Community Education Workshops

Our Recap of the Landlord Mills Act & Rent Adjustment Workshop

October 19, 2019January 3, 2020 Mark Elliot Community Education Workshops, historic preservation, Mills Act, rent adjustment

City of Beverly Hills held its second landlord education workshop and on the agenda were the city’s Mills Act historic preservation incentive and the rent stabilization ordinance’s rent adjustment process. The Mills Act is a tool our city can use to encourage the maintenance and preservation of local register-eligible multifamily apartments. The rent adjustment allows a landlord to petition for a rent increase higher than would otherwise be allowed.

Landlord community education workshop overview of the room

Commentary

Our Recap of the Landlord Community Education Workshop

September 15, 2019January 3, 2020 Mark Elliot building managers, Community Education Workshops

City of Beverly Hills recently divided the community education workshop into separate tenant and landlord sessions. We recapped the August 12th tenant session and here we look at the September 12th landlord session, RSO Basics and Updates for Housing Providers. With two additional landlord sessions in coming months focused on specific topics like rental unit registration, turnout for this basics session was pretty light

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.

Microsoft's Clippy helps with tenant complaints!

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New RSO Workshops are Scheduled

August 10, 2019August 14, 2019 Mark Elliot Community Education Workshops

This Monday, August 12th at 6pm the city will host a rent stabilization workshop specifically for tenants. RSO program staff will provide an overview of the rent stabilization ordinance amendments and discuss next steps in the policy process. But tenants need more than a high-level overview; we need help with our problems. Save the date and join us at City Hall with your own tough questions for city rent stabilization officials!

Commentary

We Need More From the Rent Stabilization Program

January 21, 2019August 18, 2019 Mark Elliot communications, Community Education Workshops

The rent stabilization websites of West Hollywood and Santa Monica are chock-full of news-you-can-use: tenant-specific workshops, archived tenant newsletters, FAQs on topics like pets and security deposits and more. Each city provides a well-organized overview of the rent laws. Why can’t Beverly Hills better communicate with those who rent here?

Commentary

Establishing Expectations is a Two-Way Street!

June 20, 2018June 22, 2019 Mark Elliot communications, Community Education Workshops, Rent Stabilization Program

City Council kicked-off our extended rent stabilization reform discussion in January of 2017 without much discussion about policy goals. Councilmembers heard plenty from tenants about rising rents, capricious landlords and predatory practices, but no specific objective for rent stabilization was identified. Well the Rent Stabilization Program has found one…but it needs revision!

Commentary

Empowerment is Missing from Education Workshops

May 14, 2018June 23, 2019 Mark Elliot Community Education Workshops, empowerment, Nestor Otazu, Susan Healy Keene

City of Beverly Hills recently hosted Community Education Workshops for landlords and tenants. The purpose of this ’community education workshop’ was stated plainly on the flyer: to provide an “overview” of the rent stabilization program. It recapped recent changes to the rent stabilization ordinance and gave a heads-up about the next steps in the process. However what was not on the agenda was tenant empowerment.

News

Community Education Workshops: The Good, Bad and Ugly

May 13, 2018June 22, 2019 Mark Elliot Community Education Workshops, Nestor Otazu, recap, Susan Healy Keene

City of Beverly Hills recently convened two Community Education Workshops where staff provided both tenants and landlords information about the rent stabilization ordinance. Community Preservation Manager Nestor Otazu walked though the recent changes and highlighted some key aspects of state law that apply to those who rent housing and those who provide it. Here is our takeaway.

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City Holds Rent Stabilization Education Workshops

June 23, 2017June 22, 2019 Mark Elliot Community Education Workshops, Nestor Otazu, Susan Healy Keene

On Thursday Beverly Hills wrapped up the second of two rent stabilization ‘education workshops.’ Residents and landlords were invited to these town-hall events to learn about major changes to the city’s rent-stabilization law. It was our first opportunity to hear directly from city officials about how the new policies will affect us.