Appeals Court Upholds Rent Control Law

Santa Monica’s rent control law was upheld by a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Tuesday.

A landlord group that sponsored the suit was “hoping to mount a successful constitutional challenge to rent control in light of a change in the composition of the federal courts brought about by President Reagan’s appointments,” said Deputy City Atty. Barry Rosenbaum.

Noting that two Reagan appointees were on the three-judge panel that ruled Tuesday, Rosenbaum said the conservative shift in the courts was “not going to result in a re-examination of the constitutionality of the Santa Monica rent control law or rent control laws in general.” In the 3-0 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the landlord’s arguments--that rent control was economically damaging, did not help the poor, and was unjustified by any demonstrated evidence of housing shortages or rising rents--were misplaced.