The purpose of the Renters Council is to act as a driving force in the development of a tenants’ rights and protections agenda within the California Democratic Party for the benefit of the 18 million Californian renters.
The Council shall promote policy and legislation consistent with our principles and support those Democratic Party office holders and officials proposing and carrying out such policies.
Save the Date! May 13, 2024 Membership Meeting
We well be having a general membership meeting as part of the California Democratic Party's May 2024 Executive Board Conference.
Our meeting is online. Register/join at https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAode-trjgjHdZCTme-MIbjkIfZ80puzRo-
We will also be joining the Justice for Renters Act rent control ballot measure campaign for an in-person event at the conference on Friday, May 17 in San Diego.
May 7, 2024 Newsletter
Make Calls for Endorsed Legislation
Many of our bills are currently in the Appropriations Committee or headed to a floor vote now.
Please call your Assemblymember about the following priority bills
AB 2216 - Right to have a dog, cat, or other common household pet. Bans pet rent for new leases
AB 2304 - Seals all eviction records where the tenant wins the case. Currently only some cases are sealed.
AB 2347 - Extends the time a tenant has to respond to an eviction filing from 5 to 10 business days.
AB 2493 - Bans landlords from charging additional application fees if tenant is applying to another property they own/manage within 30 days. Also prohibits charging fees to get on a waitlist.
AB 2801 - Requires landlords to photograph and itemize any damage that is to be deducted from an outgoing tenant's security deposit.
AB 2881 - Social Housing - creates social housing agency
AB 3107 - Community Micro-grids.
Please call your Senators about the following priority bills:
SB 1201 - LLC Transparency - requires disclosure of owners owning 10% or more of an LLC
SB 1374 - Restores Net Metering for rooftop solar on apartments, schools, farms, and other properties with multiple electric meters.
AB 846 - Limits rent increases in affordable housing funded by the LIHTC program
AB 1657 - Affordable Housing Bond
January 15, 2024 Newsletter
Meet Yesenia Miranda Meza, our new Southern Vice Chair
Yesenia has been appointed to the board to fill the vacant Southern Vice Chair position. She co-founded the tenants rights group Pomona United for Stable Housing and has been organizing in her community for years. You can learn more about her here.
New Research Shows what Tenants have always known: High Rents & Evictions are Bad for Health
Research funded by the National Institute of Health have found that both high rent burdens and evictions led to significant increases to the death rate at all ages. A 10 percent increase in the rent burden (for example, someone going from paying 30 percent of income in rent to 40 percent of income) causes an 8% increase in the death rate, and evictions caused a 40% increase in the death rate.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953623007554?via%3Dihub#sec2
Jennifer Esteen Campaign Events
Jennifer is our endorsed candidate for Alameda County Supervisor District 4. As there are only 2 people running, this election will be decided in March - there is no runoff in November.
There are several events you can sign up for right now, including in-person canvasses and online phonebanks, at https://www.jenniferesteen.com/volunteer
2024 Endorsements
State Propositions (Prop Numbers will be assigned later this year.)
YES Public Housing Projects / Article 34 Repeal (SCA 2). This Proposition would make it easier to build subsidized low-income housing.
YES Local Government Financing: Affordable Housing and Public Infrastructure (ACA 1). This Proposition would make it easier to pass local measures to fund housing.
YES Voting Thresholds (ACA 13). This Proposition would make it harder to pass Propositions that make it harder to pass local measures to fund housing.
YES Expands Local Governments' Authority to Enact Rent Control on Residential Property (Justice for Renters Act). This Proposition would allow cities to expand rent control.
NO Limits Ability of Voters and State and Local Governments to Raise Revenues for Government Services. (Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act). This Proposition would make it harder to pass local measures to fund housing.
NO Restricts Spending by Health Care Providers Meeting Specified Criteria (Protect Patients Now Act of 2024). This Proposition would ban some organizations from supporting ballot measures.
