| Government Affairs |
San Mateo, Foster City Move to Update Rental Regulations
On Monday, April 21, SAMCAR and the California Apartment Association (CAA) mobilized members to attend City Council proceedings in San Mateo and Foster City to speak on behalf of housing providers in opposition to city proposals to increase rental regulations in excess of state law.
While both cities moved to advance some new rental regulations, SAMCAR presented a comprehensive case in defense of property rights and found common ground on the need for rental assistance and better education about the plentiful resources already available to support the needs of both tenants and housing providers.
San Mateo to create emergency rental assistance program
In the City of San Mateo, the City Council held a study session to consider the city staff recommendation that the council add at least two rental regulations to its Housing Element in order to certify with the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD).
Representing SAMCAR, Peninsula Government Affairs Committee Chair, Mitch Speigle shared a special presentation with the council to summarize the association's perspective on the policy proposals and recommendations for the council to consider:
Speigle emphasized the question of timing and urgency for making these sweeping changes in the housing element. There are already ample resources and programs addressing the needs of tenants, he shared, including existing state law (AB 1482)—which city staff revealed has helped reduce the number of no-fault terminations in the city—as well as housing choice vouchers (Section 8), and opportunities for the City to explore rental assistance and home buyer assistance funds that have proven successful in other cities. Moreover, as increased housing supply is the key to remedying low affordability, Speigle reiterated how San Mateo voters overwhelmingly approved Measure T allowing for increased heights and density, providing for building more housing units in the City of San Mateo.
The council also heard from dozens of housing providers and Realtors, including 2025 SAMCAR President Frank Vella, and Jeff LaMont, Karim Sarraf, Chris Eckert, Tina Wong, Fred Eftakhari, and Desiree Tang among others who we thank for taking the time to educate the council.
Ultimately, the council unanimously agreed to prioritize the creation of a local emergency rental assistance program to help address issues related to nonpayment of rent and renter displacement in the city.
Additionally, the council gave direction on staff proposals for relocation payment after eleven months of tenancy in the amount of one month rent, and instead of a rental registry, to explore other methods of collecting data on rental units in the city.
The council also agreed with SAMCAR about the need for better education about programs and resources that already exist.
SAMCAR and CAA thank the San Mateo City Council for prioritizing a targeted program such as rental assistance, instead of new, impractical laws that fail to address the root causes of renter displacement: the housing shortage and limited affordable housing inventory.
Foster City updates rental regulations for BMR units
In Foster City on Monday, at its regular meeting, the City Council considered a number of rental regulation policies as well.
SAMCAR member Robert Pedro mobilized a group of housing providers and Realtors to speak in opposition of these proposals. A similar presentation as shown in San Mateo was submitted as public comment for the council's consideration.
The council decided to support regulations for below market rate (BMR) units including three months of relocation payments at the HUD rental rate to tenants for no fault displacement, a rental registry for BMR units and "just cause" eviction restrictions for BMRs.
SAMCAR supports quality affordable housing, not rent control
Rental price and eviction control policies are prohibited in a number of states because they simply do not work to bring the price of housing down.
The most effective remedy for high housing prices is to increase supply. Rental regulations reduce supply and increase costs by disincentivizing new building and forcing small housing providers to remove rental units from the market. Such onerous regulations are burdensome and costly for small housing providers and do absolutely nothing to resolve the issue of housing affordability.
SAMCAR joins a chorus of advocates, policymakers and responsible housing providers in continuing to call for increased housing supply. We oppose regulations that abridge the property rights of housing providers. And we support increased education about the myriad programs and resources that are already available to address the needs of both tenants and housing providers.
