Supply and demand.<p>Demand is higher than supply.<p>Everyone in SF knows that and actually seems to <i>not want</i> to increase the supply.<p>Strike that, they want the property tax revenue but only from huge, high-brow luxury apartment build-outs. The City has no problem letting the supply at the high end of the market increase.<p>By stopping any growth in the supply of nominally affordable rentals, the City leadership is pushing people of limited means outside of the city.<p>Let's see then if the City's limitations to increasing Supply makes sense:<p>1) low-income people -- like it or not, the vast majority of crime is committed by this group -- are pushed out of the city. That reduces crime. Check, makes sense from the City leadership perspective.<p>2) Rent control fools the city's renters into voting for more of the same. Landlords cannot profit; take affordable units off the market. Again, the low income types are pushed out of the city. Check. (see #1)<p>3) Also, by putting these mom-and-pop landlords out of business, rent control eliminates a COMPETITOR for the Luxury Apartment developers -- if there are no low-cost apartments to rent, people have no choice but to pay up or get out. Rent control also pushes up rents at the low end as those units go offline/out of business/converted to condos/etc., leaving fewer units available for low income folks.<p>The City is acting in its own best interest to:<p>- limit supply growth of apartments
- put mom and pop landlords with affordable units offline
- thus eliminating affordable units and the low socio-economic status people who create most of the crime problems from the city<p>And <i>all that</i> pushes up rents to benefit high-property-tax-paying Luxury apartment developers.<p>The City needs as much property tax revenue as they can get.<p>"How do we attract luxury apartment developers to boost the City's property tax haul?<p>- eliminate the low-priced competitors -- and even get the voters to approve it -- by imposing rent control<p>- reduce crime so Luxury apartment developers will feel they can attract high-dollar customers<p>- reduce/eliminate the creation of new affordable housing<p>SF wants property tax revenue. If you understand the above, you know everything.<p>It's not like the City leaders are going to announce their strategy to voters. Too many low-income/moderate-income renters here in SF.<p>But you can see the effects:
- high rents due to the gradual elimination of mom-and-pop low rent units (they go out of business or convert to condos)
- no more low-end Supply allowed to be created
- rent control is here to stay (at least until all the low-priced apartments are gone)