Santa Monica Rent Control Board recommends charter amendments on tenant protections to City Council

The Santa Monica Rent Control Board on June 25 recommended a package of tenant-protection charter amendments to the City Council for placement on the November 2026 ballot.

Board members approved motions to move forward with revisions that would: define the "small rental debt" eviction threshold using the average of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development small-area fair market rents for ZIP codes wholly or partially within Santa Monica (rather than the broader metro FMR), require that an occupant remain in a unit at least one year before qualifying to stay after the tenant vacates, narrow the class of protected "added household members" to core relations (for example, spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling and certain minor dependents), and add a required written notice to the landlord when a tenant brings in such occupants. The board also retained staff-drafted language addressing affordable-housing deed-restriction compliance and added a Tenant Protection Act finding required to preserve the city’s local framework.

Vice Chair Ambry framed the small-rental-debt change as a local fix: the proposal would use HUD small-area rents averaged across Santa Monica ZIP codes instead of inflating a threshold by applying a 150% metro-area factor. "We're still using the HUD data... we're using 100% or just the average and we're utilizing zip codes that are tied to the city of Santa Monica," Ambry said during deliberations, arguing that the change better reflects local rents.

Board members discussed whether to phrase the trigger as "one month's rent" or to keep a HUD-defined small-area average. Staff presented clarified draft language stating that a tenant would only be terminable for nonpayment when the amount owed "exceeds one month of fair market rent," and that the termination notice must state the unit's bedroom count and the applicable fair market rent as determined by the defined Santa Monica small-area rents.

The board limited expansion of family-member protections after public and board input. Housing-provider representatives had warned such expansions could "prevent owners from ever resetting rents to market levels," while tenant advocates described real-life household needs. As staff summarized, the adopted approach requires at least one year of residence for occupants to qualify to remain after vacancy and adds process safeguards: certain family members may be treated as authorized occupants, and non-family occupants must show an intent to form a household and typically request permission under a reasonableness test rather than assert an automatic right.

Industry speakers urged caution. Joseph Ramos of the Association of Greater Los Angeles said the proposal "would transform that limited exception into a perpetual tenancy," and warned it "goes far beyond every city identified by your own staff." By contrast, tenant advocates such as Heather Thomasson told the board that allowing family members to stay "keeps families together and keeps people out of crisis. This is good policy and it's the humane thing to do." Landlord commenters, including Michael Milman, argued the city must preserve landlords' ability under Costa Hawkins to set subsequent rents if they regain control of units.

Board members took a series of roll-call votes on discrete sections. The board carried motions recommending the staff- and board-amended language to the City Council, with one recorded abstention on a consolidated A2 vote. The board took no final ballot placement action itself; the City Council will decide whether to place any of the recommended charter amendments before voters in November 2026.

The board adjourned and scheduled its next regular meeting for July 9, 2026.