Proposition 21 Defeated

By Jeremy Raglin | November 9, 2020

2020 has been a tough year for the rental market in California in many ways but, the good news is that Proposition 21 was defeated on November 3rd. This means that State-wide rent control will not come into effect in California anytime soon.

Does this mean that we will see full rent control in the coming years? That’s anyone’s guess. The good news that as of today, both landlords and tenants across California understand the importance of voting down rent control, and they made the right choice.

Californians Understand The Negative Impact Of Rent Control

“Yet again, California voters clearly understood the negative impacts Prop. 21 would have had on the availability of affordable housing in our state by clearly rejecting this radical ballot measure,” Tom Bannon, chief executive of the California Apartment Assn., said in a statement.

“It is now time to move from ballot-box battles and enact policies through the Legislature that allow the state to build more affordable housing that will once again make California an affordable place to live for our families.”

Proposition 21 was opposed by 59.8% of the voters, according to the state’s unofficial election tally Wednesday morning.

Landlords won a similar battle in 2018 when voters turned down the Proposition 10 rent control initiative. Like that campaign, total fundraising for Proposition 21 eclipsed $100 million. Landlord groups, notably large real estate investment trusts Essex Property Trust, Equity Residential, and AvalonBay Communities, out-raised supporters of Proposition 21 more than 2 to 1. Nearly all the more than $40 million behind the Yes on 21 campaign came from the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which similarly funded the failed 2018 initiative.