HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/28/2025 Item 5a, Moss
Michael Moss <mikemossrealtor@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, October
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:October 28th Study Session Renter Protections
Dear Mayor and Councilmembers,
As a local REALTOR® and housing professional, I wanted to share my perspective on
the City’s upcoming discussion about renter protections and a potential rental registry.
Every day, I work with people on both sides of housing — renters looking for a safe,
affordable place to live, and property owners who rely on their rental homes as part of
their retirement or small business. Like many of my colleagues, I care deeply about
keeping housing safe, fair, and attainable here in San Luis Obispo.
We’ve Tried This Before — It Didn’t Work
San Luis Obispo already experimented with a rental inspection program, and it was
ultimately repealed because it was costly, inefficient, and widely unpopular among both
renters and housing providers. Reviving a similar idea under a new name risks repeating
the same mistakes without addressing the small number of truly problematic properties.
Duplicate Rules Don’t Solve the Problem
California already has strong tenant protections through AB 1482 and state habitability
laws. Our local Code Enforcement team also has the authority to deal with unsafe
housing when it arises. Creating a new registry would just add another layer of red tape
without fixing the real issue — making sure the existing laws are consistently enforced.
Privacy Matters
A rental registry would require collecting personal information about both renters and
owners. Even with the best intentions, that kind of database creates privacy and data-
security risks that just aren’t necessary. Protecting people’s personal information should
be a top priority.
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The Costs Will Land on Renters
Any new fees or compliance costs will inevitably trickle down to tenants in the form of
higher rent. With affordability already one of the biggest challenges our city faces,
adding new costs works directly against our shared goal of keeping housing attainable for
local residents and workers.
Better Ways to Move Forward
If the goal is to identify and address problem properties, there are simpler, more effective
options:
Use the existing business-license system and have rental property owners identify
their rentals there.
Focus on programs that directly help renters in need rather than creating new
bureaucracy.
Experience in other cities has shown that registries like this often become the first step
toward rent-control policies — something I believe would harm our housing market. Rent
control discourages investment, limits supply, and ultimately reduces the quality and
availability of rental housing.
I truly appreciate the work you do to keep San Luis Obispo a great place to live. We all
share the same goal — safe, well-maintained housing for everyone — and I believe that
collaboration, education, and consistent enforcement will get us much further than added
regulation.
Thank you for your service to the City and for taking the time to consider the perspective
of those of us who work in housing every day.
Sincerely,
Mike Moss
Comet Realty
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