A California rent control bill that will be voted on in November’s presidential election has drawn opposition from nearly two dozen of the state’s mayors and influential real estate industry groups, all of whom say the proposed law will only exacerbate the state’s ongoing housing crisis and lead to a reduction in affordable housing development.

Proposition 33 seeks to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, effectively removing state restrictions on rent control in local jurisdictions. This includes a ban on rent control in all housing built after 1995. Proposition 33 would allow cities to control rent prices for new tenants and prevent the state from enacting rent control bans in the future. Enacted three decades ago, Costa-Hawkins prohibited cities from capping rent increases on single-family homes and apartments built after 1995.

The proposal is the third to go before voters since 2018 and is intended to open the door for more rent control measures. Similar proposals in 2018 and 2020 failed, but Prop 33 supporters, including the Justice for Renters Initiative, hope the new measure will allow cities and counties to implement rent control, which would help lower housing costs in a state notorious for its high cost of living. About 30 percent of renters spend more than half their income on rent, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Supporters of the measure, including the California Democratic Party and other renter advocacy groups, have raised about $20 million.

So far, 23 California city mayors do not support Prop 33, including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, who said last week that the bill would “undermine” the city’s current housing policy, which is already showing results, including increased housing supply and modest rent reductions. The National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and the pro-development organization California YIMBY have also spoken out against the bill. Like other Prop 33 opponents, these groups believe the bill would cause developers to build less, further exacerbating the state’s housing crisis. Opponents of the measure, who have raised nearly $70 million, also argue that repealing the Costa-Hawkins law would make it harder for cities to meet their affordable housing goals.

Industry groups like NMHC and California YIMBY, as well as the mayors of San Jose, San Diego, and numerous other cities, aren’t the only ones opposing the rent control proposal. A recent poll of likely voters in California found that only 40 percent support Prop 33. It’s clear that California’s housing crisis is one of the most difficult and challenging issues facing the state’s policymakers, and there have been many attempts to alleviate the crisis through legislation. The Costa-Hawkins law has been in place for nearly 30 years, and after two failed attempts to repeal it in previous years, as well as a well-funded opposition campaign that garnered a lot of support, it’s hard to believe this time will be any different.

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