Is rent control a proper exercise of the municipal police power?

It is now established that rent control is a proper exercise of the municipal police power so long as it is "reasonably calculated to eliminate excessive rents" and at the same time provides the landlord with a just and reasonable return on his or her property. (Birkenfield v. City of Berkeley (1976) 17 Cal.3d 129, 165, 130 Cal.Rptr. 465, 550 P.2d 1001.) Moreover, this field of regulation is not occupied by general state law, thereby leaving each locality free to address individualized local conditions. (Id., at p. 163, 130 Cal.Rptr. 465, 550 P.2d 1001.)