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Tenants and organizers press council for rent control and anti‑harassment protections
Summary
Multiple ACE speakers and longtime residents urged National City's council to adopt rent-control measures and tenant anti-harassment ordinances, citing rising rents, abusive property management, and an ongoing Brown Act lawsuit about prior property decisions.
Speakers from ACE (the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment) and longtime residents used the public-comment period to press the council for tenant protections including rent control and anti‑harassment ordinances.
Donna Lopez Landers, who identified herself as a member of ACE and a National City resident, said housing has become unaffordable for students and workers and called for rent-control measures. Other ACE members described repeated rent increases, threats and what they characterized as retaliatory behavior by property managers at complexes such as Kimball Towers and Summercrest Apartments. One resident said management had called police to interfere with assemblies of residents and that a family member had acquired a criminal record as a result of management actions.
Several commenters said they are organizing to demand a legal framework to protect tenants' rights and to compel property managers to provide itemized billing and fair process for repairs and charges. Arnel Andres and Percy Wilford described long-term tenancy and said organizing efforts had been met with intimidation, adding that anti‑harassment protections would force landlords and managers to respond more promptly to tenants' concerns.
Council members acknowledged many speakers were from the same districts and said they would reach out to constituents. No ordinance vote occurred at this meeting; speakers urged the council to accelerate work on tenant protections and requested clearer timelines and enforcement plans.
