VISALIA, Calif. — Rent control is back on the ballot, as Californians will soon vote again on whether to repeal a statewide ban on most forms of rent stabilization.
Rent control supporters held a rally on Saturday in Visalia, where they say rents have spiked by nearly 40% since the pandemic.
The rally was held in support of the Justice for Renters Act. If approved by California voters, the measure would remove a statewide ban on local rent control ordinances.
Proponents say it’s necessary to combat skyrocketing housing costs. Data shows cities in the San Joaquin Valley have experienced some of the biggest rental price surges post-pandemic.
Low-income residents and their families often feel that pinch the hardest. At the Visalia rally, residents chanted "The rents rents are too damn high."
Aide Hernandez is a young farmworker who attended the rally. She says rising rents forced her to drop out of a nursing program and work in Tulare County’s citrus fields full time.
"It hurts my dad to know I had to stop my schooling in order to help provide for our home," she says.
The ballot measure, however, faces stiff opposition from real estate groups. Two similar initiatives have failed since 2018.
