We need policies that strike a balance between affordable housing and the realities of property ownership

The recent move by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to clamp down on so-called “corporate ownership” of single-family homes, condos and townhouses is causing quite a stir.

At the Southern California Rental Housing Association, an organization made up of local housing providers, we understand that officials want to take action to ease our housing crisis — but this needs to be thoughtful and based on data. What’s frustrating is that no input was sought from the rental housing industry before this board action This isn’t the kind of collaborative, meaningful public input we expect in California.

The proposal, led by Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, aims to take on enormous corporate “bad actors” such as private equity firms who are supposedly making our housing crisis worse, possibly by price fixing. This action unfairly targets our local landlords who are already dealing with enough red tape.

Most landlords are not Wall Street tycoons; many are everyday people trying to make ends meet.

The term “corporation” has been turned into a bad word to promote a narrative, but this narrative overlooks the vital role that these entities play in our housing market. For example, many small landlords have formed corporations to rent out single-family homes to supplement their income, secure their retirement or build wealth for their families.

We represent many affordable housing operators that are medium to large companies. San Diego also has several large apartment owner companies that started small and remain primarily family-owned but have grown over the years.

None of these are “Wall Street bad actors” causing housing price spikes.

Let’s not demonize rental housing providers that are over a specific size. Larger companies are often the only ones that can afford to build in California’s heavily regulated market. Without them, we won’t be able to meet our housing needs. We need a variety of housing types at all price points.

It’s important to remember that a corporation is a tax status, not an identity. After all, respected California pension funds like CalPERS and many municipal retirement systems invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), meaning they are stakeholders in these larger property-owning corporations.

The ordinance plans to do a lot: look at who owns what, sue big landlords for alleged price gouging and tenant harassment, and explore more local rules to protect renters and small landlords. But here’s the thing: A lot of these measures are already covered by existing laws.

We don’t need another layer of rules that give lawyers more business. Federal and state regulations already handle price-fixing, tenant protection, tenant harassment and unfair rent hikes. Adding more local rules will only make things more complicated and lead to more lawsuits, which doesn’t help anyone.

At the Southern California Rental Housing Association, we want to make sure that property owners and managers have a voice in this process. We need policies that strike a balance between affordable housing and the realities of property ownership.

Instead of punishing landlords, the county Board of Supervisors should focus on building more homes. Supervisor Joel Anderson is spot on: We need to build more housing, not get bogged down in debates over market manipulation by a small part of the industry.

In the end, the intentions behind the proposal are good, but the approach needs a rethink.

By working together with all stakeholders, the Board of Supervisors can come up with better strategies to tackle the housing crisis without scaring off investors and overburdening those who are already helping to keep the market going. The Southern California Rental Housing Association is ready to help find a balanced solution that protects tenants and supports property owners.

Written by Alan Pentico, CAE

Alan Pentico, CAE, is the executive director of the Southern California Rental Housing Association. Whenever I can, I like to share my expertise in any of the areas mentioned. Feel free to ask. If I don’t know the answer, I can probably give you some good suggestions as to where to look for it. My capability includes: Extensive experience in local policy inception, development, and implementation through collaborative efforts; Broad experience in local and state advocacy and program management as well as Political Action Committee management, as a Public Affairs Executive; and a strong understanding of non-profit management including certification by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) as a Certified Association Executive (CAE) for Non-Profit association management. A wide-range of knowledge in the rental housing industry. I am always interested in new ways to advance the Rental Housing industry, field of Public Affairs, and Non Profit industry.