Is the third time the charm for a statewide rental registry?

After the idea has been repeatedly defeated, some lawmakers just won't take no as an answer.

One thing we’ve learned about tenants’ advocates is that they are a resilient bunch. When there are efforts to erode owner rights and they fail, the operative strategy is to try, try again. We’ve seen this time and time again with the movement for statewide rent and eviction controls and the attempts to repeal Costa Hawkins.

We can draw a parallel now with the movement for a statewide rent registry.

Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks has been the chief proponent of bringing many aspects of a landlord’s business into the light of day. She is joined by Assemblyman Ash Karla in introducing AB 1188, a law that would compel rental housing providers with five or more dwellings to register their properties with the government.

Big brother would gather information on the location of the rental property, its ownership, and its occupancy. This is the third such attempt to force landlords to volunteer reams of information about their business.

We have joined our industry partners in opposing the bill for a host of reasons which include privacy concerns, exorbitant costs, and the difficulty of implementing such a large-scale program from an IT standpoint.

Our arguments against a rent registry were not persuasive in San Francisco

The City has put the wheels in motion to institute a vast rent registry designed to “more vigorously enforce rent control and eviction protections by requiring landlords to report information about their rental units annually to the Rent Board,” in the words of now-retired Supervisor Sandra Fewer.

If there is any good news for San Francisco landlords, the books do not have to be peeled back just yet, as the law will take effect far flung in the future. For more, visit our earlier article.

Not to be outdone, other lawmakers introduce AB 1199

Owners of 10 or more multifamily or single-family rental properties would be obligated to pay an annual excise tax. This tax would be pegged to the gross receipts of the rental income.

The proposal would further require limited liability companies or limited partnerships that own rental properties to report detailed information about their properties each year to the Secretary of State’s Office. That office will be tasked to create a searchable database for the rest of the world to see.

We’ve said in many venues that lawmakers have had a deep distrust of entities other than a “natural individual.” This is apparent in the statewide rent and eviction controls of AB 1482 as well as rules that level the playing field for buyers of foreclosed properties.

So-called “institutional investors” do not have many friends.