Mark Elliot – Page 2 – Renters Alliance

If Recreational Marijuana is Legal, Why Can’t I Smoke It?

September 15, 2019September 16, 2019 Mark Elliot marijuana, smoking

City of Beverly Hills in 2017 adopted a strict no smoking policy that extends to private spaces in multifamily buildings (including condominiums). The ban includes marijuana and the use of electronic smoking devices too. So despite voter approval in 2016 of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64) the recreational use of marijuana in apartments is prohibited by the city. That may frustrate would-be stoners yet some households still complain about the neighbors smoking pot. Let’s take a look at this complicated issue.

Commentary

Southeast Area is Movin’ On Up!

September 10, 2019September 10, 2019 Mark Elliot Dan Yukelson

Look around my multifamily neighborhood southeast of Beverly and Wilshire. You can’t miss the changes: newly spruced-up properties market remodeled

Explainer

TCM Fest O’Pests Reminds Us: Close Those Gaps!

September 6, 2019September 6, 2019 Mark Elliot DIY, habitability standard, Infestation, Pests

Turner Classic Movies today screened a few entomological-themed films that are guaranteed to make the insect-phobic squirm. Them (1954) and

News

Breaking: Sacramento Inches Toward Statewide Rent Control

August 31, 2019August 31, 2019 Mark Elliot AB-1482, David Chiu, Gavin Newsom, rent control

California leaders announced an agreement to enact strong tenant protections, says a release trumpeting Governor Gavin Newsom’s support for capped rent increases and just-cause eviction only. But we have been here before only to be disappointed by our Sacramento lawmakers. Because it is a rocky road from good intentions to signed legislation. Let’s look at what’s on offer.

Commentary

Rent Control & Higher Rents: Chicken-and-Egg Conundrum!

August 30, 2019 Mark Elliot Dan Yukelson, rent control

A Renters Alliance foot soldier forwarded a recent business section article from the Orange County Register titled, Fallout From State’s Rent Control Debate: More Rent Hikes. It caught my attention because it presupposes a familiar landlord argument: rent control leads to higher rents. Or is it that sharply higher rents lead to political support for rent control? Seems to me that this classic chicken-and-egg question deserves more thought than the premise implied by the article title.

News

What is Driving the City’s Housing Policy? RHNA!

August 30, 2019 Mark Elliot housing, John Mirisch, RHNA

Beverly Hills is now entertaining a wide-ranging discussion about housing affordability and accessibility and the key issue is how the city can provide stability to residents today while accommodating housing demand in the future. Cutting right to the heart of the matter is state’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment: an obscure and complicated process for assigning to localities some responsibility for providing new dwelling units in order to meet that demand. In fact RHNA as it is known drives every significant housing conversation in our city today.

News

Stop Work Order at 201 South Reeves

August 25, 2019August 25, 2019 Mark Elliot 201 S Reeves, Stephen Copen, unpermitted work

When you wake to the sound of a Sunday-morning demolition you might wonder whether the landlord has a permit for that work. But when your landlord is Dr. Stephen Copen you can rest assured: of course he has no permit! We remembered this lesson when the sledgehammer-and-pickaxe demolition commenced at 8 a.m. That must mean another Copen low-budget, under-the-radar job should meet an untimely end with a stop-work order.

AAGLA certified apartment manager course

Commentary

Landlord Seminars: A Gear in the Organizing Machine

August 21, 2019October 31, 2019 Mark Elliot AAGLA, Apartment Investors Club

The great advantage that landlords have over tenants is professional organizing. They pay dues to support industry associations at the national, state, regional and local levels which then mobilize to beat back rent control in city halls. Associations find common cause with the constellation of landlord service providers, as I was reminded when I saw an upcoming seminar promoted by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. They work together to keep tenants perennially on the defensive.

City Council at RSO commission formation 2019-3-5

News

Rent Stabilization Commissioner Appointments Hit a Snag

August 18, 2019August 24, 2019 Mark Elliot Rent Stabilization Commission

City Council created the Rent Stabilization Commission in March to resolve certain tenant-landlord disputes and make recommendations regarding amendments to the rent stabilization ordinance. A total of 29 residents stepped up to apply, including 8 ‘at-large’ applicants (neither a tenant nor landlord). These disinterested at-large members are supposed to balance against the vested interests of tenants and landlords. But what if they’re not disinterested and unbiased after all?

Commentary

City Requires This Outdated Handbook Be Provided to Tenants

August 17, 2019 Mark Elliot Rights and Responsibilities Handbook, Special Notice

The Tenant Landlord Rights & Responsibilities Handbook is an 8-page paper and online document that outlines key aspects of state and local tenancy law. It is a helpful document and required reading for tenants before they sign a lease. In fact landlords must provide it. But the Handbook hasn’t been updated in a year despite important amendments to the rent stabilization ordinance. Why can’t the city get this right?

Commentary

Our Recap of the First Tenant RSO Workshop

August 15, 2019January 3, 2020 Mark Elliot Community Education Workshops, Helen Morales, Jessica Gallegos

On Monday City of Beverly Hills held its first ever rent stabilization workshop specifically for tenants. We pressed for a tenant-only workshop because tenants and landlord have different concerns (not to mention responsibilities) even though we contract with each other under what we’ve called a ‘layer cake’ of tenancy law. This workshop was a big improvement over past workshops. Here’s our recap.