsible for the pest control cost. Landlords are responsible to make a unit habitable, which means free from pest control issues.

By Steven Greenhut

SACRAMENTO — It didn’t take long for my predications of an insurance crisis to come true.

In my American Spectator column in January, I predicted that California’s “rigged” insurance market was careening toward a crisis and leading “some companies to pull out of the state or, at least, to reduce their activity here.” In March, I wrote in the Wall Street Journal that “[i]nsurance companies are quietly fleeing California” as the state’s price controls leave consumers “more vulnerable to disasters.” These facts have been obvious, especially after recent wildfires.

By Nate Bernstein, Esq.  Managing Attorney- LA Real Estate Law Group  

Every property manager, owner, or general partner has had the nitemare tenant- that calamity Jane or that Pig in the Parlor- the tenant is a real nuisance and a pain in the rear. 

You have fielded and experienced complaints from tenant neighbors, that may include  arguments near the elevators, late night parties, late night phone calls, police visits, fights in the units or common areas, drug dealing, criminal threats, loud cars, too many cars parked at the complex, and causing excessive noise and disruption.  Other examples include, but are not limited to running a used car lot or auto repair shop at the apartment complex, excessive smoking, causing damage to the rental unit, or making an alteration to the rental unit that was not approved by the management, and using the property for an illegal purpose.    

By Gideon Kramer, Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute (SPOSFI)

In 1980, the City of Berkeley passed a comprehensive strict rent control ordinance considered “strict” because it included vacancy control. Under vacancy control, city-mandated price controls continue to apply even after a voluntary vacancy occurs. This all changed in 1995 when the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Assembly Bill 1164) (“Costa-Hawkins”) became state law, mandating that no local rent control could be passed on properties built after its date of passage.

Costa-Hawkins also abolished vacancy control. Berkeley took steps to comply. But it didn’t change its own ordinance. Only too ready to dust it off and bring it back to life, Berkeley prepared to automatically revert to the old rules if Costa-Hawkins was repealed. Opponents of Costa-Hawkins have spared no effort to enable Berkeley and other cities to do just that. Proposition 10 failed on the November 2018 ballot, again in November 2022 (Proposition 21), and a third attempt, the “Justice for Renters Act,” is in the works and gathering signatures for the November 2024 ballot.