HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/24/2026 Item 4a, Wahouske
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To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:February 24 Study Session on Rental Registries
Dear Mayor, Councilmembers, and Staff:
Thank you for making renter protections a part of our Major City Goals, and for your commitment to
ensuring safe and stable housing for every resident of our City. I sincerely appreciate the time and effort
staff have put into engaging with stakeholders and preparing the comprehensive report accompanying
the agenda for this Tuesday's study session.
As a renter, I can say firsthand that renting within San Luis Obispo is not easy on many levels, and I know
this sentiment is shared by most of the other renters I know. Me and my wife moved here 3 years ago to
study and volunteer at hospice, and since then we fell in love with the city and community, and have
decided to call this place home; our daughter was born here 2 years ago, and my wife will give birth to our
son this June. We would love to be able to stay in this community and build our lives and our kids' lives
here. The reality of renting here is that this never feels stable, and we have to always wonder if we're
going to get priced out and have to move somewhere else not based on our own choice, but because of a
landlord's.
Unfortunately the landlord in our last unit died while we were there, and his son's who inherited it told us
they were going to sell it, so we needed to move out at some point. Luckily, we didn't have a strict time-
frame, and they just told us to get out when we could. We found some place not too far away that was
suitable for us. But since we were close enough to the old place, and occasionally walked by, we came
across the next person living there, and started talking, saying we used to live here. It turns out, the
landlords had never actually sold the place, and this was the new tenant who was renting there. This was
well after everything was said and done, so we didn't see much recourse in doing anything about it. But
this just proves a case where there is no accountability for what landlords can do, and a method of how
they can beleaguer tenants into moving out so that they can raise the rent.
A rental registry would be just the tool that would give landlords, local government, and tenants alike
more oversight into what is happening in the rental market, and also give more agency and accountability
to everyone involved. Situations like ours could be tracked and noted if properties aren't sold, or
landlord's don't follow through on their "no-fault" eviction reasons. A rental registry is desperately
needed in SLO, as we are a community that due to its geographical and municipal nature leaves tenants
with little power or agency in the matters that affect their lives.
Please help us renters and members of the community in making the rental registry a reality.
Respectfully,
Cole Wahouske
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