Assemblyman Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) has introduced AB 1157, which would tighten the provisions of California’s statewide rent control regime, which was introduced in the Tenant Protection Act of 2019. It would reduce the size of the rent increases landlords could request from their tenants and make other changes.
What’s new
The 2019 rent control act imposed a statewide rent increase cap of the rate of inflation plus 5 percent with a 10 percent cap. The new measure would reduce allowable annual rent increases to 2 percent above the rate of inflation with a hard cap of 5 percent. Inflation would be measured by the consumer price index for urban consumers (CPI-U) for the metropolitan area in which the property is located.
The 2019 act was enacted with a sunset clause stating that the provisions of the act would expire on January 1, 2030. AB 1157 would remove this clause, making the provisions of the act permanent.
The 2019 act focused on multifamily rental properties and exempted single-family rentals from many of its provisions. AB 1157 would extend the provisions to single-family rentals.
Meet the author
AB 1157 was introduced by Assemblyman Ash Kalra, but it has attracted 8 co-authors in the 80-member State Assembly and one co-author in the 40-member State Senate.
Assemblyman Kalra has made housing a focus of his attention with sponsorship of 3 housing bills in the last legislative session that became law. One bill extends the time tenants have to respond to a complaint for unlawful detainer from 5 days to 10 days. A second bill requires an owner of an affordable housing property whose rent restrictions are ending to sell the property to a new owner who agrees to continued rent restrictions, provided that the new owner makes a “bona fide” purchase offer. The original owner could retain his property by agreeing to re-restrict rents or by agreeing to not sell the property for 30 years. The third bill gives developers more flexibility to take advantage of changes in planning standards.
The California Apartment Association is rallying opposition to AB 1157. The rent control measure is still in committee and a hearing in the Assembly Housing and Community Development committee is scheduled for April 24,2025.
