Anyone concerned about the future of the state and local budgets should pay particular attention to what the state’s non-partisan legislative analyst had to say about Proposition 10, the ballot measure that repeals the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, including protections for tenants and single-family home owners.
The Legislative Analysts Office (LA) noted Prop 10 could cost local governments up to “tens of millions of dollars per year” in new costs and the state could lose up to “hundreds of millions of dollars per year” in revenues.
In the analysis, the LAO also noted that the value of rental housing would decline and that rental units also would likely be sold and no longer be available for rentals.
This, say experts, would work California’s affordable housing crisis even worse.
In addition, the LAO predicts that “If many localities enacted strong rent control legislation, other economic effects (such as impacts on housing construction) also could occur.”
What does all this mean? For one thing, less money for key government services from healthcare to childcare to transportation. Proposition 10 would create scarcity, not just in California’s already broken housing market, but in state and local coffers. That will set the stage for a new round of budget battles in Sacramento and in cities and counties across California.
Proposition 10 also will cost our state and our communities millions of dollars, reduce the number of available apartments and homes available for rental and could result in a housing freeze – which is the last thing California needs right now.
We all agree that the state needs to take steps to address the chronic housing shortage, and out-of-control housing costs in communities across the state. But Proposition 10 is the wrong solution. It will only make California’s affordable housing crisis worse.
Jessica Duboff is vice president of Public Policy, Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
This article was originally published by Fox and Hounds Daily
Continuing CA’s incredible record of touching something and making it worse. If this passes, I left just in the knick of time.
WHAT housing shortage? There is none. The problem is that they are too expensive. Pass it.
Apparently you don’t understand supply and demand. When more housing units are available, landlords compete with price to get tenants. Prices are rising because there aren’t enough units available for the demand.
People are now renting rooms in other people’s houses when they would, at least, split an apartment with somebody for more privacy if they could afford it.
Ask your self’s who voted these money grubbers back into office. When will people learn socialism, Marxism , communism don’t work? Your ideas and wants mean nothing to the California establishment.
The CA Supreme Court pulled and initiative signed by 600K voters off the ballot because it would be “too expensive”. Maybe they should do the same thing for Prop 10 for the same reason.
Proposition 10 is a disaster waiting to happen. I will lead to significantly less rental housing in San Francisco. Owners of small buildings of two, four or six units, especially those who live in the buildings along side the tenants, will empty the buildings and sell them to tenants-in-common in SF or as condos in other cities where it’s allowed.
Californians will pass this because they don’t understand its our leaders and their massive anti-development restrictions and regulations that are limiting new housing and driving up prices.
They will vote for the easiest appearing socialist solution which is rent control. I’ve see how it fails in SF firsthand.