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I live in a mh park in Yucaipa, ca & we are under rent control. I pay a monthly city rent control fee of $1.75 & my rent increase is a certain % based on the cpi. This summer will be the largest rent increase in years because the federal govt says the economy is much better compared to the previous year. I have had 17 rent increases in 17 years.
So 17 rent increases in 17 years with rent control? I have a couple single family rentals in Phoenix & neither has gotten an increase in 4-5 years. My costs haven't went up & therefore my rents haven't gone up. If rent control was enacted here, both families that rent my homes would get 60 day notices & those houses would get sold pronto. The odds of a new retail buyer renting them out (after paying current retail pricing) are about zero percent. Rent control would make a tight rental market here even tighter. If we had "tenant friendly" laws like they have in California, or back east, the supply of rentals here would dwindle to almost nothing. There's just no incentive to rent a "median" $200k home for $1,000 /month, especially if the occasional bad tenant is able to drag out evictions for 6 months or a year without paying a dime, like they frequently do in California. The money to pay for deadbeats comes from other tenants (in the form of higher rents), or deferred maintenance on dumpy properties.
In my apartment complex, a lot of people who make $10-12/hr are paying anywhere from 50-70% of their take home pay for rent. Since the laws favor landlords so much, they usually manufacture some excuse to keep deposits too. I hate seeing my hard working neighbors have to work on their old cars themselves in the parking lot (which they aren't supposed to do) and try to get food stamps. I especialy hate when the children have very little toys or school supplies.
I'm lucky in that my job pays a little better, so I'm paying about 40% of my take home pay towards my rent, but most financial people say your house or rent payment should realistically be 25% of your take home pay. One weeks pay.
What in the world would we have to do to get some sort of rent control around here?
I do not expect to see rent control in the foreseeable future anywhere outside of NYC (which is phasing out rent control which dates back to WW II) and California (where numerous local rent control ordinances were adopted after Proposition 13 did not bring the rent reductions renters were led to expect).
What happens is that whenever the concept of rent control gains local traction, landlords run to the legislature to ban rent control statewide.
So 17 rent increases in 17 years with rent control? I have a couple single family rentals in Phoenix & neither has gotten an increase in 4-5 years. My costs haven't went up & therefore my rents haven't gone up. If rent control was enacted here, both families that rent my homes would get 60 day notices & those houses would get sold pronto. The odds of a new retail buyer renting them out (after paying current retail pricing) are about zero percent. Rent control would make a tight rental market here even tighter. If we had "tenant friendly" laws like they have in California, or back east, the supply of rentals here would dwindle to almost nothing. There's just no incentive to rent a "median" $200k home for $1,000 /month, especially if the occasional bad tenant is able to drag out evictions for 6 months or a year without paying a dime, like they frequently do in California. The money to pay for deadbeats comes from other tenants (in the form of higher rents), or deferred maintenance on dumpy properties.
Rent control is protectionism for incumbent tenants. It is not about or for anyone else. Rent control is the mirror image of zoning, which is protectionism for incumbent homeowners.
I do not expect to see rent control in the foreseeable future anywhere outside of NYC (which is phasing out rent control which dates back to WW II) and California (where numerous local rent control ordinances were adopted after Proposition 13 did not bring the rent reductions renters were led to expect).
What happens is that whenever the concept of rent control gains local traction, landlords run to the legislature to ban rent control statewide.
Good. The government has no business telling the free market what to charge or not charge for their product.
Funny, you want the government out of they process when it comes to zoning, but want it in the process when it comes to rent.
Rent control is protectionism for incumbent tenants. It is not about or for anyone else. Rent control is the mirror image of zoning, which is protectionism for incumbent homeowners.
If we were not under rent control the park owner would most likely increase the rent more then what it is now. The rent increase for this year is $6.00 a month. Last year was $2.00 & the year before was $3.50 a month. This adds up over time.
