Legislation Capping Rents Dies in Committee

Legislation that would have cut permissible rent increases in half – Assembly Bill 1157 (Kalra) – failed passage in the Assembly Judiciary Committee this month.  ​The bill would have also included single family residences that are now excluded from California’s statewide rent control law in the revised law. 

The bill, which was introduced last year and had a deadline of this month to pass the Assembly, was supported by numerous tenant organizations and unions.  Opponents included the California Association of Realtors and various property owner organizations, which argued that California has a housing supply crisis and not a pricing crisis caused by rental housing providers. 
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Specifically, the bill proposed three substantial amendments to the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (statewide rent control). First, it would have lowered the rent cap from 5% plus CPI, not to exceed 10%, to 2% plus CPI, not to exceed 5%. In short, cutting the maximum cap in half. Second, the bill would have removed the exemption for single-family homes, thus making them subject to the rent cap and the just cause eviction provisions of law. Third, the bill would have eliminated the January 1, 2030, sunset date of the existing law, thereby making the act permanent.