Ballot measures to build more affordable housing and protect tenants from soaring rent increases were plentiful and fared well in last week’s midterm elections both in the Bay Area and across the U.S., a sign of growing angst over record-high rents exacerbated by inflation and a dearth of available homes.
Voters approved capping rent increases at below inflation in three U.S. cities: Portland, Maine, and Richmond and Santa Monica in California. Another measure was leading in the vote count in Pasadena outside Los Angeles. In Florida, voters in Orange County, which includes Orlando, overwhelmingly passed a rent-stabilization measure, although a court ruling means it’s unlikely to go into force.
Most states preempt cities and counties from enacting rent stabilization, the result of lobbying by the real estate industry in the 1970s. Still, in cities accustomed to rent regulation, voters approved stronger rent caps and more tenant protections.
A measure in Richmond to limit how much landlords can raise the rent each year was approved by a 14-point margin: Measure P caps rent increases at 3% annually, or 60% of the local consumer price index (CPI), whichever is lower, building off the city’s existing rent-stabilization ordinance that was passed in 2016.
Gayle McLaughlin, a City Council member who backed the measure, said soaring inflation and an impending recession made the issue of rent control more salient for Richmond voters.
“Our tenant community has a lot of low-income renters, and we need to protect them,” she said. “So this cap on future rent increases … will really give our renters a sense of security, so that they won’t worry about being thrown out on the streets.”
But there were also considerable dissenting voices in Richmond, with nearly 43% of voters opposing Measure P. Derek Barnes, CEO of the East Bay Rental Housing Association, said inflation is hurting landlords, too — especially smaller landlords who don’t have deep pockets.
“Things like this [measure] really do make it difficult for owner-operators to run rental properties,” he said. “The rent increase cap just makes it extremely difficult to run a business, especially when expenses have increased exponentially.”
There were also dozens of proposals nationwide on the Nov. 8 ballot raising money for and authorizing construction of affordable housing, said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Many passed.
“Housing is a winning campaign issue. It’s one that voters show up for and it’s one that should cause policymakers at all levels to act,” said Yentel, adding that even a loss can be a win.
“The act of organizing itself builds strength, it builds power, and it builds connections and it builds momentum,” she said.
In Oakland, more than 73% of voters approved and passed Measure U for the issuance of $850 million in general obligation bonds, of which $350 million would be used for the purchase, renovation or construction of affordable housing. Oakland voters also approved Measure V, which expands eviction protections for tenants in RVs and new units and removes failure to execute a new lease as a just cause for eviction, while also prohibiting the eviction of educators and children during the academic school year. That measure passed with a 66% majority.
But not all ballot measures passed in the Bay Area. In Berkeley, Measure L — which would have issued $650 million in general obligation bonds to fund city services, including $200 million for affordable housing — didn’t get the necessary two-thirds vote needed to pass, even though 57% of voters did approve the measure.
Calls for more affordable homes and policies to keep tenants housed have been growing as homelessness increases even in places outside coastal urban centers such as San Francisco and Los Angeles. Moreover, teachers, police officers and other public servants say they cannot afford to live in the places where they work, resulting in nightmare commutes and staffing shortages.
