California voters will have a chance this November to rewrite the state’s law relating to rent control.
The proposed Justice for Renters Act was added to the statewide ballot as Proposition 33. The ballot initiative consists of a single sentence: “The state may not limit the right of any city, county, or city and county to maintain, enact or expand residential rent control.”
In May, the executive board of California’s Democratic Party voted to support the ballot initiative. The initiative’s supporters also include Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
“California has more people who are rent burdened than anywhere in the country,” said Susie Shannon, campaign manager for the Justice for Renters campaign, who added that the “Democratic Party sent a strong message that Democrats care about the 17 million renters that live in California, including those who are suffering and struggling to pay rent.”
The California Apartment Association has emerged as the leading opponent to this endeavor.
“If approved, the so-called ‘Justice for Renters Act’ would eliminate the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, landmark legislation that prevents stringent forms of rent control on specific types of housing, such as single-family homes and housing built after February 1995,” said Mike Nemeth, the association’s marketing and communications director in a blog posting. “The measure would give local governments unchecked power to impose extreme rent control policies, including vacancy controls, as well as affordable housing requirements so strict they effectively kill projects, preventing any new housing from being built.”
Photo: Ward DeWitt / iStock
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Once again, not thought through. Of course renters will vote for this measure. It will decrease the housing supply as people will not buy and maintain rental properties. Stupid!
Take a hard look at Santa Monica. Stupid artificial rent control that did nothing to help new residents or helped owners keep up with the burden of costs. This ballot measure will cause max rent increases.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Limit the rights of the homeowner. It is no wonder people are fleeing that state.
Right on Barbara & John!
In Sacramento, ever since the new Covid laws went into effect limiting rent increases and limiting evictions, I was forced to change my rental business. Whereas I used to seldom raise rental rates for good tenants, now I raise rents as high as I can and as soon as I can. I have to in order to stay in business. These new laws and potential laws scare me into doing so.
Looks like I’ll be raising rents across the board before this is enacted. Sorry tenants. .
Enough. Ridiculous laws like this coupled with SB 721, passed in 2018, and SB 326, passed a year later are making it impossible for landlords to make a profit of any kind in California. Everyone seems to forget that landlords are not running charities: they are investors looking to make a reasonable gain on their investments. Unfortunately, these laws are doing the exact opposite of what they are intended to do and are being passed by legislators who themselves do not own rental properties and therefore have no idea what it takes to operate any number of rentals. Not only am I being approached repeatedly to help mom and pop owners of single units or single-family homes to sell their properties, effectively removing them from the rental housing stock, I am personally selling all of my rental units in California and replacing them with units in states that have more realistic laws.