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DOWDALL LAW OFFICES A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION ATTO R N EYS AT LAW City Council of the City of Santa Ana City of Santa Ana September 16, 2021 Page 6 Currently, the CPI is running at a rate of approximately 5.4%. Actual inflation is approximately 8 to 10%. Empirical evidence is not necessary to backup this commonly understood fact. Just look at your grocery bill. Rent control results in an increase in mobilehome housing costs. Reliable studies from the Lusk Center at the University of Southern California (discussed below) show there is a nearly 20% increase in housing cost in rigorously rent controlled areas. What this ordinance will do, as they always do, is to result in more expensive housing in rent controlled areas for first- time homeowners. Rent control is antithetical to the notion of protecting affordable housing. The ordinance proclaims a disparity in "bargaining power." This is pure myth. In the beginning, it is the consumer that had 100% of the bargaining power. In the beginning of the industry at infancy, tenants had all the bargaining power. Parks were empty. Mobilehome parks were vast expanses of open land. Lonely pedestals stood aside the lots. No homes, just vacant space, driveway and utility connections. Mobilehome buyers could demand leases, security, tenancy protection, rights, privileges and entitlements when they decided to buy, install a home, and live in a park. Customer Was King: Before homes are sited, customer is king. In the 1970's tenants had superior economic clout. Owners were desperate for new tenants. Leasing for long term protection, or, no deal? Yes. Tenants had immense power to control the transaction. Or the park stayed empty. The economic conditions secured by the residence today are protected by the ever increasingly complex Mobilehome Residency Law. Essentially, a tenancy is a life estate, which is survived by the heirs who may continue to control the mobile home space, put in new housing, and sell at will, in perpetuity. To make any claim that tenants have inferior bargaining power is pure farce. In the same vein, the claim that evictions pose health risks for residents is of no moment. The city currently sits with $42 million of unspent money. The state has guaranteed 100% reimbursement of past due rent. There is no imminent threat of any eviction; there is no threat of any increase in homelessness. The city has within its powers, this moment, the ability to ameliorate any of the difficulties posed by nonpayment of rent. Therefore, whether or not there are health risks is to ask the question whether or not the city is doing all it can to utilize the tools given to it to take care of the needy. This is not a function of the private enterprise. Housing opportunity is for those who can pay a prevailing and fair rent. Park owners are not subsidized to take care of the public sector. The city claims that the consumer pricing represents an accepted measure of general change. The CPI is nowhere close to an accurate reflection of the inflation suffered by mobilehome park owners today.