Why Is Rent Control Futile?

Let’s make sure we get the questions right when we talk about rent control

If you’ve been listening to the recent conversation around rent control in Santa Barbara, you’ve only been reminded in passing that the statewide cap on rent increases throughout California is the lowest of 5 percent plus the Consumer Price Index or a flat 10 percent. If the legislation under consideration in City Hall passes, then the cap on rent increases in this community will be the lowest of 2 percent plus the Consumer Price Index.

These circumstances are truly unique. To my knowledge, not one of the 50 United States has ever legislated statewide rent control before. So we are faced with one of the very first opportunities as a city to tighten up a statewide rent control program by 3 percent. That is what we are talking about. It might take years for the inflation we are dealing with as a result of Putin’s infantile aggression in Ukraine, COVID-19, and general political instability to normalize and for this program to numerically affect rental rates in Santa Barbara.