Opinion: Rental ‘junk fee’ ordinance is a solution in search of a problem

A for rent sign Photo courtesy of Southern California Rental Housing Association Nearly half of San Diegans rent their homes and every one of them is feeling the pressure of rising costs From groceries to utilities to insurance everything is getting more expensive This is exactly why it s so frustrating to watch our local governments focus on problems that don t exist while ignoring the ones that do The latest example is the city and county of San Diego s proposed junk fee ordinance Our elected leaders claim they re helping renters by cracking down on hidden or excessive rental fees But instead of using statistics or documenting a real matter in the realm the ordinance would micro-manage how housing providers can charge for basic services like pest control and trash collection On paper the joint ordinance promises transparency In reality it adds another layer of red tape making it even harder to provide housing Furthermore the proposal wouldn t change the bottom line As is fair renters must pay for the cost of services that they use or benefit from either as pass-through fees or in the form of higher rent Meanwhile the real financial pressures facing renters are being ignored City water rates are going up over the next two years Trash collection and sewer fees are going up too Insurance costs have spiked And now due to federal funding cuts thousands of San Diego families may see their housing vouchers reduced That means they may have to pay significantly more toward rent up to of their income None of this has anything to do with landlords But somehow landlords continue to be the political punching bag And the bulk essential fact is this there is no evidence that rental junk fees are happening in San Diego Neither the city nor the county has presented any evidence showing widespread abuse Instead we have politicians searching for a issue they can solve but it s meaningless The junk fee proposal also conflicts with existing laws California already bans hidden fees through Senate Bill and it already limits screening and application costs under Assembly Bill To make things even more confusing the city and county can t agree on what should be allowed one wants to permit trash pass-through charges the other wants to ban them Housing providers are already struggling to keep up Between San Diego Chula Vista and Imperial Beach the Southern California Rental Housing Association now tracks separate compliance forms just to help rental operators stay within the law Think red tape doesn t matter A latest MetroSight research confirms what those housing providers have long mentioned overregulation drives up rents especially for lower-income renters and those living in small multifamily buildings In the San Diego region overlapping rules have added as much as per unit per year in costs At a time when the cost of living keeps rising San Diego should be laser-focused on solutions that authentically lower housing costs Why aren t our elected officers focusing on laws that could really make a difference They could fund more rental assistance to make up for cuts at the federal level They could push bill to make it easier to build more homes They could advocate for revision in out-of-control insurance costs that drive up the cost of housing None of that is happening Instead the city and county are debating more regulation that means nothing because it won t house a single person Alan Pentico is the executive director of the Southern California Rental Housing Association