How exactly is forcing owners to actually improve their house supposed to make the housing problem worse?
You think it’s going to put house outside of the market at their current price? It’s an insignificant dent in the profit margin.
You think it’s going to put house outside of the market at their current price? It’s an insignificant dent in the profit margin.
This law makes renovations more expensive. That means use conversions, expansions and safety improvements all happen less frequently.
> It’s an insignificant dent in the profit margin
Limited supply means suppliers own the cards. There is zero chance these costs are born by landlords.
Landlords are already pricing their rentals as high as they can so who else would bear the costs? If they could extract more, they would already do.
Reducing supply increases the price they can charge because prospective renters have fewer alternatives.
In Sunset (San Francisco), most houses still have 100–150 amp electrical panels. To support full electrification these panels typically need to be upgraded to 200 or maybe 300 amps.
That upgrade alone costs around $10,000, including labor, permitting (which is surprisingly expensive), and inspections. If rewiring the house is also required (which is often the case) that can push the total to $30,000.
But it doesn’t stop there. PG&E’s infrastructure in many areas like Sunset is already maxed out. If your upgrade triggers a red flag, PG&E may require additional capacity upgrades. However, they won’t pay for them (they’ll just refuse the work until you do). These utility-related infrastructure upgrades can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000, and yes, those costs fall on the homeowner.
So in total, you could be looking at $60,000 or more for this.