Federal court upholds California rental laws

A federal appeals court has upheld a 2020 California law that requires property owners to pay one month of rent in order to reduce relocation costs.

In areas without rent control, rent increases are limited to 10% a year. It also offers financial assistance to renters who are evicted because the owner has decided to convert the property into a condo.

Better Housing for Long Beach, an owners group, filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing that requiring payments to legally evicted tenants was equivalent to confiscating their property, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

The courts dismissed the argument and said it was not ruling out government benefit to property owners or interference in their control of the property.

David Chu, a Democratic Assemblymember from San Francisco, sponsored the law, praised its upholding, calling it great news for tenants. As an Assemblymember, I wrote a common-sense law to protect tenants from egregious rent hikes and predatory evictions.

Members of Better Housing for Long Beach are evaluating their next steps, including possibly appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.