RENT HIKES MAY SOON BE MEDIATED CITY COUNCIL COULD INVOKE NEW PROGRAM BY DECEMBER.Byline: Helen Gao Staff Writer GLENDALE - Under a proposed rent mediation mediation, in law, type of intervention in which the disputing parties accept the offer of a third party to recommend a solution for their controversy. Mediation has long been a part of international law, frequently involving the use of an international commission, program that could take effect as soon as December, landlords would be required to notify tenants of their right to appeal rent hikes and could be prosecuted for retaliating against renters who do so. Presented to the City Council on Tuesday night, the proposal is aimed at epidemic rent hikes and security-deposit increases that council members have heard many tenants, especially senior citizens, describe as reaching double-digit levels. ``I happen to believe there (are) just a few greedy greed·y adj. greed·i·er, greed·i·est 1. Excessively desirous of acquiring or possessing, especially wishing to possess more than what one needs or deserves. 2. landlords,'' said Councilman Dave Weaver
The Weavers are small passerine birds related to the finches. These are seed-eating birds with rounded conical bills, most of which breed in sub-Saharan Africa, with fewer species in tropical . ``Those are the ones I particularly want to reach.'' However, David Schultz There are a number of articles with the title Dave, or David Schultz:
``There are also many good landlords,'' he said. ``Many of them are elderly owners who have paid (the buildings) off.'' If adopted by the city, the program would allow a tenant to appeal a monthly rent increase of 10 percent or $75 to a mediation board. Tenants also could appeal if rent increases over a 12-month period totaled 10 percent. The increase would be automatically voided void·ed adj. Heraldry Having the central area cut out or left vacant, leaving an outline or narrow border: a voided lozenge. if a landlord failed to appear, without good cause, for the televised appeal hearing. Some landlords criticized the proposal as harsh. The council directed the city staff to research the possibility of private mediation away from the TV spotlight. ``Forcing disputing parties to go through bureaucratic bu·reau·crat n. 1. An official of a bureaucracy. 2. An official who is rigidly devoted to the details of administrative procedure. bu steps might be difficult for the parties as well as the city,'' said Councilman Rafi Manoukian Rafi Manoukian is a former member of the city council in Glendale, California. He was recently notified that he has been selected by the Board of Directors and the Selection Committee of the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) as a recipient of the 2006 Ellis Island . ``We have to do everything we can to resolve the cases before they come to the city.'' If private mediation did not work, the dispute would then revert re·vert v. 1. To return to a former condition, practice, subject, or belief. 2. To undergo genetic reversion. back to public mediation. The cost of administering the rent mediation program is estimated at $148,379 a year. Councilman Frank Quintero proposed that tenants who live in the city's 45,000 units of multifamily buildings be assessed a fee to fund the program. Councilman Bob Yousefian suggested that tenants and landlords who use the mediation service split the cost. The program is proposed for some increases that landlords already have charged. Council members could not agree on how far back to reach. The staff recommended that increases adopted on or after Sept. 25 be eligible for mediation. However, Weaver wants to extend the program as far back as April. Council members generally agreed there should be five members of the mediation board: two landlords, two tenants and a neutral person. The proposal is scheduled to return to the council for adoption Oct. 16. |
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