Friend of mine rented a home the land lord was a large company the tactic they used was when he moved in they inspected while he walked around with the inspector he wasn't that thorough but when he moved out after 1 year which he was hardly even home the inspector went over the home with a fine tooth comb. They got him for some blinds that didn't work he never even pulled them open bunch of other things. They used a black light and said he had pets in the house but he doesn't like pets never had any in the home it was from the previous renter. They claimed all the carpet had to be replaced. Some kids through a rock cracked a window he reported it to the landlord and filed a police report They made him pay for that as well. He said in the end they took his deposit. He stopped by a few months after it was rented again told the new renters what happened to him and they told him none of the carpet was replaced just a scam.
Friend of mine rented a home the land lord was a large company the tactic they used was when he moved in they inspected while he walked around with the inspector he wasn't that thorough but when he moved out after 1 year which he was hardly even home the inspector went over the home with a fine tooth comb. They got him for some blinds that didn't work he never even pulled them open bunch of other things. They used a black light and said he had pets in the house but he doesn't like pets never had any in the home it was from the previous renter. They claimed all the carpet had to be replaced. Some kids through a rock cracked a window he reported it to the landlord and filed a police report They made him pay for that as well. He said in the end they took his deposit. He stopped by a few months after it was rented again told the new renters what happened to him and they told him none of the carpet was replaced just a scam.
Off topic but here in AZ, and most places, a landlord has no obligation to replace or repair tenant damage. They can charge you and never fix a thing and if you take them to court the only proof they need is pictures of the damage, a move-in check sheet with a tenants signature (optional this is the tenants obligation to provide a copy of in court), and invoices to repair.
Back on topic if we got rent control I would 1031 everything I own and go to Texas. I keep my units below market while a tenant is in the unit but I do a larger adjustments at the 5 year mark if a tenant stays that long. If I couldn't do that larger adjustments I would have to do regular increases every year just to keep up with costs. Anyone who says their costs don't go up every year don't own property here, taxes alone go up every year with very few exceptions.
[snip/].
Anyone who says their costs don't go up every year don't own property here, taxes alone go up every year with very few exceptions.
Taxes on rental #1 $1195 in 2010, $873 in 2014
Taxes on rental #2 $1219 in 2010, $889 in 2014
The rental I manage for my parents? 2010 taxes $1068, 2014 taxes $782
The HOA on that property did go up $48/yr in the past 4 years..
My primary residence - 2010 taxes $1512, 2014 taxes $1253
All are valuation-capped @ 5% per year now as well..
Labor rates have certainly gone up from the peak of the crash, but I "front-loaded" most of those common repairs with cheap labor during the crash. Any incidental repairs in the past few years have been minor & they're actually welcomed- my CPA thinks my expenses are too low.
In my apartment complex, a lot of people who make $10-12/hr are paying anywhere from 50-70% of their take home pay for rent. Since the laws favor landlords so much, they usually manufacture some excuse to keep deposits too. I hate seeing my hard working neighbors have to work on their old cars themselves in the parking lot (which they aren't supposed to do) and try to get food stamps. I especialy hate when the children have very little toys or school supplies.
I'm lucky in that my job pays a little better, so I'm paying about 40% of my take home pay towards my rent, but most financial people say your house or rent payment should realistically be 25% of your take home pay. One weeks pay.
What in the world would we have to do to get some sort of rent control around here?
If I got screwed out of my deposit, (not because I thought I was somehow right but rather the landlord actually manufactured a scam to extract money out of me), I would REASON with him. Most people are rational when you politely explain that they are stealing from you family and you have NO intention of sitting idle. 1st, I'd be going over his head if he isn't the actual owner.
