California Poised to Worsen Homelessness, Not Help It

Raise your hand if it surprises you to find out that California has no idea what it’s doing.

Okay, good, no hands. We’re all on the same page.

To give them some credit, they do occasionally hit upon actual problems they’re facing. For example, Gov. Gavin Newsom knows that California has an enormous homelessness problem. Of course, homelessness is a notoriously complex and difficult problem to solve; high cost of living, drug/alcohol use, job availability, and mental illness all play a role. So what is Newsom’s brilliant idea to address any/all of these contributing factors to a serious problem?

Rent control.

Yes, really. Never mind that Californians voted last year to reject a rent control measure by a 20 point margin, or that the two cities with the highest rate of homelessness (Los Angeles and San Francisco) also have stricter rent control measures than the one Newsom introduced. Never mind that it’s literally never worked and often increases rates of homelessness. Newsom is sure that he’s hit on a win.

In addition to expanding rent control, the law “also protects tenants from eviction without good reason and provides compensation to tenants if they are evicted due to renovation.”

“The housing crisis is reaching every corner of America, where you’re seeing high home prices, high rents, evictions and homelessness that we’re all struggling to grapple with,” said Assemblyman David Chiu, a San Francisco Democrat who authored the bill. “Protecting tenants is a critical and obvious component of any strategy to address this.”

Well, that’s all nice to think, but Jim Breslo offers some sobering realities for the wannabe do-gooders who think this is actually a good idea. He starts with the “obvious component” of cause. Spoiler alert: It’s not a lack of affordable housing. It’s addiction. Mental illness. Unemployment. Most homeless people can’t afford any housing, let alone whatever is “affordable” by San Fran standards.

Breslo goes on to explain the negative effects that rent control has instead of helping:

Rent control has been a proven failure in addressing housing problems. It prompts landlords to convert their properties into owner-occupied homes, and deters investment in the housing market, aggravating the shortages that caused them in the first place.

Further, when landlords are limited in their ability to raise rents and cannot freely evict tenants, they will be extremely careful in who they rent to. That has a significant adverse effect on the ability of low-income people to find rental housing. Europe has had such limitations for years, and it’s notoriously difficult to qualify for a rental property there.

Look. It is a truth universally demonstrable that more regulation = worse results. How much longer until it becomes a truth universally acknowledged?