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# City’s rent board makes power move
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/citys-rent-board-makes-power-move/
- Published: 2004-01-10T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:30:01.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*Wants authority to set rates for part-timers if judge lifts ban on 3304*

The Santa Monica Rent Control Board on Thursday approved changes to a controversial housing law that had been suspended by a judge because it gave landlords too much power to set rental prices.

Regulation 3304 permits landlords to charge part-time tenants’ market-value rents. Rent board members agreed to amend the law so that it enables the board to set the new rent levels, based on a variety of factors.

“Even though they’ve adopted these amendments, we still have to wait for the judge to dissolve the injunction,” said rent board spokeswoman Tracy Condon.

Motions in the case will be heard Feb. 3.

When the law was initially passed in March, under pressure from landlord lobbying groups, many tenants worried it would be used unfairly by overzealous landlords. But filings, first predicted to pile in by the thousands, never totaled 200.

At least not before the law was put on hold last year. Santa Monica Superior Court Judge James Bascue stayed the law in November because it enabled landlords to determine the rental rates for part-time tenants.

The lawsuit against 3304 was levied by real estate investor Robert Bisno, who owns a home in an exclusive enclave in Beverly Hills, but also keeps a rent-controlled beachside apartment in the Shores apartment towers in Santa Monica, according to City Hall documents.

With rent control, Bisno pays just over $1,000 for his two-bedroom apartment. Similar units command nearly $5,000 on the open market.

Allan Abshez, Bisno’s attorney, had criticized the board for supporting the law, countering that it doesn’t promote affordable housing and may even be illegal because it hasn’t been approved by voters.

Under the changes approved Thursday, the rent board will set the new rent level using one of two methods. If the rent of similar units in the same complex were raised in the past three years, the average of those increases will be used. If not, the rental increase will be based on the market-rate rent charged for comparable apartments nearby, with flexibility for amenities. Either side can appeal the amount to the board and no increase is activated until the board rules.

Only two renters spoke on the matter before the board on Thursday night. One questioned the legal approach the board used and suggested instead the board set median rent levels for each section of Santa Monica that could be presumed accurate unless appealed.

Meanwhile, Dennis Doyle, a resident since 1978, voiced concerns that tenants who take extended leaves of absence — to serve in the military, go on sabbatical or simply take a long business trip — may be served unfairly by their landlords with notices under 3304.

Doyle added that previous news accounts printed in the Daily Press left him confused about how exactly the law works. Board members stressed that every accommodation was taken to protect renters.

Condon said Friday that a copy of 3304 was mailed out to every renter in Santa Monica earlier last year and asked residents who still have questions to call, e-mail or simply drop by the rent board office located in City Hall.

Tracy Condon

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 10, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011004.pdf?ref=smdp.com)