Housing

Seven Ways California’s New “Rent Cap” Law Would Affect You

Published

6 years ago

October 3, 2019

“We built these ships, we dredged these canals in a San Francisco they never knew existed,” said African-American actor Jimmy Fails in the trailer of the June 2019 movie “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” which also stars Golden Gate City native Danny Glover.
The film – with sentimental flashbacks of a bygone era – centers on the ongoing gentrification in California’s largest city and how it has sapped the blackness out of the Fillmore neighborhood in San Francisco, once a thriving African-American political and cultural hub in the Bay Area.

In 1970, about 13 percent of San Francisco’s population was Black. That was about 1 in 7 San Franciscans. Today, the city’s Black population is only about 5 percent — or 1 in every 20 residents. And the majority of the 46,000 African Americans who remain in the city of more than 884,000 people now lives in public housing.

Like San Francisco, the high cost of buying and renting homes has contributed to a homelessness crisis in every major city in California and has forced middle class residents in urban areas to relocate to distant suburbs, or smaller cities and rural towns inland. Between 2005 and 2010, for example, more than 54,000 African Americans moved out of Los Angeles to surrounding areas or to other states, mostly in the South.

“California has the fifth-largest Black population in the United States, with an estimated 2,571,208 people who identify as Black,” wrote Mark Ridley-Thomas, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, in an open letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this year.

“In the moral crisis that is homelessness,” Ridley-Thomas continued, “Black Californians make up nearly 7% of the state’s general population yet are nearly 30% of the homeless population. Californians are struggling to get by. And Black Californians, facing a host of upstream factors that impact their experience, have a particularly distinct struggle.”
Responding to the high cost of living in California’s cities, Newsom and state legislators have been pushing a number of measures to remedy the crisis.

In February, Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco), along with colleagues Richard Bloom (D-Carlsbad), Rob Bonta (D-Sacramento), Timothy Grayson (D-Sacramento) and Buffy Wicks (D-Sacramento) introduced AB 1482 or the Tenant Protection Act of 2019.
The measure limits the amount landlords can hike rents within one year to 5%, plus local inflation. The Assembly voted in favor of the legislation in May and the Senate passed it in September.

Newsom says he will sign it.
“In this year’s State of the State address, I asked the Legislature to send me a strong renter protection package,” said the governor after the Senate’s yes vote in September. “Today, they sent me the strongest package in America. These anti-gouging and eviction protections will help families afford to keep a roof over their heads, and they will provide California with important new tools to combat our state’s broader housing and affordability crisis.”

Although Chiu prefers to call the legislation a “rent cap” bill instead of a rent control bill, it includes a number of provisions other than the limit on rent increases that tenants and landlords in California should know about.
Here are seven of those things:

1. In California cities that already have local rent control laws in place, AB 1482 will only apply to property that is not already covered by those measures. The only areas in the state that currently have some form of a rental cap are the City of Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Berkeley, Campbell, East Palo Alto, Fremont, Hayward, Los Gatos, Oakland, Palm Springs, San Francisco, San Jose, Thousand Oaks and unincorporated Los Angeles County.

2. The bill exempts condos and single-family homes owned by individuals from the rent cap – unless it is a duplex where the owner lives in one of the units. AB 1482 will only apply to a single-family unit if the property is owned by a corporation.

3.The bill will not apply to property constructed and put on the market within the last 15 years. You can check your county assessor’s office to find out when your building was constructed.

4. The law would not override existing local rent control laws.

5. Before evicting tenants, under AB 1482, landlords would have to show “just cause” such as failure to pay rent, conviction of a crime on the property or other lease violations.

6. For tenants who have lived in a property for more than one year, landlords would have to give that lease holder a chance to “cure” their violation.

7. If a landlord wants to renovate a unit or convert it to a condo, he or she would have to pay relocation fees for the tenant equal to one month’s rent.

