Everybody Wants Rent Control! - Berkeley Tenants Union

Did you know most states prohibit rent control? Or that here in California rent control is not allowed, only rent stabilization? Plus, the State of California won’t let any local jurisdiction put any building built after 1995 under any form of rent restriction!

Even in California, rent control comes in many shapes – but more and more places are strengthening tenant protections, and soon we will have a statewide movement big enough to repeal Costa-Hawkins, end the Ellis Act, and allow real rent control like Berkeley once enjoyed!

People are starting to realize that “rent control drives up housing prices” is just another landlord lie. If rent control drives up rents, why does it cost just as much to live in Albany (no rent control) as in Berkeley?

Here’s some good info on exciting changes all around us:

San Mateo County
http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_27620755/san-mateo-county-affordable-housing-crisis-inspires-talks
“If the supervisors were to adopt rent stabilization, the policy would apply only to the county’s unincorporated areas, including the rural coast and the hills of San Mateo and Redwood City. But County Manager John Maltbie said the task force could have a broader impact by engaging city leaders in the conversation.”
“Joshua Howard, with the local apartment association, said job growth has caused the demand for housing to skyrocket and that some property owners he called a “few bad apples” have taken advantage of their tenants by jacking up their rents. “We are discouraging property owners to not be the poster child for rent control,” Howard said about property owners who have raised rents exorbitantly and recent efforts to highlight the impacts on the area’s working poor.” http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2015-02-25/san-mateo-county-to-study-rent-control-supervisors-form-blue-ribbon-task-force-on-housing/1776425139003.html

Emeryville Wants to Organize
https://neighborland.com/ideas/emeryville-rent-control

63% of Emeryville Households Rent
http://evilleeye.com/news-commentary/commentary/op-ed-the-800-pound-gorilla-in-the-city-is-housing/

Mountain View Wimps Out
http://www.sanjoseinside.com/2014/10/29/rent-control-off-the-table-in-mountain-view-for-now/
“While many of the prospective candidates for the council sympathized with Garcia, none seem keen to take on developers and big-monied apartment lobbies like the California Apartment Association’s Tri-County Division and the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors. Of the nine candidates, most said they simply don’t think rent control will work, including all three renters in the race.”

Rumors say San Jose Renters Want Better Protections
www.sanjoseca.gov/FAQ.aspx?QID=521
“Apartment rents can be raised without a hearing by 8%. They can be raised 21% if the last increase was more than 24 months ago. A landlord can propose a larger rent increase, but it can be contested by the tenant.”

Alameda – the City with a Rent Board but No Rent Increase Restrictions!
http://www.alamedamagazine.com/Alameda-Magazine/July-2014/Is-Rent-Control-the-Answer/

Richmond Housing Element Rejects Rent Control, for Now
http://richmondconfidential.org/2013/01/23/housing-plan-sparks-arguments-on-rent-control-just-cause-evictions/

Richmond Did Extend Good Cause for Eviction to Foreclosures:
Richmond Municipal Code § 7.105.020

Costa-Hawkins:
www.sfaa.org/pdf/CAA-Insights-Costa-Hawkins-Rental-Housing-Act.pdf

Rent Control Laws By State:
http://www.landlord.com/rent_control_laws_by_state.htm

California Cities with Rent Restrictions:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Rent_Stabilization_Board/Home/Other_Rent_Control_Jurisdictions.aspx