Santa Barbara City Council Checks Progress of Rent Stabilization Ordinance

The Santa Barbara City Council heard a report on Tuesday with additional research regarding the rent stabilization ordinance currently in development. The hearing served as an opportunity to modify policy direction as the city prepares to bring a final draft for public review this summer.

The meeting was mostly informative, and the council took no formal action after hearing a presentation from city staff and the city’s consultant, RSG Solutions, which provided a comparison between Santa Barbara’s proposed rent stabilization program and other jurisdictions with similar ordinances.

“The growing number of jurisdictions that have implemented a rent stabilization ordinance before us has offered us a rare chance to learn from them and adapt,” said Senior Assistant to the City Administrator Barbara Andersen.

Andersen said research findings showed that Santa Barbara has many “unique needs” to consider, with an “exceptionally high rent market” compared to other California cities.

The city is currently on schedule to complete a draft to bring back to the City Council on June 9, which would begin a 30-day public review period before the council could return and give final approval by the end of July.

Currently, the city’s plan is to implement a cap on annual rent increases for units built before 1995 that don’t qualify for the typical exemptions allowed under state law (single-family homes, condos, owner-occupied units, deed-restricted housing, and institutional housing). The cap would be set at 60 percent of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or 3 percent — whichever is lower — and would include a rental registry and petition process for those seeking specific exemptions.

The rental stabilization ordinance could cover anywhere from 13,000 to 15,000 units, based on the final direction on which units will be exempt from the program. Early estimates predict the program could cost $2 million a year to run, with an annual fee of $154 per unit to recover costs each year.

These costs would vary depending on the number of units included, which type of petition process the city pursues, the level of detail of the rental registry, and the scope of staffing necessary to administer the program. Costs of more complex programs tend to run higher, as do the starting costs during the first few years until the program is fully established.

With the ordinance already being drafted, city staff were seeking any additional input based on the research findings provided in the report, specifically regarding the petition and fee structure, clarification on exemptions, and consideration of a higher cap limit.

The council did not ask for any specific changes from the previous direction given in April. Councilmembers did not support an option to consider a higher cap limit of 75 percent of CPI, the limit used for the city’s current mobile home rent stabilization program. 

The council also weighed in on whether the ordinance would explicitly exempt Section 8 and deed-restricted affordable housing. Representatives from the city’s Housing Authority shared concerns about conflicting language and “duplicate regulation” that could create “unintended consequences” with units that are already effectively rent stabilized.

Councilmember Wendy Santamaria suggested the city take the safe route and include Section 8 units in the rental stabilization ordinance to provide an additional layer of protection for mixed-status families.

“For anyone who is not aware right now, the Trump administration is cracking down on mixed-status families who already are not receiving the subsidy,” Councilmember Santamaria said. “They are already paying higher rates.”

Mayor Randy Rowse voiced his concerns with the overregulation of property owners and the potential costs of implementing and running a rent stabilization program. 

“We’re basically trying to determine how people use and handle their own private piece of property,” Mayor Rowse said. “I disagree with the direction we’re going here, and I think we’re going to spend a whole lot of money on something that isn’t going to be a positive in the long run.”

In June, the council will return to consider the latest draft of the ordinance, and will offer final direction before potential adoption on July 26. If approved, the city would implement a rental registry in late 2026 to bring in startup funds to launch the complete program in January 2027.