Regarding rent stabilization: I don’t think all landlords are bad or greedy. I am sure that most are good people who care about their tenants and do their best to keep their properties well maintained and their rents affordable.
But rents in Santa Barbara today are very expensive and are getting more expensive exponentially. And this is forcing many longtime tenants to move from their homes.
Rent stabilization is not about reducing the already high cost of rent; it is about lowering the exponential curve in how fast rents are rising.
It can be painful when living expenses go up, but finding solutions are rarely traumatic and life changing. You may have to change the brands of what you buy at the supermarket, or drive farther to buy clothes the outlet stores.
But when the cost of your housing becomes unaffordable, it is both traumatic and life changing. You will have to move. You may have to find a new job. You may have to put your kids in new schools. You may lose touch with old friends who now live far away.
In the past, paying rent was just a phase that many people passed through on their way to owning their own home. But now, purchasing a home in Santa Barbara and many other places is becoming impossible for most everyone. So, paying rent is no longer a passing phase, it is and will be the lifelong reality for the majority of us.
Housing is a necessity of life. Other necessities of life, like food, water, utilities, and healthcare have consumer protections. Rental housing now needs consumer protections, and it is long overdue.
In 1978, the increasing costs of property taxes were forcing seniors to sell their homes and move. In response, voters passed Proposition 13, which limited property tax increases to less than 2 percent per year. Those of you who own your home, imagine how would you feel if you were forced to move from beautiful Santa Barbara because your property taxes had more than tripled (up 220 percent) since 2012, which is what Santa Barbara property values have done.
Some people will want to put on their business hats to explain the pain that people experience over economic matters. But I invite them to put on their compassion hats to understand how painful it would be to be forced from your home because your rent has doubled over the last 7 to 10 years, which can easily happen under the current California laws.
