Landlords And Tenants Need To Partner Up

Chula Vista is on the verge of enacting a stronger landlord-tenant ordinance than California’s 2019 Tenant Protection Act, which tries to strike the delicate balance of protecting good tenants from eviction and allowing landlords to evict bad tenants.

The relationship between landlords and tenants gets a bad rap. Most see it as adversarial, pitting landlords and tenants against each other, and blaming each other when problems arise, but it really is a partnership. Landlords provide housing and tenants provide a means of income to the landlords.

In a partnership relationship, both parties work closely together to ensure that everything they do will benefit both parties. It’s a relationship of trust that each action that each party takes is for the benefit of both. And when problems arise, landlords and tenants need to solve them by acknowledging their mistakes and finding solutions together.

Chula Vista’s proposed ordinance recognizes this partnership and states that landlords and tenants “should treat each other with respect, listen to each other, and make good faith efforts to informally resolve issues."

The city’s ordinance also advocates for landlords and tenants to try to solve their disputes through voluntary alternative dispute resolution programs, many of which are offered for free through the San Diego County Superior Court. Click www.sdcourt.ca.gov/sdcourt/civil2/adr2 to be directed to the court’s free mediation services.

And if landlords and tenants can't resolve their disputes amicably, Chula Vista's new ordinance has potentially painful consequences. Tenants can lose their home and face homelessness. Landlords can face civil penalties from the city and tenants.

These are situations where there are no winners unless landlords and tenants work together to resolve their disputes.

To read more about developments in enacting Chula Vista’s ordinance, follow www.sandiegouniontribune.com.