NBC Los Angeles: Group Seeks to Repeal California’s Restrictions on Rent Control

The debate over how to get relief from skyrocketing rents in California is likely to go before the voters in November. A campaign to lift restrictions on rent control says it now has enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. Signatures were collected by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). The group claims the housing crisis needs to be fixed, and rent control is the answer. Vanessa Bulnes of ACCE has lived in Oakland for more than 30 years and says renters need relief now. “Its heartbreaking,” she said. “So many people of color get displaced in the city of Oakland that they helped build, and I’ve seen that rents are so high, those people can’t afford to live here and end up in tent cities.” The group will hold a rally outside Oakland City Hall at noon Monday. Rallies also are slated for Sacramento and Los Angeles.