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Committee splits after amending rent-control ordinance tied to Costa Hawkins repeal
Summary
The committee amended an ordinance to expand local rent control to units built between 06/13/1979 and 11/05/2024 that would become subject to city authority if state preemption is repealed; the amendment passed but the committee did not advance a final recommendation and continued the file to the call of the chair after a 2-1 vote on the main recommendation.
The Land Use and Transportation Committee debated an ordinance that would automatically bring units built between June 13, 1979, and Nov. 5, 2024, under San Francisco's rent-stabilization rules if state preemption from the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act is lifted. President Aaron Peskin said the change would extend protections to "roughly a 100,000 San Francisco renters" and would take effect if and when the state law changes.
Peskin described the measure as a way to address what he called an arbitrary two-tier system created by state preemption and said the ordinance preserves existing exemptions for single-family homes, condominiums and deed-restricted affordable units. "This legislation proposes something that is very simple and very elegant to move up the new construction date, but not to touch new development," Peskin said.
Rent-board staff and city attorneys clarified legal details. Joey Kumis explained the three categorical exemptions in San Francisco's rent ordinance — single-family/condominiums, deed-restricted affordable housing under other regulatory regimes, and properties built after 1979 — and noted that removing the post-1979 exemption would not nullify separate deed restrictions.
Public testimony was sharply divided. Tenant advocates, anti-displacement groups and community organizations urged the committee to act, citing displacement stories and the number of units they estimate lack rent stabilization. Industry and landlord groups, including the San Francisco Apartment Association and the Housing Action Coalition, urged caution, saying the ordinance could hurt new housing development and arguing the city should conduct economic analysis.
President Peskin moved non-substantive edits to clarify the 06/13/1979 date; that amendment passed on a unanimous committee vote. The motion to recommend the ordinance as amended to the full board failed 2-1 (Chair Melgar recorded a no vote). The committee then voted to duplicate the file and continue it to the call of the chair, so the committee did not send a final recommendation at this meeting.
