Letter -- Braulio Montesino

As a homeowner in Burbank, I am distressed to see the recent spate of

letters demanding rent control in Burbank.

As a former renter, I can understand the frustration involved when a

tenant is suddenly faced with a demand for increased rent from a

landlord. However, it strikes me that rent control is a poor solution to

the problem of increased rents.

The long-range answer is, of course, to increase the inventory of

available rental units, and as Will Rogers pointed out in his column,

rent control is bound to lead to a reduction in available rental units.

The unavailability of reasonably priced rental units is a societal

problem that needs to be solved on a societal basis.

To me, it seems unfair to require the individual property owner to

directly subsidize the availability of housing at an artificially low

level.

If the city of Burbank believes that long-term residents of the city

should not be priced out of the city, then the city should subsidize rent

payments for the individuals whom it seeks to help.

Those who would balk at the idea of the city paying out large sums of

money to subsidize housing should think twice about imposing that same

financial loss on the individuals who own rental property in the city.

BRAULIO MONTESINO

Burbank