Chula Vista should not punish property owners

The city of Chula Vista is rushing to pass an overreaching and punitive new law, the Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, in spite of many calls for further analysis and community input.

Many immigrants like myself saved up for many years to purchase and manage rental housing as an investment. This law will lead people like me to sell off a rental home, which is in some cases our only asset. We planned our retirements around this income.

While the city claims it has made an effort to avoid

affecting “mom and pop” housing providers, the truth is that this ordinance would unfairly burden all property owners — big and small. It even creates new criminal penalties including a misdemeanor conviction and jail time, without any education for housing providers to learn how to be in compliance.

This is all unprecedented in Chula Vista’s history and deserves much more review. Aurora Murillo

Chula Vista