YES on Prop 33
Allow Richmond to Expand Rent Control
RPA recommends a YES vote on Prop 33 to Prohibit State Limitations on Local Rent Control Initiative. We join supporters such as Senator Bernie Sanders, Dolores Huerta, California Nurses Association, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, and the California Democratic Party. Opponents of this measure include the Republican Party of California, California Apartment Association, California Association of Realtors, and National Association of Realtors. All three members of Team Richmond – Melvin Willis, Claudia Jiménez, and Sue Wilson – support Prop 33.
“We all know that the housing market is insane,” said Melvin Willis, a long-time organizer for housing security and strong supporter of Richmond’s efforts to protect renters. “Unfortunately, there are landlords out there who just don’t give a d___ about being fair to their tenants. But with Costa-Hawkins on the books, the city can only do so much.”
What Prop 33 Will Change
Prop 33 would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (1995) and allow cities and counties to limit rent on any housing and limit the rent for first-time tenants. It would prohibit the state from limiting actions of local jurisdictions to maintain, enact, or expand residential rent control.
What is Costa-Hawkins?
Costa-Hawkins limits local rent controls by:
- Prohibiting rent control on any units built after 1995, so that new developments cannot be rent-controlled.
- Excluding ALL single-family homes and condos from rent control.
- Allowing landlords to set new rents on rent-controlled unit when tenants move out. This can incentivize landlords to harass tenants so they’ll leave and thus allow the landlord to raise the rent.
Why this matters for Richmond
Until Costa-Hawkins is lifted, we are not fully able to protect affordable rental housing. Our Rent Board can protect many renters, but many others are still on their own.
“In the last few weeks, just by knocking on doors in my district, I’ve met renters whose landlords are demanding outrageous increases, as much as doubling the rent. Because of Costa-Hawkins, the Richmond Rent Board can’t stop that.”
RPAs’ history of rent control advocacy
RPA activists worked hard to pass Richmond Measure L (2016), the Fair Rent, Just Cause for Eviction and Homeowner Protection Ordinance. This voter-approved initiative established the city’s Rent Board, set a maximum allowable rent increase, and restricted the circumstances under which landlords could evict tenants. RPA also endorsed Richmond Measure P (2022), another measure that was approved by Richmond voters to lower the annual rent-increase cap – again, though, limited by Costa-Hawkins to multi-family units built before 1995.
The Richmond Progressive Alliance believes that governments at all levels should put people first. We want to protect renters from predatory landlords, and we fight to keep corporate money out of politics. The No on Prop 33 campaign has raised millions of dollars from corporate landlords to defeat this measure. In 2018 and 2020, real estate insiders spent a whopping $175.4 million to block Proposition 10 and Proposition 21, which would have ended statewide restrictions on rent control.
Vote YES on Prop 33.
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