From the President
by Eric Andresen
The date of May 25, 2004, will go down in history as the day that California’s income property owners made it clear to our State Legislators that we’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it any more.
Over 700 members of the California Apartment Association (CAA) converged on Sacramento for CAA’s annual Legislative Conference. What an impression we made! The sight of so many CAA members marching to the Capitol and on into the halls was quite a scene to behold. We tied up intersections for a while, overwhelmed security and crammed the halls in an incredible show of our solidarity and resolved to change the way we, as housing providers, are treated in California. In fact, so many of us were entering the Capitol at one point that all the entrances and exits were blocked for almost half an hour. We garnered the attention of local and regional press and television, and we were certainly the talk of the town.
We made a huge difference, too. On the day of our conference, Senator Burton’s office was besieged with calls from fellow legislators regarding our demand that he amend one of his pieces of legislation—an extension of 60-day-notice requirements and source-of-income information. By midafternoon, we were getting calls to “please, call off the troops,” as our message was heard loud and clear. Burton’s office has agreed to meet our requests and will remove language that would have indefinitely extended the requirement that owners provide a 60-day notice for an eviction. He has also agreed to review the part of his bill that relates to source of income and to work with us on language that will satisfy us.
That was not all, however. The very next day we received confirmation that the Assembly’s Democratic Caucus had agreed to support our demand for the defeat of Assemblywoman Sally Leiber’s Hazardous Substances bill. Her bill would have effectively extended Proposition 65-type liabilities to small property owners; and it would have completely contradicted our own legislation, Senate Bill 1722, which will end the legal abuses of unscrupulous attorneys under the guise of protecting the public good.
SB 1722 is sailing through on its own merits, thanks in no small part to the incredible efforts of CAA’s staff and the support and guidance of the bill’s author, Senator Denise Ducheny. It passed its final vote on the Senate floor and has moved on to the Assembly, where we are assured it will gain passage and then be sent to the governor for his signature. This bill, widely admired by state business and other interest groups, will limit the ability of attorneys to act in the interest of the public by filing frivolous lawsuits, known as settlement shake-downs, against innocent property owners. The bill will severely limit opportunities to sue property owners and will strengthen our protections under global and other settlement procedures.
CAA also rolled out the first phase of our new promotional campaign to improve the image of landlords, and to provide proof that we, as members of CAA, are reasonable and committed to providing safe, sanitary and affordable housing. One huge part of this program is our new renter’s brochure which assists tenants in finding and maintaining decent rental housing. The brochure also provides a forum for us to extend our professionalism and to inform future tenants that, should they see the CAA logo, they can be assured of fair treatment and respect. This brochure will be available from the SFAA offices in the near future, and we encourage all of you to provide it to your current and incoming tenants.
One other part of the campaign is a recommitment to CAA’s Code of Ethics (see page 10) and Resident Bill of Rights. These two important documents appear both online (CAA’s Web site) and in the San Francisco Apartment Magazine throughout the year. CAA members need to fully understand the language of these documents, so please make sure you review each one as often as you can. In order to enforce its provisions and to encourage compliance, CAA is also in the process of creating an Ethics Commission. Members and tenants can report incidences or problems to this commission, allowing us a chance to police our own members and, hopefully, avoid a negative press and costly public outcry.
CAA is well on its way to establishing a membership that is a vital and integral part of California’s social and economic environment. Our timing is perfect, the stage has been set in a way never seen before, and we are well on track to take advantage of the opportunities our new governor has created.
I encourage every one of you to be proud of the efforts made on your behalf and the support you have already provided toward making this happen. I then implore you to think again about what you can do to help see this through. Your contributions of time and money to our organizations are vital to our collective efforts. I hope that each and every one of you will step a little closer to the plate, step up your support and, above all, enjoy the journey we are about to embark on.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or the San Francisco Apartment Magazine. In addition to serving as the current President of SFAA, Eric is also the Vice President of Political Affairs for PPMA and is the original author of the PPMA Residential Tenancy Agreement. Eric also serves as Vice President of the California Apartment Association, and he is extensively involved in other industry organizations here in San Francisco and at the state level. He owns and operates West Coast Property Management and West Coast Property Maintenance Companies. He can be reached at eric@wcpm.com. Copyright © 2004.