Prop 10: Rent Control

                                          This proposition did not pass.                                          

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The 1995 law kept cities from establishing rent control over single-family homes, condominiums and new residential buildings, and it allowed landlords to charge market price when a rent-controlled unit became vacant.

Democrats who support rent control because of the state's critical shortage of affordable housing tried unsuccessfully to win repeal in the Legislature of the 1995 restrictions, which have some support across party lines. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic candidate for governor, does not oppose rent control in principle but has not endorsed Prop 10 out of concern that it would affect much needed housing production. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has endorsed Prop 10, arguing that local government should have control of any rent regulation.

The biggest backer of the initiative, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, joined with other advocacy groups that argue that housing is a basic human right and a public health issue. Opponents of Prop 10 don't dispute that high rents and gentrification are issues but say the only solution is building more multifamily housing, and that rent control is a disincentive to those who can build and maintain housing.

As of midsummer, about $34 million had been raised by both sides, almost two-thirds by opponents, funded by rental property owners and their associations. The ballot measure says it "provides that rent-control policies may not violate landlords' right to a fair financial return on their rental property." 

Click here for a printable version of all the propositions on the November ballot.

Data from Cal Access as of 10/30/18.