The Concord City Council this week unanimously voted to adopt a residential tenant anti-harassment protection ordinance.
“The policy is simple: be kind to one another, respect one another, and be fair,” Councilmember Tim McGallian said.
The ordinance prohibits landlords from harassing tenants. It requires landlords to notify tenants about unit renovations,
prohibits renovating for the purpose of getting the tenant to vacate, and prohibits landlords from forcing an existing tenant to agree to a new term of tenancy unless the changes are allowed by state law (or at the end of a tenant’s existing lease).
It spells out rules about landlord retaliation, landlords entering units, removing services and misrepresenting conditions to force a tenant to move, giving tenants the right to receive rental receipts and pay through various means.
The ordinance also covers what defines a lawful eviction and would require violators to pay fines.
“I heard too many stories of landlords being bad actors, and too many stories of landlords violating the rights that tenants do have,” said Mayor Dominic Aliano.
“And yes, I do understand that there are good landlords out there, but we have to discuss implementing something like this to protect our community from certain landlords acting in bad faith.
“If you’re a good landlord and you do things the right way, I believe then you are not going to truly be affected by this,” Aliano said.
The city has been working on the ordinance since June 2021, getting input from the public and the city’s housing and economic development committee.
Tenant rights groups applauded the decision. Concord-based Monument Impact released a statement Wednesday saying Concord will join major California cities including Long Beach, Oakland, Los Angeles, Berkeley and Richmond “to meaningfully address landlord harassment and ensure fairness for tenants.”
“With passage of this ordinance, Concord is one step closer to being a place where immigrants, refugees and low-income neighbors can live in safe, stable homes,” said Debra Ballinger, executive director of Monument Impact.
25 comments
Yeah, landlords. It’s YOUR property, but Concord tells you what to do. They should buy it then.
.
I am a landlord.
.
Your comment clearly originates from a place of ignorance when offering a unit for rent or lease.
I skipped buying a house because of the opposite, the tenant would of been hard to get out and his cottage needed fixing.
And what about landlord rights? Debra or Tim do you have rental property that you rent out? There are a lot of good tenants out there but their are also a lot of bad ones. And what will you do when they trash your place and won’t pay their rent? It’s on you , the owner! CA is gone!
The City Council can decide to legislate private business owners behaviors toward their customers
and yet
the city can’t fix the streets or sidewalks.
The Council has it’s priorities out of line with what the city needs, as usual.
I can’t help but wonder how much the tenants associations paid for this ordinance?
Gotta keep at least one of the City Council members in booze money.
Seems to me that the law should include the landlords rights.
That’s the thing. – there aren’t any. Property owners really don’t have much say in what happens in their rentals. I read thru the ordinance. One section says an owner needs written approval from the tenant before conducting any repairs. Used to be you gave them notice and could then enter the unit. I’m glad I got out of the game years ago.
I wouldn’t own rental property in California – period.
So now it’s OK to have a meth lab and have 30 “people” living in a 1 bedroom apartment? On Monument?
And we further erode the right of folks that are the ones paying for things…
They are doing everything possible to make the middle class leave this hell hole. The funny part is that the city council thinks they make laws. Laws are voted on by the people.
You have broken people sleeping on broken streets. Use my tax dollars to fix the roads and keep homeless drug addicts off them.
Tim McGallian stick this where the sun don’t shine.Your power has gone to your head.Hope you end up in a lawsuit.
When people decide not to rent property, the “housing crisis” will worsen. The politicians will be ringing their hands, wondering how this happened, while devising plans to house even more people on our dime.
Whatever happened to critical thinking?
Who’s going to protect the landlords from worthless tenants? I wouldn’t be a landlord in California for anything and made that correct decision years ago. Yet another reason to get out of California…
.
Any tenant signing a lease or rental agreement without these policies clearly spelled out, described, or covered in the terms of the rental/lease provisions is an idiot.
.
So this is an “idiot protection ordinance.”
.
Yes, I am a landlord.
What a waste of money. If people weren’t so lazy they can easily look up Tenant Rights and if there was a violation they can show the Landlord. Hey doing your own homework is better then someone doing it for you.
Has anyone here ever had tenants?….people disrespect you and your property so much it’s disgusting. My tenants were short every month…..some sob story every month. I eventually had to evict them because I got a letter saying the neighbors were going to sue me. They were running a damn pot growing operation in my house. LUCKILY they left. Ugh!….don’t even get me started.
.
I suggest you screen prospective tenants more carefully. Here are some things to consider:
.
1. Married couples only
2. Both are white collar professionals with mainstream companies.
3. No government assistance.
4. No sublets.
5. Conduct “health and safety” inspections of the property upon providing proper notice to said tenants.
… etc.
How many tenants even though they sign a lease saying no pets have a dog or cat within a couple months of moving in. Then after the animal destroys the place by peeing on the carpet, etc., the tenant is not held accountable because politicians say that would be harrassment.
Landlord since 1994. Now in process of selling one of them. On that point first, let’s be sure to point out that landlords in California pay 3.33% 20k + to the state of California if you transition a rental to a sale. That out of the way, here’s my experience.
Hire property managers always have, last 20 years a Real Estate Attorney. I am one of the “good ones.” I do take issue with what is happening now, but coming from a business family who bought and sold properties and still owns, business and personal, I look at it all. I take issue with Ms. Ballinger with her rhetoric and no balance for owners that do the right thing, just the “Bag Egg” owners. In my opinion this ordinance needs a second glance for fine tuning. Mayors, thank you respectively for you input.
I’d never buy a unit to rent in Calif… they don’t pay the rent – protected by the state, can’t evict- you’re left holding the bag while they run the place into the ground
Marxist NGO’s are running around like they own the county now. Concord and WC councils seem to be beholden to them. Nothing done for tax paying residents. PH seems to be holding on to sanity for now.
Specific examples are what we need and then we apply the regulations. Harassment is never ok. Unfortunately, most tenants don’t have lawyers so they need advice from some source..
The new step will be for the state to tax vacant homes/living units to force their rental. After that they will tax us for vacant bedrooms.
why did Debra Ballinge say it only helps “… immigrants, refugees and low-income neighbors…”
Thats pretty rascist and classist of her.
Does she think that non immigrants and middle class are with out troubles?
Im suprised she did just say “the evil white man cant hurt brown peoples”.
Every rental property I have ever been in, the landlord was a “minority”….
Comments are closed.