2006 City Council Election/Questions to candidates/Q4

Question 4. of the 2006 City Council Questions to Candidates

Are you a renter or property owner, and if you are a property owner, do you rent your property out?

• Rob Roy: I rent and I want to increase awareness of renter's rights. People should know that they can get an interest return on their deposits. I also worry about the phenomenon where no one is happy about the landlord's behavior when they move out. If you leave the apartment clean then you should get your cleaning deposit down. How come I hear so many complaints about this? The council needs to serve all of Davis and not merely the landlord's. After all, there are more tenants than landlords.
• Michael Levy: I own a house that I live in. I have no rental properties. Before I owned a house, I rented an apartment.
• Ruth Asmundson: I am a home owner who lives in the property I own. I have investments in few rental properties as a limited partner but have no direct management of the properties.
• Stan Forbes: I rent.
• Lamar Heystek: I am a renter. A major plank of my platform is renters' rights. As Council Member, I will propose a Renters' Bill of Rights in order to:
• Stabilize rents by diversifying ownership of the rental housing stock.
• Ensure that landlords follow the law by hiring additional code compliance officers to monitor their competence.
• Guarantee the prompt return of your security deposit with interest by prohibiting landlords from forcing prospective tenants to waive this right
• Protect your freedom of speech by legalizing the display of political signs and messages inside the windows of rental units.
• Provide opportunities for renters to become homeowners by approving the construction of affordable market-rate housing such as townhouses and condominiums.