Kavanau v. Santa Monica Rent Control Board, 16 Cal. 4th 761 (1997)

Citation: Kavanau v. Santa Monica Rent Control Board, 16 Cal. 4th 761 (1997)
Parent Document: Kavanau v. Santa Monica Rent Control Board, 16 Cal. 4th 761 (1997)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 1997-08-26
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5607899/kavanau-v-santa-monica-rent-con... ↗

Full Text

1,289 chars

Finally, the essential inquiry in due process cases involving price controls is whether the regulatory scheme’s result is just and reasonable. (Hope Gas, supra, 320 U.S. at p. 602 [64 S.Ct. at pp. 287-288].) The Court of Appeal did not expressly find that the 12 percent limit prevented Kavanau from “ ‘operating successfully.’ ” (20th Century, supra, 8 Cal.4th at p. 295.) *779Rather, the 12 percent limit merely delayed Kavanau’s rent increase. Regulated prices must fall within a “broad zone of reasonableness” to be constitutional (Permian Basin, supra, 390 U.S. at p. 770 [88 S.Ct. at p. 1361]; see also Pipeline Co., supra, 315 U.S. at p. 585 [62 S.Ct. at pp. 742-743]), and due process requires fundamentally a balancing of interests (Hope Gas, supra, 320 U.S. at p. 603 [64 S.Ct. at p. 288]). The 12 percent limit achieved this balance. It balanced landlords’ interests in recouping their increased costs against tenants’ interests in avoiding sudden, large rent increases. Of course, in certain circumstances—such as during times of very high inflation—a 12 percent limit on rent increases might be confiscatory, but the Court of Appeal did not adequately explain why application of the 12 percent limit to Kavanau’s petition for rent increases violated his constitutional rights.

Other Sections in This Document (115)

Full Text