C
alifornia voters have decisively rejected Proposition 33, a measure that would have allowed cities to expand rent control laws. With 61.6% of the vote against and 95% of precincts reporting, the ballot initiative appears to be defeated. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation supported Prop. 33, which aimed to overturn the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act and allow local governments to pass stricter rent control laws.

    Opponents in the real estate industry argued that Prop. 33 would curb apartment investment, exacerbating California's affordability crisis. Supporters claimed it would do the opposite. The measure was heavily funded by the real estate industry, with $66 million raised to defeat it. In contrast, supporters of Prop. 33 had raised $40 million.

    The defeat marks a third strike against the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has financed similar rent control initiatives in recent years. Each time, voters have rejected these measures after the real estate industry outspent supporters, arguing that they would curtail housing construction and worsen the affordability crisis.

    In an effort to prevent further rent control initiatives, the California Apartment Association sponsored a companion ballot measure, Proposition 34. This measure passed with 51.5% of the vote, effectively preventing the AIDS Healthcare Foundation from bankrolling future rent control efforts using revenues from a federal prescription drug program.