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From: Matt Sridhar [matt@sridharequities.com]To: Tony Daysog [tdaysog@alamedaca.gov], Jim Oddie [joddie@alamedaca.gov], Frank Matarrese

[fmatarrese@alamedaca.gov], Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft [mezzyashcraft@alamedaca.gov], Trish Spencer[tspencer@alamedaca.gov]

Subject: Rent Control in Alameda - RidiculousCreated: 04-Nov-2015 22:02:28 UTC-08:00Delivered: 04-Nov-2015 22:02:28 UTC-08:00Stored: 05-Nov-2015 22:41:55 UTC-08:00Tags:Status: readBox Type: receivedFolder: Tony Daysog > InboxMessage Id: 5576a535a1f97441b98dfc0dce60dd3300000000010d#5576a535a1f97441b98dfc0dce60dd330000ab815535Attachments: TEXT.htm [Save] [Open]

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Dear Mayor and City Council Members: I am a larger property owner in town. We own well over 500 residential units in CA (much of it in

Northern CA) and a substantial amount of commercial real estate. We have a solid reputation of

renovating projects and improving the neighborhood. We specialize in turning around dilapidated

properties. Our projects typically include complete interior and exterior renovation. We recently

purchased 33 units at 470 Central Ave and have plans to complete a large scale, modern

renovation. Every project we do improves the lives and quality of our residents. I have personally

assisted and helped a number of tenants in our city (including paying for one tenants

kidney dialysis because he was uninsured). I also own property in “tenant-friendly” jurisdictions like San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles,

and as such, have a substantial amount of experience in rent-controlled jurisdictions. I am

surprised and disappointed that Alameda would entertain this politically-motivated and reactionary

agenda that simply interferes with free market enterprise and creates substantial government

bureaucracy. I will tell you with certainty that if you pass rent control, I will SELL my

property in Alameda and move on to improve another town. All the political opinions and dogma aside, it is undisputed that 95% of our nations top economicminds do not support rent control. I suggest you simply take a short drive from San Leandro intoOakland (non-rent controlled to rent-control). You will see property dilapidation and the effects ofrent-control. Is this what you want for our city? I don’t think people understand the non-sense thatcomes with this type of regulation. Please allow me to outline just a few inevitable outcomes: 1) Emergence of Legal Blackmail / Overcrowding of Courts - Non–profit andsupposed not-for-profit firms like EDC (Oakland) and BASTA (Los Angeles) will appear andencourage tenants to demand JURY TRIALS for every simple eviction case. They will file motionafter motion to delay evictions for months and then “shake down” landlords for $10,000 - $15,000to move out. Typical provisions in their settlement stipulations are agreements to seal the evictionrecord, waive all back rent, provide good/neutral references, and return security deposit. Landlordsare forced to settle due to the high cost of litigation. And bad tenants are rewarded for theirbehavior with free rent, a windfall of cash, and the unfettered ability (with a sealed record) to takeadvantage of the next unsuspecting landlord. While this is something I can afford to fight and doso regularly, what will the “mom and pop” and retired owners do? Do you know that 80% ofresidential rental property in Oakland is owned by “mom and pops” who own maybe 1 or 2 littleproperties? The City of Oakland is too stupid to realize who they are hurting. The larger

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landlords will lawyer up and the smaller landlords will suffer. Minor eviction cases that should takea 1/2 hour of a judge’s time will now take months and clog up our court system. Owners will thenbecome reluctant to “take a chance” on prospective tenants with less than perfect credit.Rent control hurts the many people it professes to protect. 2) Reduction in Rental Property Stock – Recently I had to evict some tenants in a building inLos Angeles, CA. So after the tenants left, I was considering renovating the property andsubsequently re-renting. But Los Angeles rent control is so onerous, that I decided to demolish theproperty altogether and build for-sale product that would now be outside of rent control (CostaHawkins). Now there are 9 fewer rental units in the city. This is a city-wide epidemic in LosAngeles and San Francisco; both cities are LOSING rental stock at an alarming rate. If you’reconsidering rent control in Alameda, get ready to lose units and get ready for Ellis Actevictions. 3) Empowerment of the Bureaucrats – Get ready to beef up your code enforcement and rentboard staff. You will need to increase your staff up to 10-fold to deal with the deluge of complaints,allegations, questions, etc that will follow as a result of these policies. All the money we spendon this bureaucracy could be spent helping the homeless. PLEASE ADDRESS THE REAL PROBLEM; DEAL WITH THE ENTITLEMENT PROCESS INALAMEDA The only way to address affordable housing is to deal with the zoning and planning policies ofAlameda. We need to increase density so that multifamily development can become a financialreality. Right now, the only substantial multifamily developments occurring are Class A apartmentsand condo projects. The onerous entitlement process combined with all the off-site anddevelopment costs imposed by the city are HINDERING affordable housing. Lets solve the real problem and stop the political bantering. Telling the workforce “that your rent isnot going up” is a great way to garner votes, but horrible for the city in the long term. Cities withthe strictest rent control laws (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco) have the some of the highest rates of rental stock attrition and tend to be the most bureaucratic and saddled withpoorly-maintained units. Rent control may seem interesting now, given the rents are very high. Butrents will eventually go back down (they always do); and when they do, you’ll be STUCK WITHRENT CONTROL. Lets not forget the obvious : San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles have some of the mostunaffordable rents in the country. Rent control is NOT WORKING. Listen to our country’s topiceconomists; don’t listen to me. I will just sell my Alameda inventory and re-invest in other areas of

California. Thanks, Matt ------------------------------------------------ Matt Sridhar Chief Executive Officer Sridhar Equities 1777 Saratoga Ave # 209 San Jose, CA 95129 phone: (408)725-9500 fax: (408)725-9503 website: http://www.sridharequities.com email: matt@sridharequities.com