New tenants' group may unwittingly educate the public on evils of statewide rent control By Noni Richen, SPOSFI President
I recently received word through my D5 Supervisor’s newsletter that various tenants’ groups have formed a new statewide organization. With tenants groups uniting throughout the state, many more property owners may wake up to the potential dangers and join our efforts. By laying out its socialist agenda, Tenants Together will educate Californians about how extreme is its sense of entitlement, and how unrealistic its demands. The entire state will know that this group of hard leftists advocates statewide rent control and feels it is entitled to demand a position of de facto partial ownership of our buildings. The whole state will know that these “tenants’ rights”advocates demand the right to move multiple new tenants into their rented apartments without paying any additional rent.
How will the citizens of, say, Lancaster, California, react to the demand that in order to move into property they have purchased, they must buy out their tenants for upwards of $50,000, or risk having a sort of scarlet letter put onto their deeds that makes it difficult for them or any future owner to rent the property again? Will landlords in Redding be willing to subsidize long-term renters who are guaranteed miniscule rent increases in perpetuity while renters can move out anytime with just 30 days’ notice? Tenants Together will get the word out to the rest of the state about rent (or more precisely, property) control. Our neighbors to the north, south, and east will then understand why we supported Prop. 98 in the June election.
Big SPOSFI membership drive in the works
We are launching a major effort to spread our own New tenants’ group may unwittingly educate the public on evils of statewide rent control I message of fairness and equity to a larger number of property owners. With the help of our talented Board of Directors, we are preparing a professionally designed membership appeal. One Board Member was instrumental in working with a mailing house to hone a mailing list of about 18,000 property owners who are potential members. We’ve created an appeal that features “teaser” articles from past newsletters, with text that informs prospective members as to why we exist and the importance of the work we do. Inside is a return envelope all ready for a membership check. Thank you so very much, especially to Ilse Cordoni and Mark Stoner of the Membership Committee, and to Gideon Kramer, who designed and produced the mailer, as he does the newsletter every month.
Reaching out to Cantonese speakers
Another project on our plate is an educational program geared to an important San Francisco demographic and one we very much seek to bring in to the organization: Cantonese-speaking property owners. We have applied for a small grant to help fund this daylong presentation that will include sessions on how to manage property in San Francisco, how to interact with City Hall in obtaining building permits, and how to stay in the good graces of the Rent Board. An attorney will lead the sessions, and volunteer translators will be on hand to ensure that the information flows to the attendees. We’ll keep you informed. Again, I want to thank all of the Board and all of our members who are determined to keep SPOSFI vibrant and growing. Thanks for working on the political campaigns in your neighborhoods, thanks for attending meetings and sending helpful messages, and most importantly, thank you for showing your support by your continued membership.
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