Election Results: California voters reject measure to expand rent control

Voters have rejected Proposition 33 – a measure to expand local rent control – in California Tuesday night.

This proposition would have given local governments more authority to enact rent control by repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a state law that limits it. This measure would have given cities more freedom and power to limit how much landlords can raise rent.

Prop. 33 would have caused a reduction in local property tax revenues of at least tens of millions of dollars annually. This is due to a likely expansion of rent control in some communities.

Supporters of Prop. 33 said rent is too high in California. They said rent control in America has worked to keep people in their homes since 1919 and that California’s 17 million renters need relief. Supporters also said homeowners and taxpayers benefit from stable communities.

Opponents of Prop. 33 said this was the latest corporate landlord anti-housing scheme. They said California voters have rejected this rent control measure twice before because it would have frozen the construction of new housing and could potentially reverse dozens of new state housing laws.

The Associated Press declared that Prop. 33 didn’t pass about four hours after polls closed at 8 p.m. in California.