San Francisco is chomping at the bit to expand rent control if the decades-old law of Costa-Hawkins is repealed

With some of the most stringent tenant protections anywhere, it’s hard to imagine that San Francisco could make it harder for landlords to do business in the city, but think again.

Under state law, single-family homes cannot be subject to rent control. Likewise, housing built after February 1, 1995, is exempt. Perhaps most importantly, local governments cannot dictate how much a landlord can charge a new tenant moving into a vacant unit. This is called vacancy decontrol; when a rental unit is vacant, the landlord can re-rent it at whatever dollar amount they want.

We are an avid follower of Marissa Kendall, a housing reporter who has asked us to chime in from time to time on landlord-tenant matters. She succinctly breaks down the heated debate between tenants’ advocates who say that the rent is too damn high and others who say that this will stifle the construction of sorely needed new housing.

 

 

Flanked by Supervisor Dean Preston - the most zealous of tenants' advocates - District 3 Supervisor and mayoral candidate Aaron Peskin got the spotlight when announcing the Board’s stance.

 

Our thoughts for what it's worth.

The first and foremost call to action for housing providers is to help defeat Proposition 33 so that lawmakers in San Francisco and elsewhere cannot expand rent control. This requires money, and our industry partners have not been shy in asking for donations. With a lot of money to burn, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is making a cogent argument to renters to pass the ballot initiative, and it is our responsibility as members of the rental housing community to provide a counternarrative.

We also want to legally raise rents to market rate while we can before landlords are stripped of this ability if the measure passes.

Finally, the value of a vacancy just went up, making tenant buyouts more attractive. Some of you might balk at the idea of paying a tenant to voluntarily move out, but this may be a prudent economic decision as there will be enormous dividends in the long run with increased rents, especially for landlords who are renting below market value.