The San Diego Union-Tribune has joined major newspapers from across California in opposing Proposition 21, the radical rent control measure going before voters Nov. 3.
“Rent control is the wrong way to help Californians struggling with housing,” says the editorial, titled No on Prop. 21: Expanding rent control will make California housing crisis worse. “Lawmakers who are juggling a lot during this pandemic need to not lose sight of that. The long-term solution is listening to experts and building new houses.”
At this point, almost every major California newspaper has editorialized against Proposition 21.
Like its predecessor Prop 10, Prop 21 aims to dismantle the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act — the single most vital California law for rental housing providers.
If Proposition 21 passes, local governments will bring back vacancy controls, capping rents between tenancies; they’ll also apply local rent control ordinances to newer apartments — as soon as they turn 15 years old — and to a greater number of condos and single-family homes.
Some of the other major newspapers to urge no votes on Prop 21 include the Sacramento and Fresno Bees, the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, the Orange County Register and the L.A. Daily News.