Longstanding law would be overturned if California State Senator Ben Allen gets his way, and the Legislature passes his legislation. Health and Safety Code 1569.147, enacted in 1985, prohibits all cities, counties and the state from imposing any form of “rent control” upon residential care facilities. Mr. Allen has written SB1406 to completely void that law.
Senator Allen sees rent control as a resident right.
If his bill passes it would allow any city or county to enforce rent control limiting the amount of “rent” charged by a facility, despite the rising costs of wages, food, utilities, employee benefits, fuel, taxes, etc.
The elder care industry is under attack because the state wants to place aging prisoners, the homeless, and the mentally ill into residential care, and with rent control in place the fees for care would inevitably be lower saving the state money.
The concept of rent control enforced upon RCFEs would not be a new issue for California Governor Gavin Newsom. Newsom, while serving as Mayor of San Francisco, supported a 2007 legislative challenge to the rent control law when Assembly Member Mark Leno (now State Senator Leno) proposed AB2598, a bill with the sole purpose of allowing rent control to be imposed upon RCFEs. Newsom and the City of San Francisco supported the bill under resolution File No. 070513. However, the bill did not pass, and no rent controls were ever implemented. If SB1406 passes and it goes to the pro-rent control governor, it is likely to be signed into law. Consequently, with passage, it would open the door for cities, counties and even the state to regulate fees charged to residents.
How would an RCFE be classified when compared to apartments, Airbnb, long-term room rentals, etc.? That could even be up to your LPA!