Proposition 10, the statewide ballot measure that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, was trailing by a growing margin in a poll released this week by the Public Policy Institute of California.
The PPIC poll shows that 60 percent of likely voters would vote no on Prop 10, while 25 percent would vote yes, and 15 percent are undecided.
If Costa-Hawkins is overturned in the November election, California cities and counties will once again gain the authority to adopt extreme forms of rent control, including the imposition of rent caps on new apartments and single-family homes. Such moves would stifle housing development and exacerbate the state’s housing shortage.
At this point, latest PPIC poll indicates, majorities across parties are poised to reject the proposition. Across all regions, the poll shows, less than one-third of likely voters say they will vote yes.
“The poll reflects that both renters and homeowners understand that Prop 10 will worsen California’s affordable housing crisis, reducing property values and freezing the construction of housing for low- and middle-income families that we desperately need,” said Steven Maviglio, spokesman for the No on Prop 10 campaign.
Although renters are more likely than homeowners to support Prop 10 (34 percent to 22 percent), majorities in both groups would vote no if the election were held today, according to the poll.
Opposition to Proposition 10 has grown since the last PPIC poll in September. That poll showed 48 percent of likely voters rejecting the proposition, with 36 percent voting yes and 16 percent undecided.
“There is really no group in which we’re seeing support for Proposition 10 at this point,” Mark Baldassare, president of the PPIC, said in this Los Angeles Times article.