Pasadena Rent Control and Just Cause Signature Count Falls Short for Ballot Initiative

While short 2,112 of the required signatures, the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Coalition at Pasadena Tenants’ Union worked diligently to garner signatures these past few months. – Photo by Alex Cordero / Beacon Media News

Pasadena is 57.1% renter occupied and 42.9% homeowner occupied

By Staff

On Thursday, May 24, 2018 the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing coalition for Rent Control and Just Cause final signature count was 10,224.  While short 2,112 of the required signatures, the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Coalition considers the citizen led volunteer signature gathering efforts a success.

The Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Coalition states, “from 12 individuals, which included tenants, homeowners, and one landlord, meeting on November 29th, 2016 to being 300 plus strong today the goal is and will continue to be to bring awareness and action regarding the rental housing crisis and tenant displacement in Pasadena.”

“The Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Coalition thank the hundreds of volunteers who juggled multiple life duties while gathering signatures. More than 80% of signature gathering was volunteer base and 20% of canvassing was from in-kind donations from community members and tenant rights advocates to hire local hourly wage canvassers who otherwise would not be able to participate in canvassing due to economic circumstances. We thank the thousands of neighbors who opened doors, provided water on hot days, provided tea on cold days, and the amazing conversation regarding Pasadena’s housing crisis which gave us hope that kindness, community stability, and human compassion matters.”

The Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Coalition states it “is proud to continue the community dialogue and bring Pasadena’s housing crisis to the people of Pasadena so they too have a voice. Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Coalition will continue to fight for one of the best policies for housing stability and affordable housing: rent control and just cause. Our housing crisis is not happening in a vacuum. We need to address as a city the continued displacement of long term residents who love Pasadena and call it home. Rental Housing needs to be profitable for owners, but the questions we need to ask ourselves is if one industry, such as corporate ownership of homes and apartment units, overshadows all other industries in our city what will become of us? Why are there empty apartment units while we are in a housing crisis? Why are there empty store fronts in our city? The housing industry is not operating with best practices for our city and we as a city need to implement best practices: rent control and just cause.”

What’s at Stake? The City of Pasadena is in a housing crisis. Statistics you should know:

-Pasadena is 57.1% renter occupied and 42.9% homeowner occupied.

-The average rent for a one-bedroom unit in Pasadena has risen 51.7% in the last 6 years.

-Tenants are receiving rental increases of $200, $800 and more a month and are at risk of being evicted for no cause.

-According to the Pasadena Homeless Count 2018 there was a significant increase (36%) in the number of persons who did not meet HUD’s definition of chronic homelessness. For this population high rents and a shortage of housing caused them to fall into homelessness. In 2016, the housing cost burden for the lowest-income renter house- holds in Pasadena exceeded 100%, meaning their income was not enough to cover rent.

Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Coalition is a coalition of local, state, and nationwide tenant right organizations, faith based groups, and civic minded organizations.

Pasadena Tenants Union (PTU) is a grassroots movement founded in November 2016 by tenants and homeowners.  They are a membership body of volunteers and have no paid staff.  PTU was born due to the growing pressure on tenants in the City.