Closely Watched Legislation Is Among Measures Tackling Affordable Housing Shortage
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has supported legislation aimed at controlling rent increases.
California
is barreling toward becoming the third state to pass rent control, as a closely
watched state measure limiting rent increases passed a key legislative hurdle.
The
California Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday passed Assembly
Bill 1482 , by Assemblymember David Chiu, a San Francisco Democrat,
which would cap annual rent increases and ban landlords from evicting tenants
without showing “just cause.”
The
measure, passed previously by the Assembly, now goes to the full Senate floor
for a vote in early September, and if approved there would head to the desk of
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has supported the bill. Newsom would have until Oct. 13
to veto or sign the measure into law this year under legislative deadlines.
If
enacted, California would become the third state in the country to pass
statewide rent control. Oregon became the first state to pass rent control in
February, followed by New York in June.
“This
bill is crucial to the millions of Californians who are living paycheck to
paycheck and are just one rent increase or eviction away from becoming
homeless,” Chiu said in a statement after the Appropriations Committee vote.
“As this bill moves forward, I will do everything in my power to get it over the
line and ensure as many Californians as possible have protections from
egregious rent increases and predatory evictions.”
The
bill cleared the Assembly in May and subsequently cleared the Senate Judiciary
Committee. The measure received strong opposition from the California Apartment
Association and other real estate groups.
California
lawmakers are grappling with the nation’s largest crisis of homelessness,
skyrocketing housing prices and a critical shortage of housing for its 40
million residents, more than any other state.
Chiu’s
bill, which would expire in 2023 and would not apply to landlords leasing fewer
than 10 single-family homes or to properties built in the last decade, would
limit rent increases at 7% each year. It would also protect renters from what
Chiu describes as “predatory evictions” while still allowing
landlords to turn a profit.
