The right to adequate housing was affirmed in Article 25 of the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. California’s Tenant Protection Act was also enacted in 2019, placing a cap on how much landlords can charge tenants. However, statewide efforts are ostensibly futile as people continue to be priced out of their homes. Despite these protections, house prices have been soaring, with Irvine having the third-highest rent pricing in the country according to Zillow’s observed rent index.
Los Angeles County has responded to this issue through rent control initiatives. Effective since 2020, the Tenant Protection Act established a legally allowable maximum rent cap, which permits an annual increase of 8.5%. However, the fact that tenants need to be legally protected from rent hikes and rising housing costs reveals an inherent flaw in the leasing and rental system, especially considering California has more than 350,000 privately owned low-income housing properties built with federal tax credits and exempt from the state’s legal maximum.
Just as humans cannot survive without food, water or oxygen, humans cannot survive without secure, sufficient living conditions. As per the aforementioned Universal Declaration of Human Rights, even if one is dealing with “unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond [their] control,” housing is an unalienable right and necessary to human survival. Thus, it should be granted to every human being, no matter the circumstances.
The lives and security of renters should be prioritized since landlords aren’t just renting out their own property. These homes are places where people eat, sleep and conduct business necessary to maintain their livelihoods.
Over the past few decades, California’s rent prices have surged by hundreds of thousands of dollars. These fluctuating costs are tied to finite, unchanging resources that, if anything, have declined in quality over time. The homes are older, the infrastructure is worn, and yet prices continue to climb. Drastically inflating the costs attributed to these commodities cannot be logically justified given that there have been no proportional improvements in quality, utility or availability.
Further, a couple of dollars may be a marginal difference to a property owner, but it often determines whether or not a tenant can put food on the table. In December 2024, rent prices increased by a dramatic 7.5% in U.S. neighborhoods that previously had the lowest average housing costs. These adjustments tend to affect low-income people more than their middle- or upper-class counterparts.
In Los Angeles, young people are considering leaving the city behind due to the high cost of living. Property is being commodified to the point that financial hardship has become a norm even across various income levels. When property owners continue to charge unrealistic amounts for rent and knowingly outprice their tenants, the owner-tenant relationship becomes predatory in nature.
The contrast between the income of the average American property owner versus the average American property renter is stark, with the former having a median net worth of $400,000 — 40 times the median income for renters at $10,400.
Investing in real estate is often seen as a mere stream of income as opposed to a career with ethical obligations and responsibilities. The service that landlords provide to their tenants is often minimal compared to the reciprocal. Tenants are expected to pay for rent, utilities, internet costs, additional monthly fees and even some maintenance expenses without exception, while many property owners get away with negligence towards the people and the property they are in charge of.
When the universal need of housing is exploited, it loses its service to society. Rather, it preys upon and exploits low-income individuals and families.
It’s worth noting that property ownership is more often than not controlled by a corporate entity as opposed to independent home and property owners. In 2024, corporate landlords and realtors funneled $102.5 million to kill Proposition 33 in the state of California. The proposition would have significantly barred local governments from regulating rent pricing on single-family homes, apartments and other units. Corporate landlords needed this proposition tabled to evade government-mandated rent caps and to continue to profit off of renters.
In 2024, nearly half of Americans reported that they live from paycheck to paycheck. In California, the problem of inflating housing costs is exacerbated by the fact that living costs are roughly 30% higher than the national average.
As corporations, landlords and realtors actively work against rent control, more and more people are struggling to even afford necessities, let alone save for retirement or buy a car, according to CNBC.
Among a retirement or car fund is one’s need for housing. Thus, the negligence and exploitative actions from many landlords and corporations have become significant barriers for many people to lead secure and comfortable lives.
The predatory behavior of property ownership is a threat to low-income people everywhere. Implementing legal standards for rent control would provide safeguards to protect them from being threatened by rising living costs and other compromising financial positions.
Rebecca Do is an Opinion Staff Writer. She can be reached at dort@uci.edu.
Edited by Casey Mendoza and Jaheem Conley.