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Prop 98: No more Berkeley rent control?

There's a lot of hassles that come with living in Berkeley. However, one benefit to students is rent control. Upon moving into an apartment, future rent increases are determined by Berkeley's rent stabilization board.

This benefit ends if Proposition 98 passes. From the CA Legislative Analyst's Office:

The measure generally prohibits government from limiting the price property owners may charge others to purchase, occupy, or use their land or buildings. This provision would affect local rent control measures. Specifically, government could not enact new rent control measures, and any rent control measure enacted after January 1, 2007 would end. Other rent control measures (those enacted before January 1, 2007) would be phased out on a unit-by-unit basis after an apartment unit or mobile home park space is vacated. Once a tenant left an apartment or mobile home space, property owners could charge market rate rents, and that apartment unit or mobile home space would not be subject to rent control again.

The remainder of the report may be found here.

I'm not taking a position one way or the other on the matter. I'm just highlighting the real-world impact upcoming legislation will have on Boalt students. If the presidential primary in March wasn't enough for you to get yourself registered and turn out to vote, hopefully something like this will.

A related note: the election is not until June 3 - well into our summer gigs. Time to sign up for absentee ballots if you're venturing outside Berkeley during that period...

Full post as published by Nuts & Boalts on February 28, 2008 (boomark / email).