The Richardson-Pearce-Uranga agenda item basically echoes the terms and reasoning of an Oct. 22 L.A. City Council voted action (without dissent) approving an emergency ordinance approved by L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, banning no fault notices/evictions over objections by landlord representatives. (If Councilmembers Richardson/Pearce/Uranga had brought their item a few weeks earlier in October, the proposal might have become an issue in the 1st Council district special election (in which vote by mail ballots have been flying since late September and "election day" is November 5, the night of the Council agendized item.)

In their agendizing memo, the three LB Councilmembers write that because AB 1482 (enacted by Sac'to lawmakers in the just ended 2019 legislative session) doesn't take effect until Jan 1 when it will require landlords to have "just cause" reasons for evicting tenants and imposes a statewide rent cap, the result has created "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."

The Councilmembers urge the Council to prohibit no-fault notices and evictions from now through Dec. 31 (until AB 1482 takes effect on Jan. 1) to "protect tenants between now and the end of this year so that residents can remain in their homes through the holidays." Their agendizing memo says the Council action 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."

As previously reported by LBRFEPORT.com, the LB City Council took no position as AB 1482 advanced to passage in Sacramento. On final passage, state Senator (former LB Councilwoman) Lena Gonzalez (D, LB-SE LA County) voted "yes" on AB 1482 (likening it in a state Senate Committee hearing to the City of LB's "Tenant Relocation Ordinane" that she voted to enact on her final Council day) while state Senator Tom Umberg (D, SE LB-west OC) and Assemblyman Patrick O'Donnell (D, LB) were recorded as "no vote recorded." The bill had the support of Sac'to's Dem leadership and Gov. Newsom signed it into law.

The three LB Councilmembers write in their Nov. 5 agendizing memo:

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[Richardson-Pearce-Uranga Nov. 5 agendizing memo text] 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 1 O 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.

Fiscal Impact

No Financial Management review was able to be conducted due to the urgency and time sensitivity of this item.

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As separately reported by LBREPORT.com, on Oct. 15 Better Housing for Long Beach, a grassroots group that has consistently opposed rent control or measures similar to it in Long Beach, and its founder/president Long Beach property owner Joani Weir, filed a federal court lawsuit challenging AB 1482 (as well as a LB Cty Council's June 2019 "Tenant Relocation Ordinance.") Their lawsuit alleges that AB 1482 and the LB ordinance violate provisions of both the U.S. and CA constitutions.

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