Californians Appear to Reject Many Rent Control Measures

Rent control has been central to this election, statewide and around the Bay Area, but early returns suggest voters have little appetite to strengthen rent regulations — with one exception: Berkeley.

Californians seem to be voting down Proposition 33, which would repeal a 1995 law, known as the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, that limits how far local governments can go with their rent control laws.  The state law prohibits cities and counties from imposing rent control on all single-family homes, condos and apartments built after 1995 and ensures landlords can bring rents up to market rate when a new tenant moves in.

That race is still too close to call late Tuesday night, but that didn’t stop opponents from taking a victory lap. “For the THIRD time, Californians have said no to extreme rent control. This fight isn’t over — together with our coalition, we’ll work to actually make housing more accessible for Californians,” the No on Prop 33 campaign posted on X. 

In 2018 and 2020, voters rejected similar initiatives that would have gutted Costa-Hawkins, but advocates and political leaders have increasingly turned to rent control as they struggle to rein in housing costs, and polling in California has shown an increase in support among likely voters. The policy is also gaining traction nationally, with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris embracing it.

Russell Lowery, executive director of the California Rental Housing Association, said Prop 33’s apparent defeat reflected the No campaign’s successful messaging. “We’re glad and relieved that the voters of California have not made our housing crisis worse,” he said. 

The group raised about $3 million to support the No campaign, according to Lowery. 

Voters also appear to be narrowly supporting Proposition 34, which on its face, has nothing to do with rent control. But really, it’s all about the politics of this controversial policy.

The measure asks voters to decide whether the state should restrict how certain health care providers can spend revenue from prescription drug sales. But the stipulations mean it would likely only apply to a single organization: the L.A.-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a major force in state and local housing policies and the group bankrolling Prop. 33 and the last two attempts to roll back Costa-Hawkins.

Rent control appears to be faring somewhat better in the Bay Area, at least in Berkeley.  Preliminary tallies show 51.79% of Berkeley voters narrowly supporting Measure BB, which would expand rent control and renter protections and 62.45 % shutting down Measure CC, which would rein in rent regulations.

“That’s really reassuring,” said Leah Simon-Weisberg, chair of the Berkeley Rent Board.  “I think the trend will continue to go that way as we know the even in Berkeley the early voters are more conservative.”

Marin County voters are a different story and appear to be pushing back on a range of rent control measures. Larkspur’s Measure K, a bid to expand rent control, is losing by 64% to 35.9%. An effort to repeal Fairfax’s rent cap, Measure I, is ahead 68% to 31.9%, and San Anselmo’s Measure N, a referendum on local rent control, is down 65.9% to 34 %, while Measure O, to create new tenant protections, is down 69.3% to 30.6%.

Proposition 34, whose primary sponsor is the California Apartment Association, is aimed at kneecapping the health care foundation’s political spending.

It would work like this: Federal law allows health providers that serve lower-income patients to buy prescription drugs at a discount, sell them at retail rates and use the profits to expand services. Proposition 34 would require some providers to spend 98% of that net revenue on direct patient care or risk losing their licenses or tax-exempt status. It would only apply to health care providers who’ve spent at least $100 million on things other than patient care in the past decade and own apartment buildings that have been slapped with 500 or more health and safety violations. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation is believed to be the only organization that fits the bill.

Propositions 33 and 34 are the most expensive measures on this year’s ballot.

Locally, rent control is on ballots in Berkeley and Marin County’s Larkspur, Fairfax and San Anselmo.

Berkeley’s competing measures would overhaul the city’s rent regulations in different ways. Measure BB, put forward by renters’ advocates, would lower the city’s rent cap, make more units subject to rent control and add new restrictions on evictions, among other tenant protections. Measure CC, championed by property owners’ advocates, would raise the rent cap marginally, exempt more properties from rent control, significantly curtail the rent board’s power, and make other changes to the city’s Rent Stabilization and Eviction for Good Cause Ordinance.

In Marin County, the rent-related measures are also split on whether they would protect tenants or landlords. On the side of supporting tenants, Larkspur’s Measure K would lower the city’s rent cap from 7% to 3% and add new eviction protections, and San Anselmo’s Measure O would strengthen tenant protections. Meanwhile, voters in San Anselmo will also decide on Measure N, a referendum on a rent control ordinance city leaders passed this spring. And Fairfax’s Measure I would repeal the city’s rent control and just cause eviction ordinance.