Rent control measure qualifies for November ballot
What backers have dubbed the “Rental Affordability Act” would allow local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old.
What backers have dubbed the “Rental Affordability Act” would allow local governments to establish rent control on residential properties over 15 years old.
Residents of the Belmont Shores Mobile Estates faced rental increases of over 30% but a new deal will spread that over four years.
City officials defended the idea of doing away with the local ordinance because of its conflict with a new California law that will actually protect more renters.
The anticipation of the law “has led to increased eviction threats, no-fault notices, and evictions here in Long Beach,” Councilman Rex Richardson, who is sponsoring the city action, said in a statement Friday.
Renters across the nation spent a record $504.4 billion on housing in 2018, but while renters are paying more than ever, appreciation has slowed compared to previous years, giving more people the chance to save for a down payment on a home.
Landlords claim their kin are selling rental units and lowering the city’s rental stock while tenant activists say the law has “dramatically cut down on no-cause evictions.”
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has poured more than $12 million into a November initiative it’s spearheading to let cities and counties regulate rental fees in buildings that state law currently shields from such control.
The coalition of groups that launched the unsuccessful rent control campaign said no matter what happens, tenant rights need to be strengthened.
Housing advocates said they faced “insurmountable obstacles” in gathering the required number of signatures.
Long Beach housing advocates failed to turn in a rent control petition today, which would have been the deadline required in order for it to appear on the November ballot, the city clerk’s office confirmed.