The cost to rent in California is no joke to Chuck Belmont who’s in favor of Proposition 33, saying it’s a step in the right direction.
“I think it would make a big difference. I think it would lower rent,” Belmont said.
A couple of years ago Belmont and his wife were in the process of building a house and needed to rent temporarily.
“We were really surprised at how much the rent was,” Belmont said.
The rent was just under $4,000 a month for a furnished place around 1,200 square feet.
“For us, we don't like it, but we could afford it. For a lot of people, they would have had to do something else. It kind of hits right at the heart, unless you have a little bit of money renting is hard,” Belmont said.
If passed, local governments would have the ability to enact rent control.
Proposition 33 would get rid of the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act of 1995. This prohibits cities and counties from passing rent control ordinances that limit how much landlords can charge new tenants or raise the rent for existing tenants in single-family homes or housing built after 1995.
Proponents say a “yes” vote could lower rents and allow people to move less often.
John Magee, a landlord for nearly 40 years, is against the proposition, worried he might have to sell his investment properties.
“I wouldn't want to cut the quality of my housing back just because I don't have enough money coming in,” Magee said.
Opponents of the measure, like Magee, say the proposition could lead to fewer homes available for rent and drag down the home values of rental properties.
“It would decrease the amount and value of housing for everyone and it would be a negative for me. At my age of 81 I’m not going to sustain a negative cash flow,” Magee said.
Similar ballot measures have failed to pass in 2018 and again in 2020.
