Redwood City councilmembers reaffirmed their opposition to any form of rent control at Monday night's meeting when they shot down a proposed moratorium on rent increases.
The Housing and Human Concerns Committee was tasked to meet with residents and stakeholders before making recommendations to City Council Monday about how to address the city's affordable housing crisis. One of the proposals they put forth was a temporary freeze on rent hikes greater than 7-10%. The proposal was met with general unease from the council, as 4 members voted against it outright, and the remaining 3 voted for more research to be done before proceeding.
“I don’t see a distinction between a moratorium on rent increases and rent control. And, rent control is proven not to work. It doesn’t treat everyone fairly, including everyone on the tenants’ side fairly, and doesn’t treat everyone on the landlords’ side fairly", said Redwood City Mayor John Seybert. "Our council across the board has spoken in opposition of rent control, this isn’t something new".
City council did show interest in other alternatives to addressing affordable housing. They instructed staff to continue studying the viability of a relocation assistance program, and discussed possibly requiring longer lease terms in order to limit the frequency of rent increases.
With rent control on the November ballot in both Burlingame and San Mateo, it will be interesting to see what effect the results of those elections will have on rent control's momentum in Redwood City. Even without the backing of city council, rent control could make it on the next ballot if community activists obtain enough resident signatures.
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