Tanu Henry, California Black Media

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Tanu Henry, California Black Media

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Activism

As California Hits Aging Milestone, State Releases Its Fifth Master Plan for Aging

“California’s Master Plan for Aging started a powerful movement that is shaping the future of aging in our state for generations to come,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement, calling the initiative a “future-forward” model delivering real results for older adults, people with disabilities, and their families.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

On Jan. 27, California released its Fifth Master Plan for Aging Annual Report,titled “Focusing on What Matters Most,” outlining the state’s progress and priorities as its population rapidly grows older.

The report, issued by the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), provides updates on the Master Plan for Aging’s “Five Bold Goals”: housing, health, inclusion and equity, caregiving, and affordability.

The report comes as Californians aged 60 and older now outnumber those under 18 for the first time, a demographic shift expected to accelerate over the next decade.

Launched in 2021, the Master Plan for Aging takes a “whole-of- government” and “whole-of-society” approach, coordinating state agencies, local governments, community organizations, and private partners. The annual report highlights significant milestones, including more than 100 California communities joining AARP’s Age-Friendly Network and $4 million in state funding awarded to local organizations to develop aging and disability action plans in 30 communities statewide.

The report also underscores California’s leadership at the national level, noting that dozens of states have followed its example and that federal legislation inspired by the plan was reintroduced in the U.S. Senate in December 2025.

CalHHS Secretary Kim Johnson emphasized the plan’s focus on equity and resilience amid ongoing challenges.

“The Master Plan for Aging continues to provide a vision, a focus, and a platform for collaboration,” Johnson said. “Equity is at the center of all that we do.”

Looking ahead, the report notes that by 2030, one in four Californians will be age 60 or older, positioning the Master Plan for Aging as a central framework for meeting the state’s long-term social, economic, and health needs.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Can You Afford a Mortgage but Not the Down Payment? Dream For All Offers Up to $150K

Duvernay-Smith’s journey exemplifies the transformative potential of Dream For All, a program designed to help first-generation homebuyers across California. Applications will open on Feb. 24, and close on March 16. The program uses a random selection process to ensure equitable access, and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has directed that a minimum of 10% of funds go to applicants in Qualified Census Tracts — communities that historically faced discriminatory or unfair barriers to home ownership.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

Tiffany Duvernay-Smith.

By Tanu Henry, California Black Media

Tiffany Duvernay-Smith went from knowing the harsh realities of homelessness to owning her first home – made possible by the California Housing Finance Agency’s (CalHFA) Dream For All program, which is reopening applications this month with up to $150,000 in down payment assistance for first-generation buyers.

“I feel like I was the least likely person,” says Duvernay-Smith, who is Coordinator for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s Lived Experience Board, a published journalist, artist and outspoken advocate for unhoused people, people living with disabilities and domestic violence survivors.

“I didn’t know my story would change from homeless to homeowner,” she added. “But if there’s a house with your name on it, nothing can stop you.”

Duvernay-Smith’s journey exemplifies the transformative potential of Dream For All, a program designed to help first-generation homebuyers across California. Applications will open on Feb. 24 and close on March 16. The program uses a random selection process to ensure equitable access, and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has directed that at least 10% of funds be allocated to applicants in Qualified Census Tracts—communities that have historically faced discriminatory or unfair barriers to homeownership.

For eligible participants, the program provides up to 20% of the home’s purchase price or appraised value as down payment assistance, capped at $150,000.

CalHFA expects to make $150 million to $200 million available in 2026, potentially helping 1,000 to 1,500 families, with a total of approximately 2,000 households supported through the 2025–26 budget allocation of $300 million.

The program is particularly impactful for Black Californians, who continue to face the highest rates of homelessness across the state and significant barriers to homeownership due to decades of discriminatory housing policies and wealth inequities.

“Black Californians continue to face some of the widest homeownership gaps in the state,” says Regina Brown Wilson, Executive Director of California Black Media. “Programs like Dream For All are critical because they directly address generational inequities.”

