California approves rent control across the state to alleviate the housing crisis



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According to the Zillow Online Real Estate Market, only about 7% of Californian properties listed last year experienced a higher rent increase than permitted by law. But there could be a big effect in high gentrification neighborhoods like Boyle Heights in Los Angeles, where typical rents for apartments not covered by city regulation have jumped more than 40% since 2016.

By limiting the steepest and steepest rent increases, the bill will likely reduce the incentives for hedge funds and other investors to buy properties for which it is foreseeable to replace working-class occupants with paying tenants. higher rents.

Sandra Zamora, a 27-year-old preschool teacher, lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Menlo Park, California, just minutes away from Facebook's expanding headquarters. A year ago, Ms. Zamora's building changed hands and rent increased from $ 1,100 to $ 1,900, an increase of over 70 per cent. Most of his neighbors are gone. Ms. Zamora stayed, adding a roommate in the 600 square foot space and holding a weekend job as a barista.

"An increase of $ 800 at a time was really shocking," she said. "It makes me think every month:" O.K., when will it happen? How much will I have increased next month? 'It's just a constant worry.'

Although more and more states are beginning to experience rent control, there has been a long history in cities such as New York, which responded to the housing shortage after World War II, and San Francisco, where it was adopted in 1979.

Today, it is common in many cities in New Jersey and several cities in California, including Berkeley and Oakland, although their shape differs from one jurisdiction to another. Regulated flats in New York are generally subject to rent ceilings, even after a tenant change, for example, while rent control in the Bay Area does not include such provisions.

In New York, where nearly half of the rental stock is regulated, a board determines the maximum rent that increases each year. This year, it approved a cap of 1.5% on one-year leases, which is well below the limits imposed in Oregon and California.

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