Proposed Bill Would Strengthen California’s Renter Protections

The bill would improve on the 2019 Tenant Protection Act by further limiting rent increases and adding more eviction protections for California renters.

1 minute read

March 15, 2023, 11:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


California State Senator María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, is proposing an update to the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 that would strengthen tenant protections, reports Iman Palm for KTLA. 

According to Sen. Durazo, the Homelessness Prevention Act, whose details are yet to be finalized, “would improve the 2019 law by limiting rent increases to ‘make them reasonable and humane’ and ‘close the loopholes for landlords to evict people’ along with other protections, the Sacramento Bee reported.” The proposal could provide a crucial lifeline for California renters as the state’s COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act and the COVID-19 Rental Housing Recovery Act expire at the end of March.

In September 2022, a study from the University of California, Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation revealed that the California Tenant Protection Act was not having its intended effect on the majority of the state’s rental properties. Like other states, California faces a severe housing shortage and sharply rising housing costs.

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