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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/24/2026 Item 4a, Harn Lindsey Harn <soldbylindseyharn@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, February To:E-mail Council Website Subject:Opposition to Proposed Rental Registry Hello, and thank you for your continued service to our community. I strongly support the shared objective of ensuring safe, quality housing for the many residents who rent their homes. It is precisely because of that common goal that I respectfully oppose the proposed Rental Registry. After carefully reviewing the Staff Report, I remain concerned that the registry would not effectively address the root problems it seeks to solve. In my view, a Rental Registry would:  Add another layer of bureaucracy and expense at a time when the City is already navigating fiscal constraints.  Shift the cost of administering that system onto housing providers.  Do little to correct unsafe living conditions, since the most serious violations typically stem from poorly managed properties that are least likely to comply with new requirements.  Impose additional burdens on responsible rental owners who already maintain safe, well- managed properties. If the true objective is safer housing for renters, the City already possesses enforcement mechanisms — including business licensing requirements and established code enforcement authority — that can be strengthened and directed toward noncompliant operators without creating an entirely new administrative program. There is also reason for caution based on the experience of other cities, where rental registries have gradually expanded into forms of rent control, often described as “rent stabilization.” The broader impacts of rent control policies are well documented:  Strict rent control has been shown to reduce housing supply over time.  Even moderate stabilization policies can distort market dynamics.  Expanding overall housing supply remains the most widely supported long-term solution to affordability challenges. Policies designed to protect renters should avoid unintended consequences that may reduce investment, discourage new construction, or shift costs elsewhere in the housing system. For these reasons, I respectfully encourage the Council to prioritize targeted enforcement and strategies that expand housing production, rather than adopting a broad registry that may not resolve the underlying concerns. 1 Thank you again for your time and thoughtful consideration. __ Lindsey Harn To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture REALTOR®, Certified Divorce Real Estate Expert from the Internet. License: 01 868098 O: 805.441.7744 soldbylindseyharn@gmail.com To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. lindseyharngroup.com To To To help help help protprotprot ect ect ect your your your privaprivapriva cy, cy, cy, 2