New Bills Focus On Rental Housing Market, Protecting Renters
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Thursday, three housing bills were introduced to the state legislature, focusing on the rental housing market.
The Keep Families Home Bill package includes Assembly Bill 1482. Its goal is to protect renters from egregious and sudden rent increases. This new law would tie the percentage that a landlord could raise the rent to a formula based on the Consumer Price Index.
"Their income's not going up so they're worried about losing their home, the roof of their head, their shelter, their safe place, where they raise their kids," Assemblymember Rob Bonta said.
Critics say this could push landlords to get out of the real estate business, which would ultimately hurt the economy.
"When you impose overly restrictive regulation and more and more government control is people just decide to take their units off the housing market altogether," Assemblymember Kevin Kiley said.
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AB 36 would reform statewide restrictions on local rent control. The bill would allow local jurisdictions to amend rent control laws while exempting small landlords from these changes.
That is something the California Rental Housing Association says the voters don't want. They issued a statement, saying in part:
"Rent control was resoundingly rejected by California voters in the defeat of Prop 10, and multiple economic studies have validated that rent control does not help communities in the way we intended."
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The California Apartment Association also issued a statement, saying in part: "We need to encourage new housing, not create policies that stifle its creation."
AB 1481 would extend just-cause eviction protection to every renter in California. Some renters CBS13 spoke to say they're afraid to report issues because of the repercussions.
"I have made complaints in the past and each complaint came with a percentage of an increase in my rent once they were fixed. One of them was 6% and so on. So I can't afford to make these complaints," Robyn Mutchler said.