SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblyman Mark Leno’s bill to safeguard seniors on fixed incomes from unaffordable rental rate increases at residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) passed the Assembly Human Services Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 5 to 2.
“Seniors living on fixed incomes cannot continue to absorb the rental rate increases we’re witnessing today,” said Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). “Forcing the most vulnerable among us out on the streets is unacceptable. Local governments need to be able to protect their seniors from homelessness,” he said.
RCFEs are non-medical facilities that provide housing and assistance with daily activities to their elderly residents with a level of independence that is not provided in most nursing homes. While the national average rental rate increase at RCFEs is 4-5%, many California seniors have faced increases of 8-11%. Because of these rent increases, California seniors have been uprooted from their homes and must find another place to live.
In 2007, the City and County of San Francisco adopted a resolution calling for legislation giving it the authority to protect seniors from out-of-control rent increases. AB 2598 would repeal the statutory exemption to local rent control laws applicable to RCFEs and provide local governments with the option of limiting annual rent increases.
The bill now heads to the Assembly floor.
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