mynewsla – excerpt
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox Saturday called a rent control initiative set to appear on the November ballot “a bad deal for renters.”
“Building more housing will bring rents down,” Cox tweeted as he shared a story about the measure qualifying for the November ballot. “This measure treats the symptom, not the disease – it’s a bad deal for renters.
What backers have dubbed the Affordable Housing Act would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a 1995 law that bans rent control on apartment buildings, condominiums and houses built after 1995 and froze local rent control laws.
The 1995 law also allows landlords to raise rents by an unlimited amount when a unit becomes vacant.
If adopted by voters, the initiative would give cities and counties expanded authority to enact rent control on residential property.
There was no immediate response to an email sent Saturday night to a spokesman for Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, seeking the Democratic gubernatorial candidate’s position on the initiative…(more)
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