Phil Ting’s eviction-prevention bill proposes 25% rent reduction, angering landlords
The challenge of balancing the fairness in policy-making between landlords and tenants has been brought to the table of one San Francisco’s state Assemblyman.
Phil Ting, a long time Chinese-American elected official now represents the west side of San Francisco and northern San Mateo County in California’s state legislature, authors the bill of AB828 aiming to put a halt on eviction during the coronavirus pandemic. But one regulation inserted in the bill, which proposes a 25% rent-reduction under certain conditions, is angering a mounting number of landlords.
Over 2,900 members have formed an online Facebook group called “Stop AB 828: Unfair to Property Owners and Tenants”, starting a movement of fundraising and political advertising against AB828.
The battle focuses on the 25% mandatory rent reduction. According to the bill, the court can determine the economic status of the tenants and their landlord. If the judge finds that the landlord’s economic condition is well and stable while the tenant suffers financial hardships under pandemic-related reasons, then the landlord will have to reduce the rent by 25%.
The bill exempts landlords who have only two or fewer rental units. And the bill makes the universal assumption that if the landlords own ten or more rental units, they must be financially secure.
Josephine Zhao, a community activist in San Francisco, is actively fighting against AB 828. Although she is exempted from the pending legislation because she is a small landlord with two or fewer units, she said that the challenges amongst property owners like her are similar.
She told World Journal that the minimum expenses for her property are $8,500 per month, which includes property taxes, insurance, mortgage, and utilities. If maintenance is taken into consideration, the monthly costs would be closer to $10,000 a month.
“If I am forced to reduce the rent by 10%, I will not be able to make ends meet,” Zhao said. She insisted that many landlords are not as rich or wealthy as people might think, and the landlords are working very hard to sustain and protect their own properties.
Another point of the bill irritating the landlords is that because the rent reduction decision involves the judicial system, the process would expectedly cost a significant amount of money by hiring lawyers or legal representation. The landlords argue that if the tenants have the money for a court fight, then why not just use that to pay the rent. And in San Francisco, tenants can get free legal help because of a 2018 ballot measure passed by voters, while landlords are excluded from the resources.
Myron Lee, a landlord lives in the Richmond District of San Francisco, also said that he largely depends on rent income for his mortgage.
“If the rent is reduced by 25%, I will lose my house.” As a constituent of west San Francisco represented by Ting, he said he was very supportive of Asian American political candidate, but AB828 would “definitely make me think twice about voting for him”.
Steven Lee, a small business owner who is part of the opposition effort against AB828, said he understands the State is trying to help tenants during these tough times. But he also hopes that state officials will have corresponding support for landlords.
Phil Ting: allow inputs and work towards “compromise”
California’s Assembly resumed this week, and Ting has returned to work in Sacramento. He responded to the World Journal saying all bills now are allowing inputs and changes, and “AB828 is in the middle of that work”, while “various groups work toward a compromise that would gain the most support for passage”.
He emphasized that the purpose of AB828 is to reduce evictions because the worrying homelessness in California can’t be exacerbated.
As for the rent reduction of 25%, he said the language of the bill is still being clarified and finalized. And the implementation of this rent reduction has to fulfill the exact requirements, including tenants must prove that their income reduction is related to the epidemic, and the landlord will not be economically damaged by this rent reduction.
He confirmed that the bill assumes that landlords who own more than ten rental properties have no financial difficulties. “However, this is a rebuttable presumption so landlords of all sizes would be able to provide evidence that it would cause them economic hardship”, Ting’s office replied to the World Journal.
In addition, as for the costs of the legal fees, Ting encourages the tenant and the landlord to reach an agreement on their own outside of the court.
AB828 is currently in its initial journey in the State Senate. The specific timeline for passage, and whether there will be major amendments, are still unknown.
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This story was originally published in Chinese language by the World Journal on May. 07, 2020.
