Landlords Charged With Voter Intimidation With Rent Increase Threats to Tenants if Prop 10 Passes

A Los Angeles-area landlord is telling tenants that the company will cancel a new rent increase if a California rent control ballot measure fails in November, according to a letter obtained by a tenants activist.

The letter, from Rampart Property Management, informs tenants of an apartment complex that their rents are increasing and cites Proposition 10, an initiative that would allow cities and counties to expand rent control, as the cause.

Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival, said a tenant of a complex in Hollywood brought the letter Wednesday night to one of the twice-weekly tenants’ rights clinics his organization holds. The tenant’s current rent, Gross said, is $1,550 and is scheduled to increase to $2,250 on Nov. 1.

Rampart Properties Management, which owns housing across Los Angeles County, is essentially blackmailing them into voting no on Proposition 10, the statewide ballot measure that will empower local communities to limit skyrocketing rents and address housing affordability.

Gross condemned the letter as attempting to influence tenants to vote against their self-interest.

“We see it as voter intimidation and extortion,” Gross said.

CES has contacted attorneys to explore the possibility of taking legal action if this is a violation of the law.

Both the Los Angeles Times and KCRW Radio have reported on CES’ allegations.