San Jose approves rent-control measure in late night vote

The San Jose City Council has voted to reduce the amount landlords can raise rent, from 8-percent, to 5-percent in rent-controlled apartments.

The vote came after a city hall hearing that lasted until 2 a.m. Wednesday.

The new rules apply to 44,000 apartments that were built before 1979.

They make up one third of the city's total renting housing units.

Hundreds of people on both sides of the issue signed up to speak at the meeting Tuesday night.

"Please do not approve this modification on the mom and pop businesses, said Sheila Kay, property owner. "I give my tenants a hand up, not a hand out."

Most of my mom's income goes to rent," said David Zamora, 10-years-old. "Please allow my mom to save money for my college tuition because we all deserve to go to college."

The city council also approved an anti-retaliation ordinance.

It's designed to protect renters from evictions when they request repairs or report a code violation.