What is Prop 33? A look into California’s rent control ballot

( KRON ) — Proposition 33, also known as the “Prohibit State Limitations on Local Rent Control Initiative,” aims to improve tenant rights by allowing the state to impose rent control on any California home.

Many cities in California, like San Francisco or Los Angeles, already have rent control laws set in place. For over 30 years, however, California has imposed limits on what those limits can be and who those limits apply to due to a law passed in the 1990s.

What is the Hawkins Rental Housing Act?

The Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act was established in 1995. According to the act, landlords of single-family homes or apartments built after February 1, 1995, can set their own rent prices. This, in turn, means cities have no say in the prices tenants pay month to month.

Prop 33 essentially scraps the Costa Hawkins law.

If passed, the state will have the authority to impose rent control on any residential property in California, no matter when the property was initially built. The state will also be allowed to limit how much a landlord can increase rent yearly, lawmakers wrote .

Supporters of Prop 33

Lawmakers estimate that Prop 33 will likely save the state “ at least tens of millions of dollars annually ” by incorporating rent control in areas benefitting from the Costa Hawkins law. “Depending on actions by local communities, revenue losses could be less or more.”

As of the publication of this report, supporters have amassed about $40 million. They believe Prop 33 can prevent tenants from being overcharged, requiring them to move less often, and prevent unjust rent increases from year to year.

Tony Strickland, a council member in Huntington Beach, embraced Prop. 33, saying it could be used “as a way to deny new housing development projects.” Other supporters include Sen. Bernie Sanders and the California Democratic Party.

Opposition against Prop 33

Four committees are registered opposing Prop 33 and have raised approximately $66 million. Opposers believe that Prop 33 could potentially impose “strict” rent control on apartments that might not need it and, perhaps more worryingly, could jeopardize the state’s existing ban on vacancy control.

“Vacancy control prohibits rental housing providers from adjusting rents to market rates when a tenant moves out. Such a policy leads to property deterioration and stifled investment in housing,” Mike Nemeth, Marketing and Communications Director for the California Apartment Association, said.

This year’s Prop. 33 is the third attempt by AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein to repeal rent control limits through the ballot since 2018.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.