A bipartisan coalition of political leaders from across California has urged voters to reject a ballot measure that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and return radical forms of rent control to the state.
The coalition, including officials from the city, county and state levels, says Proposition 10 would hurt local budgets while underming efforts to tackle California’s affordable housing crisis, the No on Prop 10 campaign said in a news release.
If voters approve Prop 10 in the Nov. 6 election, cities will be authorized to apply rent control to single-family homes and new multifamily housing. They’ll also be able to make rent caps permanent, even after changes in tenancy. This would create a major disincentive for the construction of rental housing, exacerbating the ongoing shortage of housing for low- and middle-income Californians.
“Fresno and the Central Valley have been hit hard by the housing affordability crisis that is gripping the entire state,” said Fresno Mayor Lee Brand. “Our vacancy rate is among the lowest in the entire nation. We are not building enough housing to keep up with increasing demand. Proposition 10 will make it harder for cities like Fresno to solve the affordability crisis by creating new roadblocks to building the housing we need to bring price relief to families looking for a safe, affordable place to live.”
Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles, also is opposing Prop 10.
“I have spent my adult life working to improve the lives of others, particularly those less fortunate, which is why I am opposed to Proposition 10,” Villaraigosa said. “There is no doubt we need to make housing more affordable for Californians, but Proposition 10 will make our current situation worse, not better, by constricting future development of affordable units. California’s state and local elected officials should not be hamstrung with this misguided proposition, which is why I urge all Californians to vote No on Prop 10.”
California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has concluded that Prop 10 would also hurt state and local governments by reducing property tax revenues by up to hundreds of millions of dollars, seriously lowering funds for local schools, public safety, transportation and other critical public services.
Opposition to the measure includes the California Council for Affordable Housing, NAACP CA, the American Legion Department of California, and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.
Related content:
- UC Berkeley economist criticizes rent control, Prop 10 in new study (CAA, Sept. 6)
- State and local leaders throughout California take stand against Prop 10 (CAA, Sept. 5)
- Affordable housing groups announce opposition to Costa-Hawkins repeal measure (CAA, Aug. 22)
- CAA warns that Prop 10 would cause exodus from rental market (CAA, Aug. 15)
- Bay Area Council joins opponents to Costa-Hawkins repeal (CAA, Aug. 13)
- Legislative Analyst’s Office: Prop 10 may cause local, state taxes to soar (CAA, July 25)
- Civil Justice Association of California announces opposition to Proposition 10 (CAA, July 25)
- State Building and Construction Trades Council joins CAA, others to fight Costa-Hawkins repeal (CAA, June 30)
- CAA, FPI Management and REALTORS warn lawmakers that repealing Costa-Hawkins would worsen housing crisis (CAA, June 22)
- Measure to repeal Costa-Hawkins qualifies for November ballot (CAA, June 22)