In the past weeks the California Association of Realtors mobilized members of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors and other state Realtor associations, urging them to contact their state legislators to support C.A.R.'s stand on a number of housing-related bills that were up for a vote in the legislature.
"Realtors are staunch supporters of private property rights and believe the solution to the state's housing crisis is to build more housing," SILVAR president Alan Barbic explained the reason behind the Realtor stance regarding most housing-related bills.
SB 50, a C.A.R.-sponsored bill that tackled zoning restrictions with the purpose of increasing home building near mass transit and job-rich areas, never reached the Senate floor; instead, it died in the Senate Appropriations Committee. The committee chair has broad autonomy to hold up any bill they choose and, in this case, committee chair Sen. Anthony Portantino stated SB 50, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, still needed amending. The bill will be eligible for reconsideration in January.
AB 1482 on rent caps passed 43-28 last Wednesday night. The proposal, authored by Assemblyman David Chiu, would prohibit landlords from raising the rent each year by more than 7 percent plus the annual increase in the cost of living. After successfully negotiating a deal with Chiu to amend the bill to exempt property owners with 10 or fewer single-family detached homes and set the law to expire in 2023, C.A.R. withdrew its opposition and took a neutral position.
"This bill compromise is a balance between preserving the rights of rental property owners and protecting at-risk tenants," explained Barbic.
AB 1481 failed to get the 41 votes it needed to pass out of the Assembly last Thursday night. Both C.A.R. and the California Apartment Association opposed this bill because it would have imposed just cause eviction policies statewide and would have required a property owner to provide relocation assistance to tenants for "no-fault" evictions.
SB 329, whichcreates a mandate that landlords participate in Section 8, was opposed by C.A.R., but passed the Senate floor by three votes. It now moves to the Assembly.
AB 1590, C.A.R.'s sponsored first-time homebuyer tax credit bill, passed the Assembly by a 61-3 vote. This bill now moves to the Senate.
The updates on these housing-related bills come as it was recently announced that California built only 97,000 new homes last year. This is well short of the 500,000 per year Gov. Gavin Newsom has set his sights on, said Barbic.
"If the legislature is to make significant progress towards this goal it would need to see more pro-housing legislation move forward. California ranks 49 out of 50 states in housing units per capita. We need to do more to address our housing demand," said Barbic. "We need to find ways the state can convince homeowners to favor new development in their own backyard and find innovative solutions for our homeless population."
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.