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Santa Barbara council advances temporary rent‑increase moratorium, tightens rules for permanent removal of rental units
Summary
After hours of public comment, the City Council introduced a temporary rent‑increase moratorium ordinance and approved amendments tightening just‑cause/Ellis Act removal rules; both measures passed in 4–3 votes and will return for formal adoption under the normal ordinance timeline.
The Santa Barbara City Council on Jan. 13 introduced an ordinance to impose a temporary moratorium on rent increases while staff develops a permanent rent‑stabilization program and directed staff to draft additional Ellis Act‑related changes to just‑cause eviction rules.
Assistant City Attorney Dan Henske told the council the proposed moratorium is narrowly drawn to fit within state law: it would not cover units that received certificates of occupancy after Feb. 1, 1995, most single‑family homes and many condominiums (described in state law as units alienable separately), transient hotel‑type occupancies, units subject to affordable‑housing covenants, or Section 8 units. The measure uses the rent in effect on Dec. 16, 2025, as the “base rent” for existing tenancies and would expire on the earlier of the effective date of a permanent program or Dec. 31, 2026, unless the…
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