Wilson spoke during an online news briefing on Jan. 30 that featured Eric Johnson, information officer in CalHFA’s Marketing and Communications Division, and Shonta Clark, senior loan consultant and CalHFA program educator, home counselor, and broker in Southern California.

“There are a lot of people in California with steady jobs, good incomes, and strong credit scores – but who haven’t been able to save the five or even six figures needed for a down payment on a home,” says Johnson. “That’s exactly what Dream For All is designed to address.

Eligibility requirements focus on first-generation homebuyers—those who have not owned a home in the past seven years and whose parents do not currently own one. CalHFA defines a “first-time homebuyer” as someone who has not owned and lived in their own home in the past three years. Foster youth are automatically considered first-generation homebuyers, reflecting the program’s commitment to reaching Californians who have faced systemic barriers, CalHFA says.

Applicants must work with CalHFA-approved lenders and provide standard documentation such as government-issued IDs and parental information.

Johnson encourages applicants to remain optimistic.

“Take the first step. Despite high interest rates and high prices, it is still possible to buy your first home in California. Believe in yourself and know that homeownership is meant for you,” says Johnson.

Oakland Post

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Community

Candidates Vying for Governor’s Seat Debate at Ruth Williams–Bayview Opera House in San Francisco

The gubernatorial debate participants included Antonio Villaraigosa, former Los Angeles mayor; Matt Mahan, San Jose mayor; Betty Yee, former California state controller; Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and attorney general of California; Steve Hilton, political commentator and political adviser; Tom Steyer, entrepreneur, and Tony Thurmond, California’s superintendent of public instruction.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 9, 2026

Oakland Post

The gubernatorial debate was hosted by KTVU’s Greg Lee, KTTV’s Marla Tellez and KTVU’s Andre Senior. The candidates are (l.-r.): Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, Matt Mahan, Tom Steyer, Tony Thurmond, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Betty Yee.

By Carla Thomas

On Tuesday, Feb. 3, seven candidates took the stage at the historic Ruth Williams–Bayview Opera House in San Francisco for the gubernatorial debate, hosted by the Black Action Alliance (BAA) in partnership with KTVU and sister station KTTV Fox 11 in Los Angeles.

For many voters, it marked a first opportunity to hear directly from several candidates seeking to lead the nation’s most populous state.

Crucial topics and issues addressed throughout the debate included housing, crime, immigration, climate change, health care and homelessness.

The debate was moderated by KTVU political reporter Greg Lee alongside KTVU’s Andre Senior and KTTV Fox 11’s Marla Tellez.

Candidates also addressed inflation and the rising costs across the state, impacting everything from groceries to childcare and health care.

Thurmond vowed to generate 2.3 million units of housing by placing 12 units on each parcel of available land in the 58 counties of California. Steyer agreed that billionaires should pay their fair share of taxes.

Hilton wanted to cut taxes, help working-class families, and end the Democrats “climate crusade and insane regulations.”

Yee offered a more transparent governmental approach with accountability, given the state’s debt.

Gonzalez said, “This debate was a great way to see who has great ideas and who has substance.”

“It’s important to have the debate within a community that requires the most,” said business leader Linda Fadekye.

Attendees included State Controller Malia Cohen, representatives of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, the National Coalition of 100 Black Men, the San Francisco African American Chamber of Commerce, and Black Women Organized for Political Action, among others.

Event host, the Black Action Alliance (BAA) was established to amplify the voices of the Bay Area’s Black community, whose perspectives have too often been overlooked in politics and public policy.

Loren Taylor, CEO of BAA, said it was important to bring the event to the Bayview in San Francisco and shared his organization’s mission.

“The Black Action Alliance (BAA) stands for practical, community-driven solutions that strengthen public safety, address homelessness, support small businesses, expand affordable housing, and ensure access to quality education—issues at the heart of the Black experience in the Bay Area,” said Taylor.

California’s primary election will take place on June 2 and the general election will take place on Nov. 3.