Over the past 20+ years, California has been experiencing a severe affordable housing crisis. While housing should be a basic human right, efforts to meet residents’ housing needs have been consistently undermined by corporate advocacy groups, real estate companies, and law enforcement organizations, among others.
Below are some of the key bills and ballot measures that have shaped policy in this area. Click on them to learn more about what they did, or could have done, and who supported and opposed them.
2013-14
This bill sought to create new rights and protections for homeless persons, including protection from discrimination, rights to confidentiality and legal counsel, protections for those who aid homeless persons, law enforcement reporting on selective enforcement against homeless persons, and the establishment of aid centers for homeless persons.
Results
Died in Assembly
Supporters
Sponsored by Western Center on Law and Poverty and Western Regional Advocacy Project, this bill was supported by a group of 89 housing, social justice, faith, community and other organizations, as well as hundreds of individuals (as of 4/22/13)
Opponents
49 corporate advocacy groups, municipalities, law enforcement groups, and other organizations, including (as of 4/22/13):
2015-16
This bill sought to provide persons experiencing homelessness the right to use public space without discrimination based on their housing status.
Results
Died in Senate
Supporters
Sponsored by East Bay Community Law Center, JERICHO: A Voice for Justice, Western Center on Law and Poverty, and Western Regional Advocacy Project, this bill was supported by a group of 78 housing, social justice, faith, community and other organizations (as of 4/2/15).
Opponents
13 corporate advocacy groups, law enforcement groups, and other organizations, including (as of 4/2/15):
2015-16
This bill sought to provide persons experiencing homelessness the right to use public space without discrimination based on their housing status.
Results
Died in Senate
Supporters
A group of 89 housing, social justice, faith, community and other organizations, as well as 149 individuals (as of 4/7/16)
Opponents
165 corporate advocacy groups, municipalities, law enforcement groups, and other organizations, including (as of 4/7/16):
2017-18
This bill would have repealed the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, thus allowing counties and cities to adopt rent control ordinances that regulate how much landlords can charge tenants for any type of rental housing.
Results
Died in Assembly
Supporters
102 housing, social justice, health, labor, faith, community and other organizations (as of 1/9/18)
Opponents
29 corporate advocacy and other organizations, including (as of 1/9/18):
2018
Proposition 10 would have repealed the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, thus allowing counties and cities to adopt rent control ordinances that regulate how much landlords can charge tenants for any type of rental housing.
Spending in Support
$35.1M
Spending in Opposition
$103.6M
Results
Defeated 59%/41%
Supporters
Spent $35.1 million, with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation accounting for $30.1 million.
Opponents
Spent $103.6 million, with the biggest spenders being:
$8.5M
$8.0M
$6.8M
$5.4M
George M. Marcus and Affiliated Entities
$3.0M
Geoffrey H. Palmer
$2.6M
$2.3M
Other prominent opponents included The Irvine Company ($1.3 million), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America ($1.1 Million), California Business Roundtable ($283K), Douglas Emmett Properties ($229K), and California Apartment Association ($187K).
2019-20
This bill limited rent-gouging by placing an upper limit on annual rent increases—5 percent plus inflation—and requiring that landlords have and state a just cause in order to evict tenants who have occupied the premises for a year.
Results
Passed House 43-31
Passed Senate 25-10
Signed by Governor Newsom
Supporters
162 housing, social justice, health, labor, faith, community and other organizations (as of 9/9/19)
Opponents
19 corporate advocacy groups, real estate companies, and other organizations, including (as of 9/9/19):
2020
Proposition 21 would have allowed counties and cities to adopt rent control ordinances on properties that were first occupied over 15 years ago.
Spending in Support
$50.5M
Spending in Opposition
$118.3M
Results
Defeated 60%/40%
Supporters
Spent $50.5 million, with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation accounting for $50.2 million.
