About 44% of Californians are renters. But as far as State Assemblyman Alex Lee can tell, only 5% of the California Assembly — four of its 80 members — don’t own a home.
In Lee’s view, that means the state’s 17 million renters aren’t adequately represented in Sacramento. So earlier this year, he and his three fellow tenants in the Assembly formed a new “Tenants’ Caucus” to advocate for tenant-centric policies. Another goal: push back against what they see as the outsized influence of landlords and real estate groups in state politics.
With Lee, 27, representing parts of San Jose as the youngest member of the state legislature, the caucus so far includes fellow Democrats Matt Haney of San Francisco, Tasha Boerner Horvath of Encinitas and Isaac Bryan from Los Angeles.
In California, half of all renters spend more than a third of their income on housing, classifying them as “rent-burdened” by federal standards. Many live in cramped or dangerous conditions. And some are still struggling to recover from the economic fallout of the pandemic after most emergency eviction protections expired and rental assistance programs closed to new applications.
In an interview, Lee explained how he hopes the caucus can help vulnerable tenants. This includes creating a statewide rental property registry; the reform of the Ellis Act, which allows landlords of rent-controlled buildings to carry out no-fault evictions when they leave the rental market; and the repeal of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which prevents cities from applying rent control to single-family homes and newer apartment buildings, and ensures that landlords can charge rent at the rate of the market to new tenants.
Critics of rent control ordinances argue that they disproportionately harm small landlords and discourage new development. They also cite research showing that rent caps can reduce overall housing affordability by inducing landlords to stop renting their units.
Even so, Lee — who rents an apartment in Sacramento but lives at home with his mother in San Jose to save money — has made it clear he thinks expanding rent control and putting in place place new protections for renters were essential to keep low- and middle-income Californians safe. Their houses.
Q: What kinds of policies will the Tenant Caucus push?
A: On political issues, we would like to reform the Ellis Act with my bill, Assembly Bill 2050. But we also want to abolish Costa-Hawkins, which removes local control for any city that wants to have its own (Rent Control Ordinance ). And we would also like to see a rent registry bill. We also want to work on empowering tenant voices and working with tenant organizations across the state to make their voices heard.
Q: Do you see the tenant caucus as a way to balance the influence of well-funded landlords and real estate groups in the state legislature?
A: This, of course, is to highlight the power disparity, and not just within the state legislature, but within the state of California as a whole. Frankly, those who make our housing decisions are often the ones with much, much more economic security (and security as homeowners) than most of the population.
Q: How does the caucus aim to muster enough support to repeal Costa-Hawkins and allow cities to pass tougher rent control ordinances?
A: Escalating house prices and unaffordability are obvious to all. And those who profit from it are the big real estate interests. And I’m not talking about grandfather and grandmother (owners). I’m talking about corporations. Costa-Hawkins must be repealed so that there can be sensible local reforms.
That’s the important thing, to build that kind of power. This is why we are empowering tenant-focused organizations, local equity groups – as well as highlighting and organizing among ourselves as tenants, because there is such a power gap.
Q: What would a national landlord rent registry seek to accomplish?
A: I think the most important aspect is that it would help enforce our laws. Right now, we don’t know who owns what, where, how, how long – and we don’t know where the owners are. And without understanding the actual landscape…you can’t apply many of these laws. Even when it comes to evictions for cause and rent control, many people have escaped these laws because they deliberately misled their tenants or they don’t know (the laws).
Q: Do you think state and local eviction moratoriums and housing assistance programs during the pandemic have changed the conversation about renter protection?
A: Rising rents obviously keep housing affordability in the public mind for everyone. The (eviction moratorium and housing assistance programs) have proven that the state can be effective in emergencies to help with (housing insecurity). Now that we’ve opened those doors, people understand that more is possible.
Q: Do you think the state should phase in new eviction moratoriums or rent assistance?
A: In the short term, especially as we may be facing a recession, I think emergency rental assistance and eviction moratoriums should still be on the table. And we have learned many lessons from implementing both programs throughout the pandemic. And I think those are still viable options for many, many millions of Californians.
Q: What are the next steps for the Tenant Caucus?
A: In early 2023, we hope to organize listening sessions or roundtables with stakeholder groups, in particular with tenant organizations and tenants themselves, to empower them and involve them more in our policy decisions. .