Delano voters might have an opportunity to enact rent control in the Kern County city next year.
Rent control advocates announced Monday that they have started to collect signatures on a ballot initiative to place rent control on the November 2024 ballot.
The big picture: The Rural Justice Alliance launched the campaign to place the Fair Rents Delano Ordinance on the ballot.
- It would cap rent increases to three percent annually or 60 percent of the Consumer Price Index.
- It would also place restrictions on evictions and prohibit actions like intimidation and bad-faith negotiations.
- According to the initiative, 42 percent of Delano households are renters, with almost half of them pay over 30 percent of their income to rent.
- Proponents need to gather around 3,000 signatures to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.
What they’re saying: “The best way to address the increase in homelessness is to keep people in their homes,” said Arturo Rodriguez, spokesperson for the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance.
