Seeking Balance After the Passage of Pasadena’s Measure H, Housing Providers are Seeking Passage of a New Ballot Measure – Coming This November!

By Simon Gibbons, Pasadena Property Owner

[Editor’s Note: Over the past 5 years, California has experienced what appears to be an explosion of local rent stabilization and tenant protection ordinances that have stripped property owners of their rights and inhibited their ability to earn even limited, reasonable returns on their investment. One such regulation, Measure H passed by Pasadena voters in 2023, is one of the most restrictive housing regulations in California. They say, “you can’t fight city hall,” and that’s mostly true. But there are ways we housing providers can improve and make a difference in our situation, and that includes seeking to elect politicians who are business minded and sympathetic to the needs of housing providers and through a ballot measure like the one being proposed by the Pasadena Housing Providers.

A ballot measure like the one being proposed here is a bold move that will cost a lot of money. If Pasadena property owners are successful in this effort, it may discourage other jurisdictions from passing similar, harmful housing regulations to those in Pasadena, and passage may also encourage other jurisdictions to fix their housing regulations at the ballot box. Please read on and consider helping the Pasadena Housing Providers with this effort to create balance in housing regulations. Improving our regulatory environment requires one step at a time.]

In 2022, Pasadena’s voters were presented with Measure H, which was promoted as a straightforward rent control measure. In truth, only two of the measures forty-two pages were about rent control –the other forty pages created a six million dollar bureaucracy, including one-sided rent stabilization board that by design has a minimum of seven tenant members as opposed to a maximum of four landlords, which was described by Justice John Segal of the Ninth Circuit Court as “the most unfair, discriminatory rent board that I have ever seen.”

If anything, the implementation of Measure H has been far harsher than initially intended. Fierce anti-landlord advocacy browbeat the Pasadena City Council into appointing only one true landlord to the Rent Board at its inception in 2023, and the situation has improved only marginally since then. The lack of housing provider representation on the Rent Board has contributed to issues of inconsistent policymaking at the least, and active attacks on housing providers at worst. Some of these issues were caused by limited business experience of tenant representatives on the Rent Board and the hiring of a brand-new, experience lacking Oakland-based consultancy firm on a “no-bid” contract for almost a half of a million dollars being paid from landlords’ pockets through increased fees. As one might expect, the consultants achieved almost nothing and ultimately failed in the key assigned task of setting up a rent registry.

Other Measure H failures have caused more bipartisanship and bias, such as choosing to set up a relocation fee structure that one Rent Board member proudly described as “the toughest” in the state. Not only does it now cost up to $40,000 for an owner to move back into their own property, but they must also pay for the outgoing tenants to be driven around by yet another consulting firm while they find their “ideal” new home. The consequence is that many owners have taken ADUs and condominiums off the market rather than risk losing them to a lifetime tenancy, while other owners have waited for two years to get clarity on how they can even start the tenant removal process.

For three years now following the passage of Measure H, Pasadena’s housing providers have been trying to contend with vague rules, shifting interpretations, and procedural uncertainty. This unpredictability discourages investment, delays decision-making, and in many cases has led owners to remove units from the rental market or exit the market entirely. Accordingly, in response to these and other issues associated with Measure H, a coalition of local housing providers, realtors, attorneys, and local stakeholders formed Pasadena Housing Providers in 2023. Our goal is not to dismantle tenant protections, but to ensure that Pasadena’s housing policies are fair, functional, and sustainable over the long term.

Pasadena Housing Providers have been advocating for owners, publishing a weekly newsletter, holding events, and most importantly working on a new ballot measure to reform Measure H. With generous support from local owners and organizations including the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, we have completed a professional voter research study in Pasadena. The findings are clear: more than eight in ten voters support updating the City Charter to require equal representation of tenants and housing providers on the Rent Board. Survey respondents also expressed strong support for greater accountability, transparency, and professionalism in the administration of rent stabilization.

As a result, we are now advancing the Pasadena Fair Housing Charter Amendment and actively collecting the signatures required to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. Our approach is straightforward: preserving tenant protections, restoring balance in governance, and reintroducing accountability into the system by placing final decision-making authority with the Pasadena City Council, an elected body, rather than a body of appointees in the Rent Board.

The new ballot measure has the following key provisions:

• No Changes to Rent Caps or Tenant Protections. Keeps in place existing rent limits (“caps”) and eviction protections in effect from the first day of tenancy.
• Decision-Making Balance. Instills balance and fairness in decision-making by Rent Board through equal representation of tenants and housing providers.
• Caps Rent Registry Fees. Limits rent registry fees, which have risen from $91 to $238 in just three years. These increased fees ultimately end up in higher rental costs.
• Improved Efficiencies. Integration of the stand-alone Rent Stabilization Department into the City’s Housing Department to improve efficiency and reduce annual costs by $3 million.
• Clarifying Language. Clarifies regulations governing single-family homes, condominiums, and ADUs to preserve tenant protections while restoring rental supply.
• Further Refinement. Allowing Pasadena voters an opportunity to revisit and refine Pasadena’s rent regulations in 2038.

Pasadena’s housing market is shaped by many factors, and no single policy can solve every situation or challenge. However, governance structure is fundamental and, therefore, a balanced and accountable system—one that addresses the needs of both tenants and housing providers—will produce decisions that are more practical, predictable, and durable over time.

Pasadena is not unique. The structural issues we are addressing—imbalanced governance, regulatory uncertainty, and the erosion of property rights—are emerging in jurisdictions across California. Our ballot effort represents an opportunity to establish a replicable model for fair and sustainable rent regulations statewide. Through this proposed ballot initiative, Pasadena can restore balance, protect property rights and the rights of tenants, and support a healthier housing market in Pasadena and beyond.

Simon Gibbons is a Pasadena resident and a founding member of the Pasadena Housing Providers. The Pasadena Housing Providers continues to collect signatures for its rent regulation ballot measure that is hopes to put before voters in November. Interested parties can obtain more information at www.pasadenahousingproviders.com, or for any questions or comments, email info@pasadenahousingproviders.com.