The state's largest industry group representing property owners has suspended legal challenges to rent control measures passed by voters in Richmond and Mountain View.
Tom Bannon, CEO of the California Apartment Association, said the group will shift its focus on fighting rent control and eviction regulations in cities that don't have such laws on the books yet but are considering them.
Five Bay Area cities placed rent control on the ballot last fall. Richmond and Mountain View were the only two cities that passed tenant-supported measures. The CAA quickly filed for preliminary injunctions against both measures, arguing that they're unconstitutional.
Judges in Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties denied the association's requests, allowing Richmond and Mountain View to move forward with implementing their rent control measures while the cases moved through the courts.
"The association looked at the judges' decisions in Mountain View and Richmond, and we basically decided that we were going to hold off on those particular lawsuits," Bannon said.