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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/24/2026 Item 4a, Lewis Donna Lewis < To:E-mail Council Website Cc:Donna Lewis Subject:Rental Registry Study Session Council Members, Thank you for hosting the study session on the Rental Registry the other night and sorry I had to cut out early. Much appreciation goes out to you all for these crazy late night meetings…I don’t know how you all do it! To be clear, I am not against a Rental Registry and frankly think it’s a great idea. But I also believe it’s a nice to have, not a need to have at the expense of other work programs currently prioritized. As I’ve shared very recently, the BMR program is NOT working well or at all in some cases (think The Nine SLO where 6 of 9 units were lost to affordability and 2 resales which have taken more than a year to sell, with one not yet sold). I won’t get into all the changes that need to occur there, but they are changes that we’ve been discussing for years now - literally, and the Housing team knows need to be made (a complete overhaul frankly). Staff simply hasn’t had the bandwidth to address these needed changes. So to have an entirely new effort dropped into Staff’s lap, further tapping resources and creating additional expense, seems irresponsible without addressing disfunctions within programs equally as important which are currently in place. When I know how poorly the BMR program is running, I have no faith at all that staff in any reasonable timeframe will have the bandwidth to execute the vision Council may have around a Rental Registry. I share many of the concerns expressed during public comment including - Adding expense which feels fiscally irresponsible  $10-$50k in up front software costs  3 additional staff members  $100’s of thousands of dollars when its all said and done for just this one program Compliance Concerns  Business License program isn’t capturing all rental properties currently and doesn’t receive full compliance although it’s mandatory; and presumably there is a database that already exists to compile the information provided. Why would we think a Rental Registry would capture any more information and why not improve upon the program in place, making it’s database more robust with additional outreach efforts?  Enforcement for code violations now occurs based on staff looking at County records so why is it immediately necessary to create an entirely different database which would presumably help support contacting landlords out of compliance? Expense for Landlord = Increased Cost for Tenants 1  Increased cost for landlord means increased cost for tenants, increasing cost of housing having unintended consequence. Impact to other work within Community Development Department  To put off any further work to get the BMR program in meaningful shape would be irresponsible and Affordable Housing an equally important goal within the City’s Major City Goals. Concerns of Tenants & Council would not be addressed by a registry which was clearly articulated by Timmi Tway, Community Development Director – it will simple provide data which could be accessed in less expensive and alternative ways  Affordability  Expanding ladder of housing  Health & Safety  Renter Protections Generally  Rent Control Far Less Expensive ways to achieve data collection  Have all properties without owner exemption (SLO County) dumped into a database which is nd mined to determine if the property is a rental or 2 home; this could be updated annually nd  Subsequently survey all 2 home/non-owner occupied properties for data collection  Have Realtors, Property Managers and Appraisers provide data regarding rentals in City of SLO annually  Realtors have multiple tools to generate information about rental comparables, numbers of rentals in the City, size of each rental, etc. Good Landlords vs. Bad Landlords  Good Actors will comply, provide information, and maintain their properties; Bad Actors will not provide data even if required to do so, much like is the case now with obtaining Business Licenses. Without full adoption, what is the point when data can be gathered in other ways? Housing Element approaching  Could this be more fully considered within that work so as to not push aside other important work currently on staff’s plate In Summary, I appreciated Timmi Tway’s question related to understanding the goal given the work load diversion and cost associated with a Rental Registry which will simply aggregate data that can be accessed in other ways. A Rental Registry WILL NOT solve for all the concerns shared by tenants and other community members and would simply be a database which requires significant investment, and significant ongoing expense to maintain. I would strongly encourage you to consider the important work programs in the cue, including revamping the BMR program which is desperately needed and supports Affordable Housing – A RENTAL REGISTRY FOR THE SAKE OF DATA IS NOT MORE IMPORTANT THAN THIS. I would encourage the use of existing enforcement tools and perhaps the expansion of the ways in which enforcement is reported and is addressed. I would encourage a more robust business license database with data collection to supplement information which already exists through the business license program. Those that comply with the requirement to obtain a business license are your low hanging fruit and will likely voluntarily comply with a request for more detailed information about their property. Lastly, CA is a state with strong tenant protections and the City does a good job of providing information on all on it’s website. Perhaps a mechanism can be put in place on the City’s site to allow 2 tenants to report what they deem to be code violations (much like Ask SLO) so that Code Enforcement can work through these items reported, reconcile the address reported with those in the Business License database (if no license, then fine the property owner for that and any other code violations that may exist), and then continue to build upon information gathered as well as build on Code Enforcement for violations reported. I really appreciate your evaluating the concept, but very strongly discourage putting the cart before the horse. A Rental Registry as stated is a nice to have, not need to have, and deferring other important work to push forward with something that creates work program diversions and significant additional expense feels irresponsible. Respectfully, Donna Lewis Resident at 1134 Marsh Street Lender, Affordable Housing Advocate, and Property Owner with Business Licenses for each who would VOLUNTARILY offer up any information you’d like about our rental properties BEWARE OF CYBER-FRAUD Before wiring any funds, call the intended recipient at a number you know is valid to confirm the instructions - and be very wary of any request to change wire instructions you already received, a Guaranteed Rate employee will never provide nor confirm wire instructions. Donna Lewis NMLS# 245945 Branch Manager/SVP of Mortgage Lending 1065 Higuera St. Email Me (805) 235-0463 Suite 100 Visit My Website San Luis Obispo, CA (805) 335-8743 93401 Mobile App | Agent Advantage Equal Housing Lender | © 2026 Guaranteed Rate, Inc. 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