In anticipation of Proposition 33 passing, the City of San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin is introducing an ordinance to extend rent control to multifamily buildings constructed between 1979 and 2024. This would be the city’s largest expansion of rent control since the 1970s, covering 40% of renters currently unprotected due to the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Act. The measure only takes effect if Prop 33, which seeks to repeal Costa-Hawkins, passes.
LA County Board of Supervisors made their support for Prop 33 official on a 3-1 vote.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger — who has previously disagreed with the board on other rent control measures — voted no. and made this statement: “My ‘no’ vote is a reflection of my unwavering belief that adding more rent control policies ultimately harms housing markets and communities in the long-term. Rent control can discourage landlords from maintaining or investing in their properties, leading to a decline in the overall quality of housing. It can even drive some property owners to withdraw their units from the rental market, which will make our housing shortage worse.”
The LA County Supervisors were joined in support by yeson33.org, West Covina Mayor Brian Tabatabai, members of the Santa Monica Rent Board, and UNITE Here Local 11.
LA City Councilmember Kevin DeLeon (who’s planning on running for CA Lieutenant governor) has formed a PAC that’s supporting Props 3, 32 and 33.
The city councils of Santa Monica and Huntington Beach are also officially backing Proposition 33, mainly because this proposition will allow them to stop construction of any new multi-unit housing in their cities.
BTW: Polling by the PPIC shows that a slight majority of voters are in favor of expanded rent control. It’s so important to continue to explain to other voters why Prop 33 is so bad for ALL Californians!