Editor:
The rent board fails to see that the emperor has no clothes.
The sole reason for Ellis evictions is harsh rent control.
Over 7000 apartments in Santa Monica still have rents based on the year 1978.
These are often large units, occupied by one (often wealthy) person who will never move (which is a sad waste of housing that a large family could move into).
Many people forget that before Ellis, the City was losing thousands of rental units per year.
Ellis was passed to dissuade owners from going out of business.
However, rent control rents are so low compared to economic reality, that Ellis will no longer deter going out of business.
Simply allowing fair rent adjustments of these historically low rent apartments would incentivize owners to stay in the rental business.
But the rent board would rather stick its head in the sand.
Thomas A Nitti
Santa Monica
