City Council will discuss proposed Rental Data Collection law
City officials such as the current Mayor have consistently used the following excuses to not pass tenant protections: a lack of data, and avoding unintended consequences. These are not good reasons for inaction when there is a crisis that calls for some ameliorating measures to be passed into law. The reason they are not good reasons is this: data can be collected which can prove or disprove the existence of consequences from action or inaction.
That's why tenant activists have proposed a new law that will collect essential data about the City of Santa Cruz rental market. Landlords would be required to report data via a web portal, and tenants should also have a web portal where they too can report their data. The particular information to be collected would be specified in the law, and the law may be modified when the need for further data is identified.
Information identifying landlord or tenant representatives would be collected for validation reasons, but would then be separated ("disaggregated" ) from publicly-available records. Publishing such redacted records is completely legal under California Public Records Act rules.
Public records search will be available, redacted as determined by city counsel.
We may recommend that, as in tiny El Cerrito, a half-time city staff person be hired to monitor, collect and analyze the data. The specifics of what should be analyzed may be something to consider having written into the law.
This law should include creation of a rental business registry as part of understanding the rental climate. During the rent control campaign, many realtors and developers claimed there would be a loss of units because of the threat of rent control. However there is no proof this happened and there is no discussion by property managemers about loss of rental income. In fact we believe the rental market has grown every year in the city of Santa Cruz. Having data will help us to prove that and take the wind out of those and similar landlord threats.
We may also recommend that the city require all property mangers and landlords to take a basic class on the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants before receiving their rental license.
That's why tenant activists have proposed a new law that will collect essential data about the City of Santa Cruz rental market. Landlords would be required to report data via a web portal, and tenants should also have a web portal where they too can report their data. The particular information to be collected would be specified in the law, and the law may be modified when the need for further data is identified.
Information identifying landlord or tenant representatives would be collected for validation reasons, but would then be separated ("disaggregated" ) from publicly-available records. Publishing such redacted records is completely legal under California Public Records Act rules.
Public records search will be available, redacted as determined by city counsel.
We may recommend that, as in tiny El Cerrito, a half-time city staff person be hired to monitor, collect and analyze the data. The specifics of what should be analyzed may be something to consider having written into the law.
This law should include creation of a rental business registry as part of understanding the rental climate. During the rent control campaign, many realtors and developers claimed there would be a loss of units because of the threat of rent control. However there is no proof this happened and there is no discussion by property managemers about loss of rental income. In fact we believe the rental market has grown every year in the city of Santa Cruz. Having data will help us to prove that and take the wind out of those and similar landlord threats.
We may also recommend that the city require all property mangers and landlords to take a basic class on the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants before receiving their rental license.