It’s been a political refrain for decades: the rent is too damn high. This year, California voters have an opportunity to do something about it.
Proposition 33 is a statewide measure that could open the door for more rent control. To get a little more specific, it would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a 1995 state law that limits the kind of rent control laws that cities and counties can enact.
But could it do more harm than good?
KNX News’ daily political show Countdown 2024 heard from both sides on this surprisingly contentious issue.
Listen here:
Leah Simon-Weisberg, executive director of Movement Legal, explained that Costa-Hawkins currently prohibits cities from imposing rent control on any properties built after 1995, and some cities like Los Angeles have even stricter limits. Prop 33 could change that.
“If 33 passes, the city of Los Angeles could say, you know what, we’re gonna extend [rent control] to all housing that was built up until 20 years ago,” she said. “So we could still have a new construction exemption, but it’ll cover a lot more units, so a lot more people will be able to live in housing where the rents are stabilized.”
Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, argued that limiting rents would disincentivize developers from building new housing. He blamed California’s current housing crisis on existing rent control policies.
“We've had rent control in place here in California for nearly five decades, and as a result, we have major housing shortages,” he said. “We have skyrocketing rents because we don't have enough supply to keep up with growing demand.”
But Simon-Weisberg pointed out that cities with stronger rent stabilization, like Berkeley, Santa Monica, and San Francisco, have actually seen more construction.
“I think that the argument is, well, if it's rent-controlled, then people aren't going to build it because they're not gonna make enough profit,” she said. “But we know that people who develop properties, they only intend to own the property for about three years and then they move it on.”
Listen to the full episode above, and catch the last episode of Countdown 2024 live on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m.
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