Rent control would help students stay in their homes

For the past ten years, living in Santa Ana has gotten more expensive and monthly payments are harder and harder to make.

Living in Santa Ana sucks. I shouldn’t have to have my landlord raise my rent $100 a month in a city where my chances of becoming a victim of violent crimes are high.

Monthly rent for a single-bedroom apartment used to be about $900 in 2009. Now, the average cost is upwards of about $2,057, according to NeighborhoodScout.com. That’s a 129% increase over the past decade or a $1,157 increase. In other parts of Orange County, the increase is even greater.

And hours invested in more work and less study will eventually get to the point where it will be practically impossible for us to do both and still be mentally stable in the long run. My solution? Rent control.

Rent control will set a limit on how much a landlord can increase rent. That would make it more affordable for people who don’t earn as much as others to make rent payments every month.

But it’s not just me. Countless students in this school are also having trouble studying and making ends meet, and I don’t like it because now I have to find time to get more hours at work to make rent at least possible, not taking into account other expenses like food and bills.

The city opposes this because they say it is not convenient for them to do that and would end but affecting us in the long run. What they are really saying is that they would rather support the landlords and companies that hike up rents than their own citizens, and that is not right.

Personally, I would support rent control because it will help me by giving me more time to actually study and excel in the classroom, without having to juggle between work and school and time to sleep. And I know I’m not the only student who would prefer to sleep more rather than work more.