Young People are Leaving SF. Could Expanding Rent Control Help?
For as long as I’ve been alive there’s been some moral panic about what the young people are doing. They’re leaving the church. They’re wearing low-rise jeans. They’re losing recipes. We’re frantic over it.
But this one is statistically stark and real. And it has consequences for San Francisco. 20-somethings are leaving The City. While moderates throw around local policy reform, the conversation around rent control has faded quietly into the background.
City Planning & Policy Determine Demographics
The way a city is planned can affect which demographics enjoy living in it. Urban planning can also give subtle and not-so-subtle hints that a certain demographic is not wanted. Consider the Urban Renewal of the 1960s. By bulldozing primarily Black and Brown neighborhoods and building freeways through them, the City forced a major demographic change that is still prevalent in our statistics to this day.
Why Rent Control is Limited
Rent control is a city policy that has protected some, but unfortunately not all, from greedy landlords jacking up the bill. The major limitation is the age of the building. If the apartment existed before 1979, tenants are protected from that egregious behavior. This doesn’t apply to single family homes. So if a young person wants to shack up out in the Sunset or share a new condo in Mid-Market with a string of roommates until they age into maturity, they’re looking at an unstable and frankly insecure future.
Right now the City can’t expand rent control because of a state law known as Costa-Hawkins. Every time reform goes on the ballot, landlords and faux progressives start up their machines and bray. It’s so bad that even so-called leftists will repeat their talking points that rent control is bad because it doesn’t lead to more housing.
What’s Rent Control Good For?
But that view is myopic at best. It’s prioritizing imaginary housing over the current material conditions of our actual neighbors. Raise your hand if you’ve ever enjoyed the stability and peace of mind rent control gives. By not having to worry that a landlord is going to unfairly jack up your rent and price you out, you can take any extra income and save for retirement, plan a trip that expands your perspective, put money aside for a future home, or hell… afford groceries.
Emulating New York City
Look at New York. Their rent control isn’t nearly as strong as ours, but they’re at the whim of the market just like us. A rent freeze and rent control are topics that resonated with voters in their recent mayoral democratic primary.
If the left wants to emulate the rapid and telling success of the Zohran Mamdani campaign, we’d need to align on actual socialist policies and approaches — starting with something so basic it shouldn’t be an argument.
It might just be time to vocally support efforts to expand rent control. The City can (and should) keep fighting for other changes that will increase how many affordable houses are on the market. But what of the so-called experts in their ivory towers who take over your mind and make you fight against your fellow brokeasses? The next time it’s on the ballot in California, we’ll see.
Howdy! My name is Katy Atchison and I'm an Associate Editor for Broke-Ass Stuart.
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