State Assembly
AD6 - Evan Minton
AD24 - Alex Lee
AD41 - Phlunté Riddle
AD44 - Nick Schultz
AD52 - No Consensus
AD57 - Sade Elhawary
State Senate
SD7 - Jovanka Beckles
SD9 - Marisol Rubio
SD25 - Sasha Renée Pérez
SD29 - Eloise Gómez Reyes
SD35 - No Consensus
County Supervisors
Alameda County D4 - Jennifer Esteen
Kern County D4 - Veronica Vasquez, MSW
LA County D5 - Konstantine Anthony
Monterey County D5 - No Consensus
Sacramento County D4 - Braden Murphy
Santa Clara County D5 - Sally J. Lieber
Solano County D1 - Cassandra James
City Councils
LA City Council D2 - No Consensus
LA City Council D14 - Ysabel Jurado
Pasadena City Council D3 - Brandon Lamar
Sacramento City Council D4 - Katie Valenzuela
San Diego City Council D3 - Coleen Cusack
Santa Cruz City Council D5 - Joe Thompson
Berkeley City Council D4 - No Consensus
Recording of our November 12 meeting is now available!
2:14 Justice for Renters ballot measure
9:58 Treasurer's Report
11:35 Secretary's Report
14:35 NorCal Report
- 15:00 Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA)
- 18:47 Alameda County Tenant Protection Legislation
- 23:22 Jennifer Esteen (Alameda County Supervisor D4 candidate)
- 28:38 Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) Part 2
- 34:36 Emeryville Affordable Housing Update
- 40:27 Fairfax Rent Stabilization Update
- 48:02 Cassandra James (Solano County Supervisor candidate)
- 51:14 Jackie Elward (Senate District 3 candidate)
- 55:50 Marisol Rubio (Senate District 9 candidate)
- 59:06 Jovanka Beckles (Senate District 7 candidate)
- 1:04:40 Protecting Solar for Renters
- 1:06:23 Sacramento Update
1:07:54 Central Report
- 1:10:24 Veronica Vazquez (Kern County Supervisor candidate)
- 1:17:57 Delano Rent Stabilization ballot measure
- 1:18:49 Central Coast Updates
1:26:54 SoCal Report - Rent stabilization, Measure ULA
- 1:30:25 Barrington Plaza evictions & Ellis Act Renovictions
- 1:33:33 Don't Sign the Patient Protection Act
- 1:35:34 Nick Schultz (Assembly District 44 candidate)
Announcements
- 1:37:54 Children's Caucus update on school board elections
- 1:42:29 Rose Penelope Yee for Congress (CA-1)
- 1:43:20 Rally to Support State Scientists
- 1:45:45 Coleen Cusack for San Diego City Council District 3
- 1:46:16 Genesis Coronado for Assembly District 52
- 1:47:35 Legislation Update
Ask your Congressmember & Central Committees to support the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act, S.3402 and H.R.6608
The End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act seeks to put an end to the harmful practice of Wall Street hedge funds buying up single-family homes. Single family homes lack the tenant protections often available to apartment residents, putting tenants at risk of high rent increases, habitability issues, and unjust evictions.
Details of the proposed law:
• Bans hedge funds from owning single-family homes and requires them to sell at least 10% of the total number of single-family homes they currently own to families per year over a 10-year period.
• Subjects hedge funds to a $50,000 per single family home per year tax penalty on the number of single-family homes owned above either zero or a scheduled 10% reduction per year over 10-years winding down to zero.
o After a 10-year full phase-out, all hedge funds will be completely banned from owning any single-family homes.
• Imposes a 50% tax on the fair market value of any future hedge fund purchase of a single-family home.
• Tax penalties paid by hedge funds are reserved for down payment assistance for people seeking to purchase homes sold by hedge funds.
• Ensures the tax penalty focuses on problematic actors by excluding nonprofit organizations, public housing agencies and other government entities.
• Includes an explicit certification process for a purchaser of a hedge fund owned home to confirm that they do not own a majority interest in any other single family residential real estate
News article: https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-market-affordability-investors-hedge-funds-wall-street-democrats-bill-2023-12
Official text
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/6608?s=5&r=1
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/3402?s=4&r=2
