Apartment Choice

Grassroots efforts to establish rent control in more California cities could get a boost from the California Apartment Association ’s decision to abandon its lawsuits seeking to overturn voter-approved rent-control laws in Richmond and Mountain View. The association, which represents landlords, posted on its website late Friday that it has “suspended its legal efforts” to overturn Measure V in Mountain View and Measure L in Richmond. “I hope it emboldens other communities to not be chilled by threats of lawsuits,” said Juliet Brodie, a Stanford Law School professor who helped draft Measure V. Judges in Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties had previously ruled against the association’s motions for preliminary injunctions seeking to halt implementation of the measures approved by each city’s voters in November. A full hearing on the merits of the case in Richmond had been scheduled for May 24; that is now canceled. The association claimed, and still believes, that the laws cons...

Opponents have organized against an effort to rein in rent increases in Maine’s largest city. A group calling itself Say No To Rent Control announced its formal opposition Tuesday to Fair Rent Portland ‘s initiative to adopt a rent stabilization ordinance by referendum in November. The announcement sets the stage for a vigorous fall campaign , which comes as longtime residents and low- wage renters worry that a steep rise in rents and the influx of luxury housing is leading to gentrification and a growing affordability gap between incomes and housing costs. The new group is casting the referendum effort as a rent control ordinance that would harm the city’s housing market, although the supporters say the plan meets the definition of modern rent stabilization efforts that have been successful in other states. Among other things, Fair Rent Portland ’s initiative would limit rent increases to the rate of inflation for landlords who own five or more apartments and establish a Rent...

Among the filthy rich billionaires who gave money to the CAA, but lost in the battle against rent control in Richmond and Mountain View includes Berkshire Hathaway Home Services owned by Warren Buffet, Equity Residential owned by Sam Zell, and Prometheus Real Estate Group owned by Jackie Diller Salfier and the Diller family. California Apartment Association suspends legal challenges against Richmond rent control California Apartment Association suspends legal challenges against rent control in Richmond and Mountain View By Lynda Carson - May 6, 2017 On May 5, 2017, the The California Apartment Association (CAA), announced that it is suspending its legal challenges in court against the City of Richmond and Mountain View, and the renter protection ordinances known as Measure L and Measure V, that were passed into law by the voters last November. After a long hard fought struggle against greedy landlords involved in price gouging and eviction for profit schemes supported by ...

(Photo: NEWS CENTER) PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- In the midst of a struggle to get a rent control ordinance on the November ballot in Portland, a new group has emerged to tell voters why its a bad idea. "Say no to rent control" says locking down a rent price might sounds like a great idea, but it can have serious consequences. The group is composed of landlords, contractors and others who say the proposed initiative is reckless and extreme. They say housing policy is complicated, and should not be decided by referendum. ► Overall, Maine housing is considered 'unaffordable' The group Fair Rent Portland , which brought forth a rent stabilization initiative intended for the November ballot, says the initiative is modeled after West Hollywood, California and Takoma Park, Maryland. Those ordinances have been in place for 30 years. Fair Rent Portland says both cities were able to relieve the housing crisis while supporting long term development .   (Photo: NEWS C...

by Lynda Carson Oakland – On March 3, the same day that Oakland tenant activists filed a ballot initiative to strengthen renter protections called the “Renters Upgrade,” the California Apartment Association (CAA) announced that they were keeping an eye on things and are coming up with their own plan to counter the tenant’s movement efforts somehow, including in Richmond and Alameda. Tenants fight gentrification as apartment buildings are flipped and rents raised in Highland Park, Los Angeles. – Photo: Michael Robinson Chavez , LA Times" /> Tenants fight gentrification as apartment buildings are flipped and rents raised in Highland Park, Los Angeles. – Photo: Michael Robinson Chavez , LA Times The CAA announced to its 13,000 members, affiliates and partners: “Tenant advocates in Richmond and Alameda have filed preliminary paperwork to place rent control initiatives on the November ballot. In both East Bay cities , the initiative efforts are in the early stages, and in...

An aerial view of Manchester. Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery . Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a city housing department , for a union, for a law clinic, and on a campaign that stopped a PVC factory from being built in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” For the last decade, he has served as executive director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (better known as t.e.j.a.s.). Part of his work is leading tours past the heaping piles of scrap met...

SUBHEAD: The Texas capital plan for sustainability does not include some minority neighborhoods. By Raj Mankad on 15 August 2017 for Grist - (https://grist.org/article/the-newer-greener-houston-isnt-for-everybody/) Image above: In some cases, little more than a fence separates Manchester homes from neighboring fossil fuel industry . Photo by Paul Hester. From original article. Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery. Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a ci...