Housing Is A Human Right
January 31, 2025
https://housinghumanrt.medium.com/big-real-estate-raised-171-6-million-to-kill-prop-33-and-pass-prop-34-a6b94d99982e
For the 2024 election, Big Real Estate raised a whopping total of $171.6 million to kill Proposition 33 and pass Proposition 34 in California. Several of the top contributors are the country’s largest corporate landlords. Through its multi-million-dollar misinformation campaigns, the real estate industry was able to keep statewide rent control restrictions intact and push through an initiative to damage AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s housing advocacy work in California.
Proposition 33, sponsored by AIDS Healthcare Foundation and its housing advocacy division, Housing Is A Human Right, sought to repeal statewide rent control restrictions as an urgent response to California’s housing affordability and homelessness crises. The initiative was supported by a broad coalition of housing justice groups, labor unions, social justice organizations, and civic leaders.
Corporate landlords, however, were willing to spend massive amounts so they could keep charging exorbitant rents, with no concern about the impacts on the poor and middle and working class.
To stop Prop 33, the real estate industry formed multiple political committees: Californians for Responsible Housing sponsored by the California Apartment Association; Californians to Protect Affordable Housing; and Homeownership for Families sponsored by the California Association of Realtors.
Corporate landlords and their front group, the California Apartment Association, used a shell game to fund Californians for Responsible Housing. First, many of the largest corporate landlords in the country, including Essex Property Trust, Equity Residential, and AvalonBay Communities, sent millions to the California Apartment Association Issues Committee. That political committee then delivered campaign cash to Californians for Responsible Housing. It was clearly done to avoid scrutiny from voters and reporters.
Proposition 34, sponsored by the California Apartment Association, aimed to knee-cap AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s ability to use money for its housing advocacy in California. Once again using a shell game, the California Apartment Association Issues Committee delivered millions in corporate-landlord cash to the CAA’s Yes on Prop 34 committee, called Protect Patients Now.
While the California Apartment Association Issues Committee primarily funded the CAA’s No on Prop 33 and Yes on Prop 34 campaigns, other contributors shelled out an additional $633,517 and $316,114, respectively.
The California Apartment Association Issues Committee, which received $32 million from Essex Property Trust; $22.3 million from Equity Residential; $20.1 million from AvalonBay Communities; $5.9 million from UDR; and $2 million from Blackstone Group, among other contributors, raised an astounding total of $135,875,365 to fund the CAA’s No on Prop 33 and Yes on Prop 34 campaigns.
That money was used to hire a small army of political consultants, finance multi-million-dollar misinformation campaigns, and buy key endorsements from politicians and political groups, including California YIMBY and YIMBY Action. Those prominent YIMBY groups abandoned the housing justice movement by standing with corporate landlords and endorsing No on Prop 33.
(Read “Special Report: California Apartment Association’s Big-Money Schemes to Kill Prop 33 and Pass Prop 34” for the eye-popping details of how corporate landlords used their millions to buy political favors.)
Californians to Protect Affordable Housing and Homeownership for Families sponsored by the California Association of Realtors also helped with the CAA’s effort to kill Prop 33: Californians to Protect Affordable Housing raised $7,859,091 and Homeownership for Families brought in $27 million.
In total, adding up all the committees, Big Real Estate raised $171,684,087 for the No on Prop 33 and Yes on Prop 34 campaigns. On Election Day, in November 2024, Prop 33 was defeated while Prop 34 passed by a whisker. Corporate landlords spared no expense to maintain their ability to charge excessive rents, year after year, fueling the housing affordability and homelessness crises.
But hard-working Californians can overcome the real estate industry’s deep pockets by banding together — and passing strong tenant protections.
Patrick Range McDonald, the author of this article, is the award-winning advocacy journalist for Housing Is A Human Right.
Written by Housing Is A Human Right
Housing Is A Human Right is the housing advocacy division of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. We fight for what’s right.