Orange County Legislative Watch — NAA Advocate Made You Feel…Not Alone

By ChiP ahlswede

Looking at the breadth of issues we face in the multifamily housing industry here in California can be daunting. This year alone there are proposals at both the local and statewide levels seeking to – • Declare housing a human right – effectively socializing all property • Define renter’s debt as consumer debt – making it possible for judicial discharge • Mandate installation of electric vehicle charging stations in multifamily properties • Ban credit checks from being used in a rental application

Those, of course, join our old friends: • Instituting a statewide rental registry • Banning the box for felons on rental applications • Further eviction protections for domestic abusers

When you look at these proposals, it is easy to sit back and ask, “Why would anyone want to be involved in this industry in this state?”

Then you hear about policies like those in Texas, Florida, and other states where it seems one is able to remove problematic tenants from their communities with the speed and efficiency of an ejector seat in a James Bond movie.

Maybe instead of Aston Martin, for us it’s really Austin Martin. I know — Dad joke.

I know in my role with the association I have come across that feeling — often.

But it turns out we are not alone. Not by a long shot.

The National Apartment Association (NAA) held its “Advocate!” conference in Washington, D.C. in March — bringing together industry leaders from around the country. One of the meetings featured an extensive discussion on the housing policies we are all facing. The idea behind this was if we can share and troubleshoot the issues and tactics, we can defeat the policies nationwide.

I kind of anticipated that our colleagues from San Diego, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, the Bay Area and other areas would be the lead villain of this horror story.

“Back in St. Louis, we are talking about rent control — thanks to our friends from Minnesota.”

“I’d like for us to discuss this notion of “housing as a right,” chimed in a colleague from Buffalo.

“Outlawing security deposits is becoming an issue for us,” one Texan threw out there.

“Mandatory EV charging stations and set aside parking spaces”

“Forbidding evictions”

“Tenant first right of purchase with 180-day refusal period”

Tacoma…Phoenix…Nashville… Atlanta…Port Lucie…Boston…you name it.

Discussions covered tactics to defeat these issues, legislative coalitions behind these efforts, origins of the issue — and the groups promoting the policies in each area. We heard about studies to counter the arguments, polling strategies to find messaging, and even how to coach our colleagues and elected officials on how to fight the pressures to pass these issues. The interaction was amazing.

The collective knowledge of how to respond to these issues was immense – and seeing the sharing occur between regions helped clarify the one thing we all needed to have reaffirmed.

We are not alone.

What’s more, NAA has responded with a series of resources, programs, and tools for us to meet these needs. Everything you can imagine including: • Leadership training • Outreach support • Campaign assistance • Policy briefings • Polling support • Fundraising training and programs

All to help us become even more effective in fighting these common issues that affect us all.

Just knowing that we have that level of support has really shaped my opinion about the value of our involvement in NAA.

One final thought for you — NAA’s national conference and expo is com-