This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the proposed Isla Vista Rental Inspection Program on Tuesday. The program, which is restricted to I.V. and 12 months long, aims to inspect rental units to make sure they are up to state and local code.
Supervisor Capps introduced the program because Isla Vista has a dangerous trifecta — receding bluffs, exorbitant rents, and many young and low-income tenants. “That leads us to this innovative, proactive inspection program,” Capps said.
The cost is covered by last year’s settlement money paid by UC Santa Barbara to the xounty for failing to provide adequate housing for its students.
The County’s Planning and Development Office will run the inspection program. It will require landlords to register their units with the county within 45 days of the ordinance’s official adoption, which is scheduled for May 13. Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Director Lisa Plowman is authorized to determine which units get inspected; landlords are given 15 days’ advance notice with the ability to request one extension. If landlords do not comply, the county said, the county can get permission from tenants or an inspection warrant.
At a press conference last week, the county said it plans to focus on the oceanside of Del Playa Drive.
More than 13,000 students live in the approximately 0.5 square mile that makes up Isla Vista. UC Santa Barbara does not guarantee housing after a student’s first year and I.V. landlords have numerous young tenants to fill spots. Units generally range anywhere from $900 to $1,500 per bed, with doubles and triples as the norm.
High prices do not necessarily translate to adequate upkeep. Supervisor Capps’s office, as well as the Isla Vista Community Services District, reported hearing accounts of mold, rodent and insect infestations, plumbing problems, broken stairs or balconies, and broken carbon monoxide and smoke detectors ahead of the program’s introduction.
At the meeting, Supervisor Bob Nelson said he was initially hesitant about having the county government step in, but after seeing the conditions in Isla Vista, he supported the pilot program. He said that he has heard the excuse that college students can wreck property, and that while that does happen, landlords are compensated by high rents.
“They’re receiving the funds to maintain a property, but they’re not reinvesting those funds to make sure that it’s a place that’s working,” he said.
Public commenters largely supported the program, but some raised concerns about how the program may displace people.
One commentator asked that the language on a tenant’s right to refuse an inspection be clarified, with concern that landlords might “renovict” tenants and raise prices.
“In order to protect tenants from possible exploitation and manipulation of this inspection plan by the landlords, I feel the tenants’ right to reject inspections must be stated clearly in the inspection plan,” the commenter, a student, said.
Other concerns included where students will go if they cannot return to their unit due to necessary repairs. The county has said it will work with UCSB to temporarily rehouse students.
“Greater clarity is needed regarding whether or not an official commitment has been made, which populations will be eligible for rehousing assistance, and whether support will come through on-campus housing or financial compensation,” said Spencer Brandt, president of the Board of Directors for the Isla Vista Community Services District.
The commenter added that it is critical for resources to be available for the more than 5,000 residents who are not UCSB students.
The Santa Barbara Association of Realtors sent a public letter saying it “understood the intent behind the program” but included a list of clarifying questions on how registration and how notifications of inspections would work.
No independent landlords or housing companies gave public comment.
The supervisors approved the program as-is. It will appear at next week’s meeting on the administrative agenda for final approval.
