Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act

Landmark Properties, a real estate development company based in Georgia that has developed off-campus student housing across the country, plans to build a 12-story housing project at 2530 Bancroft Way.

Community members gathered Tuesday in front of Freehouse Berkeley to protest the Berkeley Property Owners Association, or BPOA, celebrating the end of the COVID-19 eviction moratorium.

“Every time a tenant moves out, the landlords can raise the rent or whatever they want,” Berkeley’s Rent Stabilization Board chair Leah Simon-Weisberg said. “Ever since then, it just goes up and up.”

UC Berkeley has decided to proceed with the demolition of 1921 Walnut St., a rent-controlled apartment in Downtown Berkeley, in order to build transfer student housing.

As the tenants face challenges with paying rent amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Californians will be voting on Proposition 21, a measure that would allow local governments to expand rent control and limit price hikes between tenants.

With the extreme housing shortage in the Bay Area, Berkeley’s rent control is not enough to make the city’s housing affordable.

One need look no further than the town of Paradise, which virtually disappeared from the map a year ago after being in the direct path of the Carr Fire. As hundreds of units were lost over the course of several fateful days, the already tight and expensive housing market was further aggravated by the drop in the number of available units that those displaced can afford.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s October declaration of a state of emergency has drawn attention to certain protections imposed by a California law preventing businesses from unfairly raising prices during times of crisis.

California is in a serious housing crisis — and yet, California voters failed to pass Proposition 10 to repeal Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and allow for much needed rent control.

Berkeley residents had a chance to vote on seven local measures — three Alameda County measures, four city of Berkeley measures — on their November ballots. All passed as of press time about 2 a.m.