1. The Affordable Housing Act

2. What is the Affordable Housing Act, and what does it mean for manufactured homeowners?

3. The Affordable Housing Act A proposed ballot measure that will restore the right of local communities to set fair limits on rent increases on all types of homes in order to address the state’s housing affordability crisis by repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
Passed in 1995 by the state legislature, the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act is a loophole for corporate real estate that restricts local communities freedom to regulate housing costs in three ways:
Prohibits rent control on any single family rental unit or condo.
Prohibits rent control on any apartment built after 1995 or after the year rent control was passed in your city. That's why Los Angeles only has rent control on units built before '78. In San Francisco, it's 1979.
Eliminates vacancy control, which means landlords can raise the price of a unit to any amount after a rent-controlled tenant moves out
Slide content courtesy of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

4. What does the Affordable Housing Act mean for manufactured homeowners?
Manufactured home communities are not controlled by the Costa-Hawkins Act, however, the rising housing costs it creates across the state still impact our communities.
Corporate community owners compare lot rent rates in our communities to average prices of apartments or single family rentals. We know this isn’t an accurate comparison, but it is happening.
Many mh rent stabilization ordinances in CA rely on the CPI (consumer price index) to determine fair community owner profits, rising costs in other kinds of housing increase the CPI, in turn increasing allowable increases in mh communities.
Supporting the AHA gives manufactured homeowners the opportunity to be part of the affordable housing conversation, with the potential to bring additional attention to issues in our communities.
Supporting the AHA is the right thing to do, our communities and cities are stronger when all our neighbors, regardless of the kind of housing they live in, are able to afford their rent.

5. Discussion: take five minutes to talk about the following questions in a small group
How have housing prices impacted you over the past ten years?
How have housing prices impacted your friends and family?
Have you seen other side effects of rising housing costs in your manufactured home community or in the surrounding neighborhoods?

6. Who is against the Affordable Housing Act?
The California Apartment Association (CAA) and the California Association of Realtors (CAR) are fiercely opposed to the AHA
They pushed hard to pass Costa-Hawkins in 1995 and we expect they will spend over $100 million to stop us from repealing it
They argue that rent control will reduce the supply of housing, therefore worsening the crisis - they say “rent control does not work”
By decreasing the incentive for new housing development &
Increasing the incentive for landlords to take their properties off the market
They say mom & pop landlords will be hurt
The Affordable Housing Act will restore the right of local communities to protect families from skyrocketing rents
General Messaging formula:
Lead with shared values: Most of us want all Californians to live in a safe, healthy, affordable home; a California where all people can thrive - not just a state for the white and wealthy.
Offer villains and heroes: But while Wall Street landlords rent gouge working families and push entire communities onto the street - corporate politicians continue to prioritize unlimited landlord profits over family’s basic need for shelter. That’ everyday Californians are taking matters into their own hands by placing the Affordable Housing Act on the ballot.
Share the solution (impact not process): By restoring the right of local cities to protect tenants from skyrocketing rents with the Affordable Housing Act, we can make California affordable again - where all families can thrive.
Slide content courtesy of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

7. Discussion: take five minutes to talk about the following questions in a small group
What do you think about the arguments against the Affordable Housing Act used by corporate real estate investors and landlords?
What other arguments do you think could be used against the AHA?
How would you respond to opposition arguments?

8. Our response to opposition lies
LANDLORD LIE
RESPONSE
Rent control will make the housing crisis worse by limiting new construction, at a time when we need to be building more
Building more housing is important but slow - it will take years and will not help resolve today’s housing crisis. Families are being pushed out of their homes now, and we need our cities to have the ability to take immediate action to keep people in their homes today.
Repealing Costa Hawkins will hurt ‘mom and pop’ landlords
The State Constitution guarantees landlords a fair rate of return, or profit. Rent control doesn’t mean no rent increases, it allows for reasonable increases each year while protecting tenants from unfair and unexpected increases so Wall Street landlords can’t take advantage of us.
There are too many regulations on the housing market and it is limiting the market’s ability to develop housing at the levels of supply that are needed.
More and more, Californians are paying half of their income in rent, pushing them below the poverty line. Repealing Costa Hawkins will stabilize the housing market by reestablishing the right of local communities to address skyrocketing rents in the way that works best for them - in order to stabilize rents, keep families in their homes and bring relief to everyone
Slide content courtesy of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

9. Our Top Three Messages
Everyone should have a safe, healthy and affordable place to call home. 
Out of control housing costs, driven by corporate landlords and Big Real Estate, are causing more and more people to lose their homes --- and our politicians are letting them.
That’s why Californians are taking matters into our own hands, placing the Affordable Housing Act on the ballot. By restoring the right of local communities to protect all families from skyrocketing rents, we can make California affordable for all.
Slide content courtesy of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

10. What do we need to do to pass the Affordable Housing Act?
Educate your neighbors and community members
Write letters to the editor to your local newspapers explaining the AHA and why you support it.
Reach out to local elected officials, community organizations, and churches. Request a meeting to talk to them about the AHA and ask that they sign onto the list of endorsers.
Hold community forums in your manufactured home community and/or in the surrounding region. Invited local elected officials who support the AHA to be guest speakers. Invite members of your community with powerful stories to share their experiences struggling with housing costs
Help get out the vote in November
One of the most important things we can do is to remind supporters to vote, and to vote in support of the AHA. There will be lots of money put into advertisements telling people to vote against the AHA, so we need to use our people power to remind our supporters to vote for it.
Organize teams of supporters in your community who are interested in knocking on doors and making phone calls in September, October and November to “get out the vote” (GOTV).
Throughout the summer help register people to vote to ensure all of our supporters are able to vote for the AHA.

11. How do we combine advocacy for the AHA with other issues our community is concerned about?
Working to pass the Affordable Housing Act doesn’t have to distract from the other important issues your community is working to resolve
In fact, this advocacy can give your local group or HOA a larger microphone to talk about other issues you care about.
You can talk to the press, community groups, churches and elected officials about the Affordable Housing Act AND the other issues that impact your manufactured home community, and explain why and how they are related.
You can use advocacy around the AHA to expand the volunteer base of your HOA or local organization. Targeted fights like an election create many specific tasks and projects that need to be accomplished. These kinds of activities can help you grow your base of volunteers and get more people excited about what your local organization.

12. Great! How do we get started?
or call MHAction Organizer Mateo Rebecchi and tell him you want to make sure the Affordable Housing Act passes in November, he’ll help you make a plan to get started.
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