Californians will have the opportunity to vote on rent regulation in the 2024 election. The initiative received enough signatures to qualify as a ballot item.
Property Rent Regulation in California
Voters will be able to decide whether to abolish a 1995 law that allowed communities to expand rent control and impose additional limitations on how much landlords can raise rent by using the rent control measure.
Rafael Bautista, the San Diego Tenants Union’s director, claimed that “people are being overcharged, and the working class is suffering.” Californians will have the opportunity to vote in November 2024 to abolish the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995, which has barred cities and counties from imposing yearly rent ceilings on apartments and single-family homes constructed after that year.
It is a known fact that finding a new apartment in San Diego can be very challenging after being evicted. According to Bautista, rent control can encourage people to stay in their homes. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles has attempted to get rent control on the ballot three times. They have now secured sufficient signatures to put the issue on the ballot.
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How Wil Rent Regulation Affect the Renters and Landlords?
With the Tenant Protection Act, California has had statewide rent regulation since 2019. The annual rent increases are limited by state legislation to 10% or 5% plus the Consumer Price Index. According to Wilsey, rent regulation may impact both landlords and homeowners. Wilsey used the example of landlords not being able to collect enough rent to cover the expense of their houses.
That’s when it becomes a problem, and you could miss out on rental properties because people say it’s not worthwhile to continue being a landlord in California. After all, it’s not profitable, which could actually hurt the amount of supply on the market and have an opposite effect and hurt prices as well, according to Wilsey.
Owners and financiers of rental homes and flats are represented by the California Apartment Association (CAA). According to 2021 U.S., 44% of Californians rent their homes. statistics from the Census Bureau. More than half of tenants pay 30% or more of their income toward rent, including about 28% who pay more than 50%.
“Rent is generally going to be a function of what you are paying for real estate, and that’s why a lot of times I believe rent control doesn’t quite really work as people want it to,” said Wilsey.
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