A majority of Californian renters do not support a proposal to allow local authorities to enforce rent control, according to a new poll.

Ahead of the November election, Californians will have a few propositions on the ballot. One of the proposals, Proposition 33, calls for giving local authorities more power to enact rent control ordinances.

A 3,000-person Berkeley IGS Poll discovered that 37 percent of voters would support the initiative, 36 percent said they were against the proposition, and 27 percent were undecided.

However, there wasn’t necessarily stronger support for the law when it came to renters specifically.

While 48 percent of renters said they would vote for the proposal, 26 percent said they were against the idea, and another 26 percent were undecided.

Alan Chang, a title and escrow expert, said this lack of support could be due to the long-term negative impact of rent control on the renter population.

Chang called Proposition 33 a “short-term effort to appear like they are doing something about housing affordability.”

“Ultimately, rent ends up being high when there is more demand than supply,” Chang told Newsweek. “If you improve the supply of rental housing units, the rent goes down. Adding restrictions to the amount of rent a landlord can charge as well as how much they can raise rents will generally dissuade them to build more as they could not predict the costs down the road.”

Many voters are weary of the promise that rent controls would automatically eliminate concerns over higher living costs, said Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin.

“While rental controls in other locations have stabilized the average yearly increases in rent, they’ve had largely negative implications outside of those limits,” Beene told Newsweek.

“Establishing controls not only limits the development of new rental properties because potential landlords now question the economic promise they would normally bring, but they also lead to less mobility, as renters enjoying the controlled pricing are less likely to leave that property and, in the process, open it up to new renters. There’s a lot more to consider here than just saving a few dollars on your rent,” he said.

Some tenants may also be homeowners who rent out a property they can afford while renting a place in a pricier location.

Other renters might generally be against the government intervening in how the market functions, said Kevin Thompson, a finance expert and the founder and CEO of 9i Capital Group.

“I believe many have seen these policies enacted in other states and heard stories of landlords neglecting properties, which can lead to higher crime rates,” Thompson told Newsweek. “The history of rent control is mixed. While it’s helped prevent skyrocketing rents in places like New York, it has also left behind dilapidated buildings.”

The median rent in California is $2,850, according to Zillow, and the state continues to boast some of the most competitive housing markets.

California renters are twice as glum about their monetary picture than Golden State homeowners, a new survey shows.

The Public Policy Institute of California’s statewide polling for September reinforces a key economic divide – renters vs. homeowners. Consider that 44% of renters told pollsters they’re “not satisfied” with their financial situation, compared with only 22% of unsatisfied homeowners.

Or ponder the flip side of the query: Just 8% of California renters toll pollsters that they were “very satisfied” with their finances vs. 26% of homeowners.

It’s zero secret that renters typically earn less money, with the state’s lofty housing costs making those financial headaches even more painful. Despite those admitted challenges, though, renters seem to have a tiny bit more hope for their household budgets.

Looking ahead six months, 26% of California renters expected their monetary position would be stronger vs. 20% of owners. But 24% of tenants foresee weaker finances vs. 22% for owners.

When asked for a bigger picture view, California renters were more downbeat about the statewide economy in the next 12 months.

The poll found 63% of renters saw “bad times” ahead vs. 60% for owners, compared with 36% of tenants eyeing “good times” vs. 38% for owners.

The national outlook was equally glum, as 63% of California renters saw “bad times” coming for the US economy vs. 59% for owners. Contrast that with the 35% of renters eyeing “good times” vs. 37% for owners.

Blue tint

Let’s note that California renters lean bluer in this blue state.

When asked their opinion of political parties, 51% of California renters said “favorable” to the Democrats vs. 48% of owners. Republicans got 22% “favorable” from renters vs. 30% of owners.

Interestingly, when asked about satisfaction with political parties overall, the need for a third party was the top reply from 66% of California renters and 69% of owners.

Bottom line

High-cost California makes for sour outlooks, no matter the economic or political cycle.

This poll found very few happy folks, no matter their housing status. Consider the big-picture “right direction or wrong direction” question that pollsters love to ask.

As for the state vibes, California renters had slightly less negative feelings – 53% said wrong direction vs. 45% for right direction. That’s a smidgen more upbeat than owners, with 56% saying wrong vs. 42% saying right.

There’s an even more uniform sour sentiment about the nation, with 71% of both California renters and homeowners giving a thumbs-down on the US direction. (FYI: 28% of renters said right direction, vs. 26% of owners.)

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

LOS ANGELES — A plane crashed Tuesday night on Catalina Island off the Southern California coast near the island’s private airport. It was not immediately known if there were injuries or deaths.

Supervisor Travis White with the Los Angeles County Fire Department said the plane crashed about 8:30 p.m. on the island that is about 25 miles off the shoreline south of Los Angeles. He had no further details, including what kind of aircraft was involved.

Detective Lar Meyers with the Avalon Sheriff’s Station on the island said investigators were still making their way to the scene that was near the island’s airport.

The airport is primarily used for general aviation aircraft, including single-engine airplanes and is known as the Airport in the Sky because of its location at an elevation of 1,602 feet. It has a single, 3,000-foot runway.