For the third time since 2018, California voters are being asked to unlock the door to rent control.
The Justice for Renters initiative, bankrolled by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, seeks to abolish a state law that forbids rent control on housing built after 1995. Similar measures failed in 2018 and 2020.
Supporters of Proposition 33 hope allowing cities and counties to enact rent control would help lower housing costs in a state notorious for its high cost of living. A November Public Policy Institute of California poll found 55% of likely voters supported the measure.
In a twist, California’s former state Senate leader and the Assembly Appropriations Committee chair — both Democrats — oppose the measure, arguing it would sandbag efforts to build more housing by allowing wealthy coastal cities to set high affordability benchmarks.
The measure’s other detractors include the California Apartment Association, which argues rental control would actually worsen the state’s housing crisis by deterring new housing construction and forcing scores of landlords to sell their properties instead of renting them out.
