Community Comments About the Rental Housing Mediation Task Force Program

Housing interest groups consisting of community organizations, judicial and legal systems representatives, administrative agencies, and other organizations in the proposed area of service attest to their support for the RHMTF program and their willingness to make referrals when appropriate. The following represents a synopsis of some of the responses received:

State Senator O'Connell:
"The dispute resolution services that you offer are invaluable to both landlords and tenants and, in fact, have led to reduction in civil cases by facilitating many landlord-tenant disputes without the need for litigation in our county court system."

Commissioner Decaro:
"...a goodly portion of routine Small Claims calendars consists of Landlord-Tenant disputes. Many of these can and should be settled outside the court. That is the primary purpose of the RHMTF."
Commissioner Talmage: "RHMTF provides critical services to the community by assisting countless landlords and tenants in resolving their legal disputes without resort to litigation. They benefit the court directly by helping to keep our caseload down."

Legal Aid Foundation:
"Legal Aid refers individuals with landlord/tenant problems to the RHMTF on a daily basis. We find that many such disputes can be resolved through mediation rather than through litigation. The result is a substantial saving to the taxpayers, to property owners, and a relief to the crowded court calendar."

County Counsel/Small Claims Advisor:
"I have on numerous occasions recommended the Task force as an alternative to filing in Small Claims Court and found it to be tremendously successful in assisting in the reduction of court cases."
Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara: "The benefits of your service extend beyond the resolution of the disputes you mediate.. We are sure that your program has kept many disputes from ending up in an already overloaded court system."

Santa Barbara rental Property Association:
"We have given our full support and cooperation to a program which has proved to be invaluable in establishing a better line of communication between residents and owners of rental housing. We continue to encourage our membership to fully cooperate with the mediation formula to resolve any problems which might arise."

County of Santa Barbara California Department of Social Services:
"I am confident that a number of problems involving our programs for disabled and elderly clients have been successfully resolved through the intervention of the RHMTF...It has provided and will hopefully continue to provide a helpful service to the often vulnerable population we serve."