Rent control decision coming to California voters
By Angela Hart, Sacramento Bee
A hotly contested battle over rent control in California just got more explosive.
Tenants rights activists have qualified for the November ballot an initiative that would clear the way for cities and counties across California to pass strong rent control laws, as local and state lawmakers struggle to address a widening housing crisis that has pushed people into homelessness and out of the state in search of cheaper living elsewhere.
The Secretary of State’s office reported Friday evening that proponents behind an initiative to repeal a 1995 state law called the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act have gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the November 6, 2018 ballot. The existing state law sets tight limits on the type and number of housing units that rent control can apply to.