Sacramento City Council voted on Tuesday to approve a rent control compromise negotiated between officials and proponents of a ballot measure pushing for stronger tenant protections.
The new rules would put a 10 percent cap on yearly rent increases in the city, and also require property owners to give tenants 120 days notice for evictions without cause.
Many landlords opposed language in the act, which passed by a 7-to-1 vote. They were joined by low-income residents, who argued at the meeting that a 10 percent limit on annual rent hikes is not helpful.
Proponents of a measure that garnered enough signatures last year to qualify for the 2020 ballot threw their support behind the city’s proposal, saying that it gives renters immediate relief despite its shortcomings.
Veronica Beaty, who helped craft the ballot measure, suggested that the new rules will still have an impact on tenants. “My rent has increased rent by nearly 40 percent over the time I have lived in Sacramento,” she said at Tuesday’s meeting.
Some officials supported the deal but admitted it had flaws. Others argued that the cap stops at least some of the rent gouging that has occurred in the city.
“This is not so imperfect that we should not pass it,” Councilman Steve Hansen said. “Like any ordinance, we can revisit it. That's the beauty of not passing a ballot measure where you have to go back to the ballot to change it.”
The new rules will go into effect in 30 days, and will expire in five years.
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