Who's Afraid of California's New Housing Law?
The Tenant Protections Act of 2019
In 2019, California passed the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482), which significantly strengthened tenant protections in the state. The law, which went into effect on January 1, 2020, limits the amount that landlords can raise rents, restricts evictions, and provides tenants with more due process protections.
The law's passage was a major victory for tenant advocates, who had long argued that California's housing market was stacked against renters and that the state needed to do more to protect tenants from displacement. [1]
Provisions of the Tenant Protection Act
The Tenant Protection Act includes a number of provisions that are designed to protect tenants from displacement, including:
- Rent control: The law limits the amount that landlords can raise rents by 5% per year plus the rate of inflation, or 10% per year, whichever is lower. This provision only applies to buildings that were built before 1995. [2]
- Just cause evictions: The law restricts the reasons for which landlords can evict tenants. Landlords can only evict tenants for "just cause," such as failure to pay rent, violating the terms of the lease, or creating a nuisance. [3]
- Due process protections: The law provides tenants with more due process protections, such as the right to a hearing before they can be evicted. [4]
The Tenant Protection Act is a significant victory for tenant advocates, and it is likely to have a major impact on the rental market in California.
Who's Afraid of the Tenant Protection Act?
The Tenant Protection Act has been met with mixed reactions. Tenant advocates have praised the law as a much-needed protection for renters, while landlords and real estate industry groups have criticized the law as an overreach that will discourage investment in rental housing. [5]
Landlords argue that the law will make it more difficult to evict tenants who are not paying rent or who are causing problems, and that it will discourage investors from building new rental housing. [6]
Tenant advocates, on the other hand, argue that the law is necessary to protect tenants from displacement and that it will not have a significant impact on the supply of rental housing. They point to the fact that similar laws have been enacted in other states without causing a decrease in the number of rental units. [7]
The Future of the Tenant Protection Act
The Tenant Protection Act is likely to face legal challenges, and it is possible that the law could be overturned or amended in the future. [8]
However, the law is a significant victory for tenant advocates, and it is likely to have a major impact on the rental market in California. It remains to be seen whether the law will be able to withstand legal challenges and whether it will have the desired effect of protecting tenants from displacement.
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