Proposition 21

The campaign against Proposition 21 wants us to believe that this is the same proposition we voted on back in 2018.  It is not Proposition 10.  There are significant differences between the two.  We'll get to that in a moment.

There is a popular myth that the history of rent control in California began in the 1970s.  It is true that this is when many of the California cities that have rent control in force put those controls into effect.  But rent control in the state began back in the 1940s.  Price controls, including rents were put into effect during World War II.

In 1995, a new law was passed that changed rent control in California.  The Costa-Hawkins act is named for State Senator Jim Costa (D)-Fresno and Assembly Member Phil Hawkins (R)-Bellflower, its co-sponsors.  It prevented rent control laws from being applied to:

Single-family dwellings

Condominiums

Newly constructed units

It also ended the ability of rent control ordinances to maintain control of the rent on a unit once it was vacated by its current tenant.  By prohibiting "vacancy control" it allowed the owner of a vacated rental unit to raise the rent to whatever rate the current housing market would allow.

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Who is behind Prop 21?  The same folks that gave us Proposition 10.  The AIDS Healthcare Foundation.  That doesn't make it bad.  It doesn't allow cities to impose rent control on every single unit of housing.  Prop 21 is supported by the ACLU as well.

Who is against Prop 21?  Governor Newsom for starters.  "...Proposition 21, like Proposition 10 before it, runs the all too-real risk of discouraging availability of affordable housing in our state.  Then there are four business entities that are real estate investment companies.  Essex Property Trust, Equity Residential, Avalonbay Communities and Jackson Square Properties LLC are those businesses.  They have combined to contribute $18.1 million to the campaign against Prop 21.

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I will vote yes on Prop 21.

Yes, it allows cities to impose rent control on single family houses, but only if the person renting out that house owns two or more such units.  It does not allow rent control to be imposed on units that were built 15 or less years ago.

As the Los Angeles Times points out in its editorial supporting Prop 21, rent control is a balancing act. Owners of rental units deserve a fair return on their investment.