Seaside — Several speakers raised widespread tenant habitability and rising‑rent concerns during public comment Thursday and urged the City Council to formally consider a rental‑registry program and annual inspections.

Robert Daniels Jr., a neighborhood organizer with Building Healthy Communities, told the council his survey and interviews found high rents, habitability problems and “abusive and oppressive landlord tactics” across the city, including outside traditionally expected neighborhoods. “The city doesn’t know who’s renting, where renting is happening, how much rent is being charged,” Daniels said, arguing the city needs better data to understand rental market health.

A second public commenter, speaking in Spanish and interpreted during the meeting, described moldy refrigerators, missing appliances and unsafe living conditions and asked the city to institute annual inspections. Several other residents urged the city to develop a registration and inspection system modeled on neighboring cities’ programs.

City response: The city manager replied that the city does not currently have a rental registry or a universal rental inspection program and noted the city’s ability to inspect is limited to life‑safety matters; officials encouraged tenants to report habitability issues to city staff for initial follow‑up. The city manager also told the council that broader rental‑code changes could affect single‑family households and would require broader policy discussion; the county retains primary responsibility for certain health and safety enforcement in some cases.

Why it matters: With an expanding population and high housing costs on the Monterey Peninsula, councilmembers and staff said data about rental occupancy and housing conditions is necessary to shape local policy. Several councilmembers indicated they were open to collecting more information and exploring policies, but stressed the need to understand legal and operational limits and the potential costs and scope of a registry or inspection program.

Next steps: Staff said they would continue to collect information about tenant concerns and to meet with community organizers. Councilmembers signaled interest in a formal staff report on the idea of a rental registry and what authority and resources would be required.

Ending: The exchange closed with staff urging residents to contact code enforcement and the housing‑related city contacts for immediate life‑safety issues, and with the council agreeing to consider a staff report at a future meeting describing options and constraints for a rental registry or inspection program.