President's Message: October 2022

Throughout my tenure as President of the Southern California Rental Housing Association, it has become increasingly clear that the essential services our members provide as housing providers all too often go unseen and unappreciated.

Recognizing how our community has continued to provide essential services in the wake of ever-changing conditions and legislation, it has become clear that that we are called to clarify and articulate our mission and vision. Guided by this revelation, the SCRHA Board of Directors has adopted a new mission and vision statement. This provides the foundation of strategic plan focused on advocacy, education, and outreach/collaboration.

While advocacy and education continue to be the bedrock of the Association, outreach is a seemingly new strategy adopted by the Board. While this is the first time we have highlighted outreach in our strategic plan, it is not a new concept in how we operate and work.

Our industry does not operate in a vacuum. Our work as housing providers is what makes the communities where we live and work possible. After much discussion, Southern California Rental Housing Association has created a document outlining Housing Provider and Resident Rights and Responsibilities.

This document outlines the guiding principles for our members and articulates what we firmly believe everyone can expect from a housing provider. Living and operating by these guiding principles shows a commitment to our residents and elected representatives that we care about the housing ecosystem. Further, we are reliable partners in solving the housing crisis by working collaboratively to determine how to provide more housing.

I firmly believe it isn’t enough to state these guiding principles; we must live them out for all to see. By following these Housing Provider and Resident Rights and Responsibilities, we are living our commitment to our residents, neighbors, and all who call Southern California home.

While we continue to grow our outreach efforts, this first step of adopting the Housing Provider and Resident Rights and Responsibilities is a supporting pillar of our ongoing advocacy efforts.

While I have spent much of my message sharing the recently adopted SCRHA Housing Provider and Resident Rights and Responsibilities, I’d like to remind everyone that the midterm elections are quickly approaching. If you haven’t already registered to vote, I encourage you to register and cast your ballot in the election on November 8. Elections have consequences, and we need to ensure that we elect representatives that will work with us to provide more housing for Southern California. For a list of SCRHA-endorsed candidates, check out the 2022 Voter Guide at socalrha.org.

By Lucinda Lilley, CPM®, CAPS®, GRI®, NAA Leadership Lyceum, NAAEI Faculty Member