Supervisor Chis Daly has yet another meme in the works: new rent laws. Three of them, in fact. The first one would bar landlords from increasing rent to more than one-third of a tenant's income, the second would make it easier for tenants to add roommates to the lease, and the third would put a limit on "so-called banked rent increases." The Chronicle reports:
Daly and tenants advocates said that nearly two-thirds of San Franciscans are renters, and that as the federal government steps in to provide relief to homeowners facing foreclosure, governments also should help renters stay in their homes, particularly in a notoriously expensive city.
Janan New, the executive director of the San Francisco Apartments Association, said Daly's inspired idea was "legally tenuous." New goes on to say -- get this -- "encouraged tenants to individually renegotiate their leases or ask landlords for payment plans if they cannot afford to pay their rent." Hahhahahahhahaha. Liar.
How does Newsom feel about all of this? Who's to say. But Nathan Ballard says "Renters deserve relief, too, and these are interesting ideas that are worth looking at ... But some of the ideas seem a little far-fetched." Hahahahahhahaaha. Liar.
These laws, if enacted, would only apply to rent increases.