A tenant’s friend shows up with the rent check. Or maybe it’s a parent or someone claiming to help out. You accept the payment because rent is rent, right?

Another legislative session in California means more regulations for housing providers. These are some bills that are waiting for the Governor’s signature.

There’s a lot of negative talk about landlords these days. But the reality is that landlords provide essential services that make communities function. Without landlords, millions of people would have nowhere to live.

Most landlord-tenant relationships work just fine. Both sides benefit, and it’s usually pretty congenial. But government officials and policies in places like Los Angeles keep pitting one side against the other when it doesn’t have to be this way.