Article XVIII — THE PASADENA FAIR AND EQUITABLE HOUSING CHARTER AMENDMENT

Section 1801. - TITLE AND PURPOSE.

This Amendment shall be known as the Pasadena Fair and Equitable Housing Charter Amendment. The purpose of this Amendment is to promote neighborhood and community stability, healthy housing, and affordability for renters in Pasadena by regulating excessive rent increases and arbitrary evictions to the maximum extent permitted under California law, while ensuring Landlords a fair return on their investment and guaranteeing fair protections for renters, homeowners, and businesses.

(Sec. 1801 added by vote of the people 11-8-2022.)

Section 1802. - FINDINGS.

(a)

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates, as of 2018, a significant majority (57.7 percent) of all occupied units in the City were occupied by renter households; and

(b)

WHEREAS, African American and Hispanic or Latino households are disproportionately renter households. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's ACS 1-year estimates, in 2018, 69.7 percent of African American households were renters while 67.7 percent of Hispanic or Latino households were renters; and

(c)

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's ACS 1-year estimates, the median gross rent in Pasadena has increased by 32.0 percent (from $1287 to $1669) between 2012 and 2018 while the Consumer Price Index (all items in Los Angeles- Long Beach-Anaheim, all urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted) has increased by 12.4 percent over the same period, resulting in an effective 17.5 percent increase in median rent in 2018 inflation-adjusted dollars between 2012 and 2018; and

(d)

WHEREAS, according to the ACS 1-year estimates, the median rent in 2018 inflation-adjusted dollars has increased by 27.0 percent for an efficiency unit, 17.4 percent for a one-bedroom unit, and 18.6 percent for a two-bedroom unit over the three year period between 2015 and 2018; and

(e)

WHEREAS, according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2018 ACS 1-year estimates, a majority of Pasadena tenant households are rent-burdened. In 2018, an estimated 54 percent of renter households (15,446 households) were paying 30 percent or more of their income toward rent, and 31 percent of renter households (8,847) were severely rent-burdened, paying 50 percent or more of their income towards rent; and

(f)

WHEREAS, low-income renter households are particularly affected by rent-burdening with 89.4 percent (9417) of renter households with an annual household income between $10,000 - $49,999 paying 30 percent or more of their income towards rent, and 60.3 percent of these households (6349) paying 50 percent or more of their income toward housing rent; and

(g)

WHEREAS, even amongst households with annual incomes between $50,000 and $99,000, 44.5 percent (3307) are rent- burdened, paying more than 30 percent of their incomes to rent; and

(h)

WHEREAS, according to the Pasadena Draft 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan, 42 percent of Pasadena households (23,375 households) have incomes ranging from 0 to 80 percent of Area Median Income (AMI) with 15 percent extremely low-income (8,385 households at 0 to 30 percent AMI), with 12 percent very low-income (6,610 households at 30 to 50 percent AMI), and 15 percent as low income (8,380 households at 50 to 80 percent AMI); and

(i)

WHEREAS, according to the Pasadena Draft 2015-2019 Consolidated Plan, "Severe cost burden is the greatest predictor of homelessness risk. Populations paying more than 50 percent of their income towards housing costs or having incomes at or below 50 percent AMI have the greatest risk of becoming homeless"; and

(j)

WHEREAS, a majority of people experiencing homelessness in the City are Pasadenans. According to the 2019 Pasadena Homeless Count & Subpopulation Survey, 58% of people experiencing homelessness in Pasadena were Pasadena residents at the time of housing loss; and

(k)

WHEREAS, according to the Pasadena Homeless Count & Subpopulation Survey, 30% of people experiencing homelessness in Pasadena identified job loss (leading to a presumed inability to pay rent) as a primary cause of their homelessness, while 14% identified eviction as a primary cause of their homelessness; and

(l)

WHEREAS, according to the US Census Bureau's 2015 Rental Housing Finance Survey, nationally, the median number of hours per month spent by a rental property owner on managing a rental property is three (3); and

(m)

WHEREAS, according to the US Census Bureau's 2015 Rental Housing Finance Survey, less than half (47.8 percent) of rental units nationally are owned by an individual investor, with the rest being owned by trusts, corporate entities, non-profit organizations and other non-natural persons; and

(n)

WHEREAS, the implementation of rent relief strategies is supported by Pasadena's adopted 2014-2021 Housing Element: "Pasadena residents have an equal right to live in decent, safe and affordable housing in a suitable living environment for the long-term well- being and stability of themselves, their families, their neighborhoods, and their community. The housing vision for Pasadena is to maintain a socially and economically diverse community of homeowners and renters who are afforded this right"; and

(o)

WHEREAS, tenants in Pasadena experience increased housing instability. According to the ACS 2018 1-year estimates, 45.8 percent of tenant households had moved since 2015 whereas only 17.7 percent of owner households had moved since 2015. This trend persists even when considering only households with a head of household between 35 and 64 years of age.