California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office today released a report predicting that Michael Weinstein’s Rental Affordability Act, or Proposition 10 2.0, would exacerbate the state’s chronic housing shortage by leading rental property owners to remove units from the market. 

The proposition is Weinstein’s latest attempt to return extreme forms of rent control to California through the statewide initiative process. Weinstein’s previous bid for radical rent control — Proposition 10 — failed miserably at the polls this past November.

The proposed statewide ballot measure would allow cities and counties to impose rent control on buildings after they turn 15 years old. Under the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, local jurisdictions may not impose rent control on units built after 1995.

Weinstein’s measure would also once again allow local governments to apply vacancy controls, meaning rents would remain regulated in rent-controlled jurisdictions even after changes in tenancy.

The analysis clearly points to a reduction of available homes as stricter rent control leads property owners to take units off the market, said Tom Bannon, chief executive officer of the California Apartment Association.

“Prop 10 2.0 would drive down property values and prompt an exodus from the rental housing market,” Bannon said. “California needs sensible housing policies that protect tenants and encourage the building of affordable homes for working families. This measure makes the crisis worse.”

The California Apartment Association is the nation’s largest statewide trade group representing owners, investors, developers, managers and suppliers of apartment communities. CAA recognizes its ethical duties to the communities its members serve and insist on upholding the utmost integrity in the multifamily housing field. CAA’s Code of Ethics guides the association’s dealings with all people, and we encourage all rental housing professionals to abide by it.