Judge upholds Pasadena’s first rent control measure

For Pasadena, a rent control measure that survived a court challenge is a done deal.

A legal challenge seeking to block Measure H, a citizen-led housing initiative, was all but defeated, though some provisions didn’t survive a judge’s scrutiny, the Pasadena Star-News reported.

“It’s a huge relief to have this behind us,” Liberty McCoy, a board member of Tenant and Affordable Pasadena, a backer of Measure H, said in a statement after the ruling.

The charter amendment approved by Pasadena voters last November set up a rental housing board to oversee rent control, just-cause evictions, relocation assistance and more.

The California Apartment Association then sued Pasadena, arguing the city’s first rent control measure was unconstitutional.

The landlord group said it substantially revises rather than amends the city’s charter.

It also said it illegally restricts people owning rental property from serving on the city’s rental board, violates the equal protection clause and preempts the state’s Costa-Hawkins Act, which already restricts rent control in California.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel disagreed, saying the measure didn’t violate a key provision of the California Constitution, which governs a city’s revision of its charter.

“On a quantitative and qualitative basis, Measure H does not fundamentally alter the Pasadena City Charter or the basic structure of city government in Pasadena,” Strobel said in her ruling.

Strobel did find that two provisions in Measure H — regarding the timing required to give tenants notice — conflicted with state law. 

As a result, a clause that would have ensured residents receive six months written notice before they can be evicted from the owner or a relative moving into the property was removed. 

A provision entitling residents to a minimum of 180 days notice before a landlord can remove a property from the rental market was also removed.

“While we are disappointed in the majority of the ruling, we are pleased that the judge recognized that the provisions of the measure which altered state-law noticing time frames are preempted,” Mike Nemeth, spokesman for the California Apartment Association, told the Star-News in an email. 

“This is a step in the right direction, but it does not go far enough to address what we believe are serious legal flaws with Measure H.”

Nemeth said the apartment association is reviewing its options to appeal.

The City Council plans to nominate rental board members by April 13, then vote on them the following week. 

— Dana Bartholomew