OUR WORK HAS JUST BEGUN....The Next Meetings will be in the Los Angeles City Housing Committee and in the Planning Committee.

If you are not a member of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, Apartment Owners' Association, or The Fair Housing Coalition, consider joining one-- or more--in order to be an active voice in protecting your property interests in the City of Los Angeles.

Also, keep writing letters to Council President Garcetti, your Councilmember and ALWAYS send a copy (including reference to Council File No. 10-0613 in the subject line) to the City Clerk, 200 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles CA 90012, to be placed in the permanent file on this matter.

Council President Eric Garcetti and many of the City Council members are beginning to understand that rental owners are not the enemy of the city or of tenants; however, we are placed in the untenable situation of no longer being able to afford the restrictive rent-control provisions and maintain decent living conditions in our buildings. Our backs are against the wall, and we have no choice but to fight back.

Additionally, the Council had a chance to see first-hand what happens when some tenants don't get their way--a major act of civil disobedience erupted right in the Council chambers at the end of the meeting on Friday, May 21. Can they imagine what it is like for the individual property owner, or even a management company, to be dealing with people who resort to violent behavior when they are told "no"? Which member would like to face-to-face advise the tenants involved in that fiasco that they have broken rules which affect the health/safety of other tenants or that they will be receiving a minimal 3% rent increase in order to help the owner deal with huge increases in utilities and maintenance costs?

Bill Hooey, founder of The Fair Housing Coalition, put it very well. I will paraphrase his written statement to his members and supporters. There are some owners who call and say "thank you for all your efforts." There are some owners who join one of the apartment-owner groups and contribute financially although they cannot attend meetings. There are some who just sit back and let the rest of us fight the battle and then they enjoy the benefits. Don't sit on the sidelines in this fight for our survival. You can reach Bill at (323) 934-6465.

At the Council meeting, one of the owners who testified has already had his property go into foreclosure. The continuance of rent control in Los Angeles is counterproductive--it is causing the loss of housing, rather than its preservation. The free market dictates reasonable rents. Los Angeles city government needs to recognize this. Of course, that means dismantling a large part of the empire that has been built to keep owners under control and terrified. Rental property owners are not stupid and, if the market is left alone, tenants will have options which dictate sound practices.

No responsible property owner approves of blighted properties not being addressed by the City. No one wants people living in substandard conditions. But that is the job of the City's Code Enforcement Unit, and they are capable of doing it very well. There should be response to complaints if health, safety and sanitation of occupants are being ignored--but that does not mean that the responsible owners should be subjected to unnecessary inspections for which they have to pay. The first change that should be made in the current rent-contol law is to have the tenant pay the insepction fees for any complaint that is not valid or is the result of their own actions. That's just one of the things that would level the playing field, but it will still not bring fairness to the property owner who is considered guilty until proven innocent.

Join one of the rental-property owners' groups. The next rent-control/freeze meetings will be in the Housing Committee and the Planning Committee of the Los Angeles City Council. Watch for the date here and on the websites of the various organizations. Don't be a victim and a target! We need you as a warrior in this battle we should not have to fight; however, if we do not, we will be crushed. Just take a look at what happened at the end of the Council meeting!!