Mom and Pop Landlords in Santa Monica Hit with Rent Control While Mega-Corporations are Not

Santa Monica has some of the strictest rent control in the country. But did you know that the rent control in Santa Monica is selective? Some buildings in Santa Monica have rent control and some buildings do not.

It's interesting to note that the rent on the brand new buildings in Santa Monica is not controlled the same way that the rent on small mom and pop buildings is controlled.

For example: I live in a small mom and pop building which is strictly rent controlled. My friend used to live in a big newer building and it was not rent controlled. Older family owned buildings, mom and pop buildings with smaller numbers of units, are strictly rent controlled in Santa Monica. Brand new buildings are not subject to the same strict rent control rules.

The City of Santa Monica is making the smallest business owners subsidize the biggest share of the rent control burden.

Why?

Why should small mom and pop landlords subsidize more of the rent control burden than the newer buildings?

If the City of Santa Monica wants to demand that small mom and pop businesses comply with strict rent control rules they need to demand that big companies in Santa Monica comply with the exact same rent control rules.

And they're not.

Santa Monica's residents will benefit from an even playing field for small business owners and we'll benefit from buying properties instead of renting forever. We need more units for sale in Santa Monica.

We don't need more high-rises of studio apartments renting for four thousand dollars a month which are somehow not rent controlled even though Santa Monica forces rent control on mom and pop.