It’s official: California voters will have the opportunity this November to repeal a 23-year-old law that prevents cities from capping rental prices on newer properties.
On Friday, Secretary of State Alex Padilla confirmed that supporters of a voter initiative calling for repeal of the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act had gathered enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot.
If passed, the measure would give city leaders new options when establishing or updating rent control policies. Longstanding rules limiting rent control to properties built before February 1995—or earlier, in many cases—would be struck from the books, giving local governments the power to place newer buildings under rent control regulations.
“The time for rent gouging by corporate landlords is coming to an end,” campaign director Damien Goodmon said in a statement.
The measure has already received endorsements from a number of city leaders, including L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Read more about the ballot measure and what its passage would mean here.