Judge to Decide Soon Whether Rent Control in Mountain View Can Proceed

A judge in Santa Clara County heard arguments -- but did not rule -- Tuesday in a case that will determine whether rent control can move forward in Mountain View.

The California Apartment Association already has been granted a temporary restraining order against Mountain View's Measure V, which would limit rent increases to the consumer price index for certain properties and make it harder to evict tenants. If the judge rules in favor of the landlord group, the measure would be further delayed while the case works its way through the court.

The CAA and other opponents of rent control argue that landlords are not responsible for the regional housing crisis, while supporters often point out that rising rents have outpaced incomes.

Mountain View was one of five Bay Area cities that placed rent control on the ballot last fall in order to prevent displacement of residents. Between 2011 and 2015, rents in the city increased 52.7 percent, according to estimates by RealFacts.

Measure V passed with approximately 53 percent of the vote last fall.

The measure would roll back rents to October 2015 levels for tenants who were in their rentals before that time.

"It does deprive the property owner of due process and a fair rate of return on their property," said Joshua Howard, senior vice president for the California Apartment Association in Northern California, which has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into opposing rent control.

Howard said owners expecting a certain income from rent who have made improvements to their properties would be financially harmed if rents were rolled back. He adds that October 2015 is an arbitrary date, although that's when the city says the "public outcry" about rising rents began.

Earlier this year, a judge refused to grant a preliminary injunction against a rent control measure passed by Richmond voters. The CAA is also trying to prevent another rent control measure from being passed in Santa Rosa's upcoming June election.

"I feel very optimistic," said Juliet Brodie, a Stanford Law School professor who helped counsel renter advocates in Mountain View. "The California Apartment Association is throwing old arguments against the wall hoping something's going to stick."

Brodie said there's no telling when the judge will rule on the preliminary injunction. But the judge in the Richmond case took a couple of weeks. Brodie said she'd be surprised if it took that long.

More than a dozen California cities have some form of rent stabilization, according to a 2015 report from the Legislative Analyst's Office. The report said that rent control does little to address the housing shortage and that it would "likely discourage new construction." But building more housing -- something both sides agree needs to happen -- could take years, and there are countless stories about tenants being priced out of the Bay Area.