TITLE
Recommendation to request City Attorney to draft an urgency ordinance for review at the November 12, 2019 City Council meeting, to prohibit no-fault notices and no-fault evictions through December 31, 2019.
DISCUSSION
The California legislature passed the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, Assembly Bill 1482 ("AB 1482"), effective beginning January 1, 2020, which prohibits evictions without "just cause" and owners of residential rental property from increasing rents each year more than 5 percent plus the percentage change in the cost of living or 10 percent, whichever is lower. Gov. Newsom signed AB 1482 on Oct. 8, 2019.
AB 1482 will provide renter protections to approximately 60% of the City's residents, who are renter households in the City of Long Beach.
In anticipation of AB 1482's implementation, no-fault eviction notices, threats of eviction, and evictions have surged in Long Beach, Southern California and throughout the State. The delayed implementation of AB 1482 has caused an incentive for landlords to evict tenants to avoid AB 1482's protections in a predatory manner that is harming the health and safety of Long Beach residents. No Fault 60 Day Notices served on or after Nov. 3, 2019 will expire on or after Jan. 1,2020, and therefore they will be legally invalid pursuant to AB 1482. Therefore, this urgency ordinances protects the City's residents from invalid Notices to Vacate.
Municipalities throughout the State have passed, or are about to vote on, urgency ordinances to protect renters from no-fault evictions through December 31, 2019, to prevent homelessness and displacement of long term residents during the holiday season. The following cities have passed, or are about to vote on, such urgency ordinances: City of LA; Cudahy; Bell Gardens; Pasadena; Torrance; Milpitas; Redwood City; Daly City; and Santa Cruz. Moreover, the County of LA and Inglewood recently adopted ordinances to protect tenants with deeper tenant protections than AB 1482 through the end of this year and into 2020.
"At fault" evictions include instances where a tenant is in violation of a good faith tenant agreement, such as a default on rent, breach of a material term of a lease, or criminal activity. Owners can still terminate tenancies under these circumstances pursuant to this urgency ordinance.
Long Beach is a majority-renter city where over half of the population's renters spend more than 30% of their income on rent. Long Beach should align itself with other cities in the region that are working to enact temporary measures to protect tenants between now and the end of this year so that residents can remain in their homes through the holidays.
A temporary pause on no-fault notices and evictions in Long Beach will protect residents in the interim of AB 1482's enactment and will furthermore help stabilize the rental market while the City adapts to new state laws.
Statement of Urgency
Due to the immediate need and temporary nature of this item, we request that the City Attorney to draft an urgency ordinance for review at the November 12, 2019 City Council meeting.
FISCAL IMPACT
No Financial Management review was able to be conducted due to the urgency and time sensitivity of this item.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
REX RICHARDSON
COUNCILMEMBER, NINTH DISTRICT
JEANNINE PEARCE
COUNCILWOMAN, SECOND DISTRICT
ROBERTO URANGA
COUNCILMEMBER, SEVENTH DISTRICT