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Council advances rent-control charter amendments to November ballot after hours of debate
Summary
After hours of public testimony and staff explanation, the council agreed to place multiple rent-control and tenant-protection charter amendments on the November ballot and assigned council members to prepare ballot arguments. The measures would affirm local just-cause rules, limit some nonpayment evictions, and expand protections for certain household occupants, subject to voter approval.
The Santa Monica City Council voted July 14 to move forward with placing proposed charter amendments addressing rent control and eviction protections on the Nov. 3 ballot after a lengthy presentation by city attorneys, testimony from tenants and landlords, and council deliberations.
Romy Ganshaw, chief deputy city attorney, presented three proposed resolutions recommended by the Rent Control Board. The first affirms that local just-cause eviction rules may be stronger than state law and makes administrative clarifications to the rent-control charter. The second would prohibit eviction for nonpayment when a tenant's arrears fall below a defined local threshold based on small-area fair market rent. The third would limit evictions related to additional household occupants and extend certain just-cause protections to single-unit dwellings.
Ganshaw told the council the proposals mirrored protections elsewhere in the region and included procedural safeguards. "This regulation would prohibit evictions for nonpayment of rent if the tenant owes less than the average of one month's small area fair market rent for ZIP codes in Santa Monica," the deputy city attorney explained, adding landlords retain the right to pursue collection through non-eviction remedies.
Public testimony was divided. Tenant advocates and some callers urged stronger protections against displacement and thanked the council for the proposed rules; business and landlord representatives warned of unintended consequences, gaps in implementation detail, and potential impacts on small property owners. "This draft has no clear language requiring new occupancies to sign a new lease after the original renter moves out," said Gerard Wright of the Greater Los Angeles Realtors, arguing that the changes could create ambiguity for property owners.
After procedural motions to consider the three resolutions in parts and decisions about how and who will prepare city council ballot arguments, council approved the items to advance. The council identified members to draft arguments in support of the measures and allowed for up to two Rent Control Board commissioners to participate on certain arguments consistent with Brown Act restrictions.
Next steps: staff will fold the council's directions into ordinance language to be returned for final adoption and will publish timelines for written ballot arguments and analyses. Voter approval would be required for any charter changes.
