A proposal to tighten rent limits and broaden eviction regulations statewide stalled last week, effectively ending its chances this legislative year.
AB 1157—also called the Affordable Rent Act—was the featured topic at the Fresno Association of Realtors’ (FAR) quarterly brokers’ breakfast on Friday at Fresno’s Omnia Event Center. The keynote speaker was Sanjay Wagle, chief lobbyist for the California Association of Realtors. The event drew about 100 local brokers, owners, and managers and was billed as a “front row seat” to statewide policy, strategy, and expectations for California real estate in the coming year.
Bill to ease rent dies again
“The bill died, so that’s good,” said FAR Government Affairs Director Kyle Chaney. “From our perspective, rent control typically doesn’t have its intended effect.”
Chaney cited a December 2025 Wall Street Journal story on Minneapolis/St. Paul, where St. Paul enacted rent controls, and housing construction plummeted; Minneapolis, on the other hand, generated a downtown boom without regulating rent.
AB 1157, authored by Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D–San Jose), failed to advance out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, which Kalra chairs.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Kalra said that failure to pass the bill would exacerbate the risk of homelessness.
The legislation aimed to significantly revise California’s current rent cap framework (AB 1482) by reducing the amount by which landlords could raise rents and by applying rent control to more types of housing. The bill would have lowered the statewide cap to 2% plus inflation, not to exceed 5%; extended rent control to single-family homes, condominiums, accessory dwelling units and individually owned townhomes; and removed the 2030 expiration date from the California Tenant Protection Act enacted in 2019 through AB 1482.
Supporters of AB 1157 said it would have helped tenants struggling with high rent. Opponents like the California Association of Realtors and the California Apartment Association opposed the bill, arguing it would deter investment in rental properties, drive smaller landlords out of the market and further compound the state’s housing shortage.
“Across the market, all we have seen rent control do is increase rent values, which is basically one of the worst things you can do in a housing crisis,” Chaney said.
AB 1157 had been revived this year as a two-year bill after failing to gain traction in 2025. It also appeared before the Judiciary Committee last year, but Kalra withdrew the bill at that time in the face of opposition.
Cautiously optimistic
Potential homebuyers are expected to remain cautious in 2026, according to both Chaney and Fresno State finance, real estate, and business law professor Andres Jauregui. Mortgage rates will play a key role in recovery, they said.
“If they drop below six percent, you’re going to see some action,” Jauregui said. Most likely, rates will remain in the low-sixes, which means a bit more breathing room for buyers.
Said Chaney, if you’re financially able to buy a home in Fresno or Clovis, “the best time is the current time,” with rates edging lower.
“Fresno still has the reputation for being relatively affordable,” said Jauregui. He referenced the California Association of Realtors’ housing affordability index (HAI)—Fresno sits at 30—which means 30% of local residents, with a minimum qualifying income of $111,600, can afford to buy a median-priced ($443,000) home. The HAI for California as a whole is 17; for the entire U.S., it’s 36.
Online real estate brokerage Redfin forecasts a “slow, steady housing recovery,” marked by a 1% increase in home prices, but the rebound won’t be uniform.
Jauregui agreed. In Fresno in particular, real income has not increased significantly lately. Home prices locally are relatively inexpensive, but when paired with lower income, that may not spell an uptick in the market.
Caution, therefore, is the theme, Chaney said.
“We are seeing locally a shift towards a balanced market,” Chaney said. “It’s not necessarily a seller’s market or a buyer’s market, but we are seeing some buyers coming back in.”
For more updates on Fresno County development and business initiatives, stay connected with the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
