Oxnard tenants allege landlord retaliation after filing complaints under city rent-cap ordinances; city manager says he will hire outside counsel

At the Jan. 7 meeting of the Oxnard City Council, more than a dozen tenants and tenant advocates reported what they said was harassment and retaliation by apartment owners and managers after the tenants filed complaints under two local rent and eviction ordinances.

Speakers identified multiple buildings by address, including 541 Cuesta Del Mar and the Marina Vista complex on Brookside Avenue, and described post-complaint actions that they said included threats, termination notices, demands for storage fees and announced rent increases above the city—s limit. "We are being harassed and retaliated against when we file complaints," several tenants said during the public-comment period.

The complaints cite two Oxnard ordinances enacted in May 2022: Ordinance 3013, which imposes a rent-cap of 4% for apartments, and Ordinance 3012, which establishes requirements for termination notices and eviction procedures. Tenants said landlords were seeking increases far above the 4% cap and were taking other steps that tenants called intimidation after the tenants followed the complaint process.

Tenant groups and advocates who spoke included residents from the Cuesta Del Mar complex and the Marina Vista and Terrace apartment complexes; Maria Navarro, policy advocate for the nonprofit CAUSE; Nathan Castillo of Gathering for Justice;…