Along with voting on bills that include rent control caps and new protections for renters, one of the preferred side hustles for California legislators is collecting rent from tenants.
At least 30 lawmakers — or 25 percent of the 120-member Legislature — own properties that generate income from renters, according to a CALmatters report. Many of those representatives rent out multiple homes, and receive at tens of thousands of dollars per year, the report showed.
That list includes Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, whose 63rd District includes Southeast Los Angeles. He collected $40,000 in rental income last year with his wife, the report showed. The couple had four properties, including a condominium in Downtown L.A. Others landlord lawmakers include Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, in L.A., who collected $20,000; Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia in Bell Gardens, who took in $61,000; and Assemblyman Christopher Holden in Pasadena, who received $11,000, the report showed.
Six of the 25 are members of the Housing and Community Development Committee, and all will vote on bills to expand tenant rights and rent control measures, including the “just cause” eviction proposal that previously failed in the Assembly, with just 16 votes.
This year legislators will also consider a “rent-gouging” cap on allowable rent increases, and a bill that would allow cities to apply rent control on single-family homes and apartments built after 1995. [CALmatters] — Gregory Cornfield