CA: This Bay Area city could be the next to see rent control on the November ballot
Berkeley is now the latest battleground in the fight over rent control in the Bay Area, with landlord and tenant groups working to bring competing measures before voters this November to either expand or roll back renter protections in the city.
Across the Bay Area, advocates on both sides of the contentious housing debate have started ballot-box campaigns in recent months, including a landlord-backed effort to repeal a newly approved rent control law in Concord. In Larkspur, in Marin County, a similar referendum on the March 5 ballot to overturn caps on rent hikes appears likely to fail by a narrow margin.
Tenant groups are also gathering signatures to put renter protection measures on the ballot in Redwood City, San Pablo, Pittsburg and again in Larkspur. At the same time, landlords and tenant activists across California are gearing up for an expensive battle over a statewide measure that’s already qualified for the November ballot that would allow cities to adopt stricter rent limits.
The rent control clashes follow unprecedented pandemic eviction moratoriums and rental assistance programs to prevent low-income tenants from losing their homes amid widespread job losses. With the emergency efforts now expired, tenant groups are going directly to voters in hopes of pushing through new permanent renter protections as many residents continue struggling to afford the Bay Area’s astronomical housing costs.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2024/03/26/this-bay-area-city-could-be-the-next-to-see-rent-control-on-the-november-ballot/
