Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday he would “absolutely” consider extending L.A. limits on rent increases to cover newly built apartments if California voters roll back a state law that prohibits it.

Garcetti joined tenant and community activists at a news conference outside City Hall to back a proposed ballot initiative that would roll back the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, which bans cities and counties from capping rent increases on apartments built after 1995. In cities like Los Angeles, which already had rent control when the law was passed, the restrictions can go back years earlier.

Repealing the state law would allow local governments to impose rent control on newer buildings, a longtime goal of tenant groups.

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