Richmond Rent Control Repealed After Opponents Gather Signatures
RICHMOND (KPIX 5) -- A few months after Richmond leaders approved rent control, the measure has been repealed after a signature drive backed by the California Apartment Association.
The rent control ordinance would have protected people like Janet Carpenter. "Priced out of San Francisco, priced out of Oakland, now maybe priced out of Richmond," Carpenter said.
Carpenter, a professor at City College of San Francisco, moved to Richmond three years ago. Her rent went from $1,250 a month in 2012 to $1,881 a month.
"It's becoming more and more unaffordable. I'm paying, I think, 40 percent of my income to rent," Carpenter said.
The Richmond City Council in August approved rent control, preventing landlords from increasing rents by more than two percent and making it more difficult to evict tenants. But the California Apartment Association collected 7,000 signatures to overturn the ordinance.
Petition gatherers reportedly got paid $12 for each signature.
"If it isn't Chevron trying to buy our election process, it's big money through the California Apartment Association," said Richmond councilmember and former mayor Gayle McLaughlin.
Jovanka Beckles, who is also on the council, said, "I'm disguised that our democracy is being invaded."
But the association, which represents landlords, said rent control encourages slumlords because homeowners will have less money to fix their apartments.
"Build affordable housing rather than put the burden of providing affordable housing on the back of one industry," said Joshua Howard of the association.
As for Carpenter, she's anticipating another rent hike, and possibly another move. "It's very upsetting to realize I'm going to be priced out of Richmond, too," she said.
City leaders can still put a rent control measure on the ballot next November.
