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Op-Ed: Rent control is a dead end for working families

San Diego County faces a very real affordability crisis. We all feel it. Whether you’re a renter or trying to buy your first home, housing costs are too high. But rent control is not the answer. Time and again, these policies have led to the same failed outcomes.

California voters have twice overwhelmingly rejected rent control at the ballot box. In 2020, 69% of voters rejected Prop 21, and 70% of voters rejected Prop 33 again in 2024. Voters know the truth: rent control does more harm than good. Sixty years of evidence prove it.

Rent control hurts working families through unintended consequences. It reduces the supply of rental housing by discouraging new construction, and leads to declining quality and maintenance.

Yet politicians like Zohran Mamdani — and some local officials here in San Diego County — are trying to sneak the failed rent control policies back in under new names like “rent stabilization.”

Rent control has been tried many times before, and it has failed every time. We all remember the disastrous effects of rent control in New York City in the 1970s. If implemented again, NYC will repeat that same mistake under Mamdani. San Diegans do not want that here.

Despite voters’ clear message, some Oceanside politicians pushed a so-called “rent stabilization” proposal. I’m glad that the Oceanside Council rejected the plan in a 3-2 vote. Council members Rick Robinson and Peter Weiss led the opposition.

The consequences of rent control are simple: fewer homes available and higher costs for everyone. In fact, federal data shows that 30% of households in rent-controlled units earn more than $100,000 per year. Rent control often benefits wealthier tenants while leaving working families behind.

Rent control didn’t lower housing costs anywhere it’s been tried. In Argentina, Javiar Milei eliminated rent control as part of his deregulatory agenda to stop inflation.

In the first six months of the new policy, rental housing supply rose by 212%, and the real price of rent fell by almost 27%. Milei proved once again that rent control distorts the market, misallocates supply, and undermines quality of life for working families.

San Diego already has a declining number of new housing starts, and rent control will only make it worse. The solution is straightforward: build more housing. We need to increase supply to meet demand. North County is creating jobs at a rapid pace — four new jobs for every new home built. That’s a sign of economic strength, but it also drives up demand for housing.

We also shouldn’t try to meet demand with high-rise towers in North County, which would radically alter the landscape and the nature of our community. These high-rise towers generally offer high-priced rental units, not the stability of suburban home ownership. We don’t want to turn North County into Los Angeles.

To keep up, we need the San Diego County government to streamline permitting and end the Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) regulation preventing the development of new single-family homes. The VMT — meant to limit carbon emissions — actually increases carbon emissions (by forcing SD workers to commute from Riverside County). It forces developers to pay exorbitant mitigation fees, which have killed plans for tens of thousands of housing units locally.

The county needs to reform and stop piling on regulations that drive up construction costs. When housing supply meets demand, affordability improves.

We can’t ignore the impact of high taxes on California’s housing crisis either. Our state already has the highest tax burden in the nation, yet county leaders like Terra Lawson-Remer want to add a new “transfer tax” on real estate sales. This would raise costs for buyers and sellers alike, pushing rents and home prices even higher — and leaving working families with even fewer affordable options.

San Diego County deserves better. We should focus on policies that actually work: increasing supply, cutting red tape, fostering economic growth and opposing new housing taxes.

We should unleash North County’s energy and innovation, build more single-family homes, and give working families a fair shot at the American Dream of homeownership.

Rent control is a dead end. But with the right policies, we will make housing affordable for families again in San Diego County.

Author: John Franklin

Source: https://thecoastnews.com/op-ed-rent-control-is-a-dead-end-for-working-families/