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Legislative advocate briefs board on 2026 housing bills and possible affordable‑housing bond
Summary
Legislative advocate Brian Augusta updated the board on early 2026 legislative activity: bills on mobile‑home rent caps, smoking restrictions in state‑subsidized housing, repeal of on‑site manager requirements, work‑requirement prohibitions for federally subsidized housing, eviction‑data collection, and tenant application disclosures for pet rules; he also flagged a potential billion‑dollar bond measure for affordable housing to appear on the November ballot.
The Rent Control Board received an update from legislative advocate Brian Augusta about housing‑related measures in the 2026 legislative session and an expected bond effort to fund affordable housing.
Augusta told the board that housing affordability, renter protections and stabilization remain major themes despite a tighter state budget. Key measures he highlighted included AB543 (a mobile‑home park space‑rent cap modeled on the Tenant Protection Act framework), AB1695 (prohibiting smoking in multifamily developments subsidized with state funds), AB1771 (repealing the statutory requirement for an on‑site manager in buildings with 16 or more units and preempting local requirements in that bill's draft), AB2128 (seeking to block federal work‑requirement rules from being adopted by public housing authorities), and a suite of bills to improve eviction data collection and tenant disclosure practices (including a bill to require earlier pet‑related disclosures and refund of screening fees when undisclosed rules prevent leasing).
Augusta said two bond measures were circulating that could place roughly $10 billion of affordable‑housing bond funding before voters in November; the exact size and program distribution remained unsettled, and he said differences between the assembly and senate versions would be reconciled before a final proposal.
Commissioners asked about policy rationales and likely impacts: for example, the on‑site manager repeal is pitched to reflect modern communication practices and reduce staffing mandates, while opponents say it would eliminate jobs and could reduce on‑site services. On the smoking ban, commissioners asked how enforcement and eviction risk would be handled; Augusta said those issues were part of ongoing negotiations and would be watched closely. Augusta cautioned that some bills are still in "spot" form, meaning the substantive text is pending amendment.
Augusta said the board and staff would be kept apprised as bills develop and recommended ongoing monitoring because proposed changes could affect local rent‑control administration and tenant protections.
