UC Berkeley professor blames rent control for California’s housing shortage.
Kenneth Rosen, a UC Berkeley economist and real estate consultant, published a paper Wednesday titled The Case For Preserving Costa Hawkins , in hopes of swaying voters against Proposition 10 . Proposition 10, which will go before voters in November , would repeal the 1995 Costa-Hawkins Act, a state law that severely curtails rent control in California cities. For example, under Costa-Hawkins, only San Francisco apartments built before 1979 may be subject to rent control. Passing Proposition 10 would not in and of itself create any new rent control housing, but it would allow cities to expand rent control stock for the first time in decades if they so choose. Rosen, however, argues that turning the clock back to 1994 will stifle new housing and drain apartment stock. Here’s how his case breaks down: Rosen cites the usual supply and demand argument about housing costs: “Following decades of strong population growth and persistent underbuilding, Californ