Opponents
Spent $118.3 million, with the biggest spenders being:
Other prominent opponents included California Association of Realtors ($1.1 million), Douglas Emmett Properties ($523K), California Business Properties Association ($352K), and The Irvine Company ($185K).
2023-24
This bill would have allowed counties and cities to adopt rent control ordinances on properties that are at least 28 years old.
Results
Died in Senate
Supporters
A group of 41 housing, health, social justice, labor, faith, and community organizations and municipalities (as of 5/22/23)
Opponents
20 corporate advocacy groups and other organizations, including (as of 5/22/23):
2023-24
This bill made a series of revisions to existing statewide protections against eviction without just cause and provides enforcement mechanisms for the violation of statewide restrictions on residential rent increases and statewide protections against no-fault evictions.
Results
Passed Assembly 60-18
Passed Senate 24-9
Signed by Governor Newsom
Supporters
A group of 191 housing, health, social justice, labor, faith, and community organizations and municipalities (as of 9/14/23)
Opponents
The following organizations (as of 9/14/23):
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
California Rental Housing Association
Southern California Rental Housing Association
2024
Proposition 33 would have repealed the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, thus allowing counties and cities to adopt rent control ordinances that regulate how much landlords can charge tenants.
Spending in Support
$52.7M
Spending in Opposition
$129.4M
Results
Defeated 60%/40%
Supporters
Spent $52.7 million, with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation accounting for $51.7 million.
Opponents
Spent $129.4 million, with the biggest spenders being:
2024
Proposition 5 would have lowered the supermajority vote requirement from two-thirds (66.67%) vote to 55% for local jurisdictions to issue bonds for affordable housing and public infrastructure projects.
Spending in Support
$32.3M
Spending in Opposition
$31.3M
Results
Defeated 55%/45%
Supporters
Spent $32.3 million, with the vast majority of the funding coming from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ($21.6 million) and NPH Action Fund ($4.9 million).
Opponents
Spent $31.4 million, with the vast majority coming from California Association of Realtors ($22.7 million), National Association of Realtors ($5.1 million), California Business Roundtable ($1.6 million), unitemized contributors ($911K), and the California Business Properties Association ($129K).
2024
Proposition 34 was a transparent attempt to limit the ability of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to pursue rent control measures (such as Prop. 10, 21, and 33 above) by requiring certain healthcare providers to spend 98% of their revenues from the federal discount prescription drug program on direct patient care.
Spending in Support
$46.5M
Spending in Opposition
$17.0M
Results
Passed 51%/49%
Supporters
Spent $46.5 million, with the vast majority coming from the California Apartment Association ($46.1 million) and the California Association of Realtors also contributing $257K.
Opponents
Spent $17.0 million, with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation contributing $16.9 million.
2025-26
This bill would have amended the Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and lowered the annual allowable rental increase to no more than 5% per year, eliminated the exemption for single-family housing, and removed the sunset date.
Results
Died in Assembly
Supporters
A group of 178 housing, health, social justice, labor, faith, and community organizations and municipalities (as of 1/9/26).
Opponents
29 corporate advocacy groups, real estate companies, and other organizations, including (as of 1/9/26):
Where are we now?
If not for this small group of corporate advocacy groups, real estate companies, and law enforcement organizations, California could have made meaningful progress in addressing the severe lack of affordable housing across the state for the past 20 years.
Instead, while California has had some significant housing justice victories (such as the Tenant Protection Act of 2019), currently in California:
- There are 1.3 million extremely low-income renter households in the state, yet only about one-quarter as many affordable homes available, ranking 48th out of 50 states in housing availability for these families (National Low Income Housing Coalition).
- California also ranks 48th out of 50 states in the percentage of renters who spend over half their income on rent (Public Policy Institute of California).
- California is home to an estimated 187,084 unhoused residents, meaning almost one-quarter of the U.S.’s entire homeless population lives in California (Cal Matters).
- Most studies of California’s housing market indicate that the state has a shortage of between 800,000 and several million affordable homes (Cal Matters).
