Support AB 1506 to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

Support AB 1506 to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

By Lynda Carson - February 24, 2017

Oakland - Repealing the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act., by supporting Assembly Bill 1506, would go a long way to strengthen rent control, limit rent increases, and would once again allow cities to regulate the rental rates on rental housing units that have been voluntarily vacated. Passage of AB 1506 would help in the effort to stabilize communities, and challenge price gouging by unscrupulous landlords throughout California.

California Assembly Members Bloom, Chiu, and Bonta introduced AB 1506 on February 17, 2017, and need your support for the proposed bill to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.. The bill would once again allow the regulation of residential rental housing pricing by local governments in California.

According to the City Attorney of Fremont: “As early as 1976, the California Supreme Court upheld the authority of cities to adopt rent control under their police power granted in the State Constitution.”

“That authority was limited by the State Legislature in 1995 by the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act (“Costa-Hawkins”). Under Costa-Hawkins, rent control cannot be applied to units built after February 1, 1995. Costa-Hawkins also exempts single family homes, condominiums, and rental properties with less than two units.”

“As to rental units constructed prior to 1995, Costa-Hawkins prohibits “vacancy control”. In other words, where a rent control ordinance is in place, rent-controlled units by law become temporarily uncontrolled when a tenant moves out, and property owners can reset/increase rents at that time without any limitations.”

“Once a new tenant occupies the vacant unit, however, the unit again becomes subject to an existing rent control ordinance.”

Assembly Member Rob Bonta of Oakland is trying to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act.

In an email sent out by Tonya Love, from the Office of Assembly Member Rob Bonta in Oakland, to tenants' rights groups supportive of AB 1506: “I am writing to bring your attention to AB 1506 – Repeal Costa-Hawkins that Assemblymember Bonta is co-authoring with Assembly Member Bloom and Assembly Member Chiu. Our office is working to gather support for this bill and naturally we wanted to reach out to see if this is an issue your organization can consider supporting.”

“The bill is pretty straightforward as it repeals the Costa-Hawkins law. A strategic communications and advocacy plan is in the works. However, we are asking all of our local advocates and their partners to help by sending in letters of support, making phone calls, writing op-eds, setting up meetings with key Assemblymembers and mobilize constituents in support of AB 1506. This will be a heavy lift and we need all hands on deck!”

“Currently the bill has gone through its first reading (introduced 2/17/17) and we expect it to be assigned to the Housing and Community Development Committee within the next couple of weeks. We will keep you informed of when it reaches the committee. There are seven members, and we need a majority to pass. I have highlighted in bold the members whose votes are critical in order to get the bill passed out of committee. If you have allies in these districts please communicate with them and ask them to support AB 1506.”

Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee Members:

• David Chiu (chair) – D, San Francisco

• Marc Steinorth (vice chair) – R, Rancho Cucamonga

• Raul Bocanegra – R, San Fernando

• ED CHAU – D, MONTERY PARK

• Steven Choi – R, Tustin

• ASH KALRA – D, SAN JOSE

• MONIQUE LIMON – D, SANTA BARBARA

If you need contact information please let me know. Please let me know if you have any questions, I will be more than happy to talk with you about it and connect you with our Legislative Director if necessary. Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Tonya D. Love
Office of Assemblymember Rob Bonta
1515 Clay Street, Ste. 2204
Oakland, CA 94612

California Apartment Association (CAA) is against the repeal of Costa-Hawkins

It is no surprise that the California Apartment Association (CAA) is against the repeal of Costa-Hawkins, and is aggressively taking action to stop the repeal of Costa-Hawkins. The CAA has many politicians in it’s pocket as a direct result of the corrupting influence it’s BIG MONEY has on politicians, and lawmakers in California.

Greg McConnell of The McConnell Group in Oakland, who resides in Danville, likes to boast that he is the one who led the charge to pass the notorious the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act. A law that stripped cities of it’s right to regulate rental housing rents as a way to protect renters from unscrupulous landlords.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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