Tag: rent control

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Mayor Lurie declares ‘rent emergency’ as San Franciscans struggle

By Silas Valentino : sfgate – excerpt (audio)

Proclaiming a “rent emergency” in San Francisco, Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a series of tenant protections Thursday morning that he says will fight the city’s rapidly escalating affordability crisis.

The mayor’s proposed reforms include six ordinances and more than $30 million in investments, and addresses three areas fueling the rent emergency: protections from unwarranted evictions and “sudden rent spikes” while beefing up the city’s enforcement of tenant rights.

Lurie did not announce any immediate action and it’s unclear when renters in the city can expect any tangible relief as the median rent in San Francisco has risen over 25% in the last year.

The incredible increase in prices has allowed some landlords to take advantage of the booming economy by driving rents up to “astronomical” levels, according to City Attorney David Chiu. The city is now asking renters to report any wrongdoing to the city attorney’s office….

While local and state law limit some rent increases, there are numerous carve-outs to those laws that leave many San Francisco renters at risk of unlimited rent increases. Some tenants have seen rent increases as high as 90% during this latest housing crisis…

The mayor’s most progressive effort is to reaffirm his support for District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder’s proposed legislation to prevent evictions that are issued for less than a month’s worth of unpaid rent.

Introduced this month, the law would bar a landlord from evicting a tenant for nonpayment unless they’re owed at least one month of the fair market rent…(more)

Still no mention of the numerous unfilled housing units that exist in the city today. Seems like that filling those should one a priority. Read the rest of the article to see more suggestions by other supervisors.

 

 

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Rent control bill advances, with Melgar in opposition

By Tim Redmond : 48hills – excerpt
Peskin measure would add protections to tens of thousands of units (if the state allows). Can Breed veto it?…

Prop. 33 on the Nov. 5 ballot would overturn Costa Hawkins. If that happens, and Peskin’s bill passes, every apartment build between June 14, 1979 and Nov. 5, 2024 would come under the city’s rent control law…

The legislation, sponsored by Sup. Aaron Peskin, would extend rent controls to the tens of thousands of units that are exempt under state law, if and when that state law is repealed or amended.

Under the Costa Hawkins Act, any apartment built after June 13, 1979 is exempt from any form of local rent control…(more)

Not sure why no one is asking the Mayoral candidates about this. They do a lot of lip service to “the high costs of housing”, but avoid talking about the corporate takeover and control of rental pricing. There is even less talk about the exorbitant costs of fuel and utilities. Most of these are state problems, but they need to be on the table for discussion every time the price of rent is raised, in my opinion.