Rent Law Doesn’t Affect Most Homes

This is in regard to the rent control mania raging in Laguna Beach and the recent statements of a local real estate broker. Her discussion of how rent control affects income property has absolutely nothing to do with the ordinance passed by the Laguna Beach City Council.

The only rents involved in the ordinance were mobile-home park space rents--not income property rentals, not apartment rentals, not private home rentals, nor business or commercial rentals--just mobile home space rents.

Therefore, the arguments presented opposing rent control such as self-balancing cycles, loss of tax revenue, lack of appreciation, and property taking too long to sell do not apply to the issue at hand.

Misleading statements fan the fears of local property owners who are led to believe their homes are affected. This is simply not true. Unless you live in Treasure Island or one of the other trailer parks in Laguna, the ordinance passed by the City Council does not impact in any way, shape or form on your property.

It has to do with mobile-home park residents, who are homeowners and who pay real estate taxes, but unlike other homeowners, we also pay rent. We pay rent for the space our homes occupy and these rents have soared (100% and more) in the past few years. The space rent increases were unjustified, untenable and with no end in sight.

What the City Council did was prevent further disastrous increases by passing the protective ordinance. This is not “rent control”; this is mobile home park “space rent stabilization.” Please bear this in mind when you are called upon to vote on this issue.

GERTRUDE PELTZ, Laguna Beach