If the polite method doesn't work, then REASON further with him by letting him know I would be taking to the internet (review sites with multiple posts), going to the courts, knocking on all of his current AND future tenants doors educating them as to my new mission in life. Explain that you are going to help him my by teaching him a business lesson that stealing from your family is going to cost him time, money, and his reputation. In private, I also would kindly will let him know that since I didn't do damage before, I've therefore obviously prepaid for some future damage. I'd let him know he should read between the lines. That anyone who thinks they can legally steal from my family will be dealt in the harshest way. And I would be prepared to make it a my lives mission. I would have to do this because in needs to be done in order to sleep at night. Then hit him with the compromise... Let him know that by simply paying me my legitimate deposit back in full by _______ date, that we will settle the dispute like adults and we could part as friends.
Rest assured 99.999% of the rational people are going to see the light. That is because sometimes this is the only "logic" that dense white collar thieves understand. In life, sometimes you need to explain it to people in this manner (a slow ramp up). They will get the feeling that you are serious (always make promises you intend to keep) and they will see the light. Rarely I have had to explain this to a person. When you layout your passion, they come around and understand the mutually beneficial nature of why you need to get our deposit back. Hence, I have full confidence I would be getting my deposit back.
Unfortunately, some people really think their damage isn't damage when it is. That's another set of problems that the landlord sees (I've rented out my homes and RARELY have bumped into people who think I'm charging too much for some damage). So it goes both ways.
If I got screwed out of my deposit, (not because I thought I was somehow right but rather the landlord actually manufactured a scam to extract money out of me), I would REASON with him. Most people are rational when you politely explain that they are stealing from you family and you have NO intention of sitting idle. 1st, I'd be going over his head if he isn't the actual owner.
If the polite method doesn't work, then REASON further with him by letting him know I would be taking to the internet (review sites with multiple posts), going to the courts, knocking on all of his current AND future tenants doors educating them as to my new mission in life. Explain that you are going to help him my by teaching him a business lesson that stealing from your family is going to cost him time, money, and his reputation. In private, I also would kindly will let him know that since I didn't do damage before, I've therefore obviously prepaid for some future damage. I'd let him know he should read between the lines. That anyone who thinks they can legally steal from my family will be dealt in the harshest way. And I would be prepared to make it a my lives mission. I would have to do this because in needs to be done in order to sleep at night. Then hit him with the compromise... Let him know that by simply paying me my legitimate deposit back in full by _______ date, that we will settle the dispute like adults and we could part as friends.
Rest assured 99.999% of the rational people are going to see the light. That is because sometimes this is the only "logic" that dense white collar thieves understand. In life, sometimes you need to explain it to people in this manner (a slow ramp up). They will get the feeling that you are serious (always make promises you intend to keep) and they will see the light. Rarely I have had to explain this to a person. When you layout your passion, they come around and understand the mutually beneficial nature of why you need to get our deposit back. Hence, I have full confidence I would be getting my deposit back.
Unfortunately, some people really think their damage isn't damage when it is. That's another set of problems that the landlord sees (I've rented out my homes and RARELY have bumped into people who think I'm charging too much for some damage). So it goes both ways.
As a landlord (and as a former tenant), i don't see any need to "reason" with thieves - the law requires a written notification/itemization for damages within a specified time period - if i didn't agree with the tally, i'd just file in court. It's like $75~ish bucks including service to let a judge sort it out. As a tenant, i always complied with the terms of the lease to a "t", and had receipts & pictures to back it up. As a landlord, my tenants get a cd with a .pdf of the signed lease & prolly close to 100 hi-res pics of the property taken the same day the lease was signed, as fast as i can burn it & drop it back off - there won't be any arguments about whether a room had blinds, a carpet was stained, or if a wall had a hole on move-in day (or if there are, they'll be short arguments). It's too easy to do things right & not worth arguing about. If my business model required me to steal damage deposits to turn a profit, i'd find another business.
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adds up over time.
I'd let him know he should read between the lines. That anyone who thinks they can legally steal from my family will be dealt in the harshest way. And I would be prepared to make it a my lives mission. I would have to do this because in needs to be done in order to sleep at night. Then hit him with the compromise... Let him know that by simply paying me my legitimate deposit back in full by _______ date, that we will settle the dispute like adults and we could part as friends. 
