Rent Control Largely Unpopular In Local Elections

With so much attention on the candidates during the recent election, it’s easy to forget voters in many states and cities across the country also faced propositions that would directly impact both housing providers and tenants. And while none of those proposals directly impact Minnesotans, national trends always seem to land her eventually.

The good news for housing providers is voters largely seemed to reject rent control propositions while largely supporting increased affordable housing.

Perhaps best known among the proposed rent control measures was California’s Proposition 33. Under current state law, local municipalities may implement their own rent control restrictions, and it may not be imposed on single-family homes, properties built after 1995, or new tenants just moving in.

It was the third attempt in the last 10 years to loosen California’s rent control bans. The measure lost by a margin of 60.9% against to 39.1% of voters in favor.

Meanwhile in Berkeley, however, voters opted to approve Measure BB, which would expand rent control, renter protections and cap annual rent increases at 5%. Measure CC, which would have capped rent increases at 7%, exempted owner-occupied duplexes from rent control and allowed for evictions for failure to renew leases or health code violations was defeated.

Fairfax California repealed the city’s Just Cause Eviction and Rent Stabilization ordinance.

On the other end of the country, a measure in Hoboken, New Jersey would have allowed housing providers to raise rent on newly-vacated rent control units to market rate rents provided they made a $2500 contribution to the city’s affordable housing trust fund was defeated.

California also defeated Proposition 5, which would have reduced supermajority vote requirements from 66.67% to 55% for passage of local ballot measures to issue bonds for public and affordable housing was defeated.

Charlotte, North Carolina, passed a $100 million affordable housing bond measure, which will be paid through an increase in local property tax.

Los Angeles County passed Measure H, which increased the current quarter-cent sales tax to a half-cent to help fund affordable housing. San Francisco voters also authorized earmarking $8.25 million annually for very low-income rent subsidies.

While proposals in other states may not immediately correlate with housing policies in the Twin Cities, it’s important to remember in the next election voters will choose city council members. Many of those candidates seem to find inspiration for their housing platforms from exactly those places.