HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 21 - Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Amendments - PhanCity Council Meeting Date
August 29, 2023
Subject
Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Amendments
Councilmember-Requested Item Title
Discuss and consider directing the City Manager to prepare an ordinance for City Council’s
consideration to amend the City of Santa Ana’s Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction
Ordinance to require supermajority approval of the total number of Councilmembers for certain
future amendments to the ordinance.
Discussion
After many years of painstaking advocacy by residents, the City of Santa Ana’s Rent Stabilization
Ordinance (“RSO”)1 and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (“JCEO”)2 were adopted in fall 2021, and
amended in fall 2022,3 as the first city-wide rent stabilization ordinance in Orange County. Since
its adoption, the City of Santa Ana has adopted a $100 annual Rental Registry fee4 to establish a
Rental Registry, support a Rental Board, and hire staff to support programs implementing the
provisions of the RSO and JCEO.
Since its adoption, rent stabilization ordinances have been contemplated and adopted
throughout the United States. Most recently, the White House lauded Santa Ana’s Rental Registry
as a model for supporting renters who are increasingly facing evictions, homelessness, and
displacement due to skyrocketing rents.5
The RSO is one tool in Santa Ana’s toolbox to help address the housing crisis. Rent stabilization
1 Ordinance No. NS-3009.
2 Ordinance No. NS-3010.
3 Ordinance No. NS-3027.
4 Resolution No. 2023-031 (adopted June 6, 2023).
5 The White House, “White House Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Protect Renters,”
accessed July 27, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/07/27/fact-sheet-
biden-harris-administration-takes-action-to-protect-
renters/#:~:text=Santa%20Ana's%20new%20rental%20registry,and%20supports%20to%20qualified%20household
s.
does just that—it stabilizes residents, their families, and the communities in which they live.
Homeowners have “mortgage control” in the form of 1978’s Proposition 13, which prohibits the
government from increasing property taxes more than 1% of a property’s market value at the
time of acquisition per year and limited the growth of a home’s taxable value to 2% a year.6
Renters make up approximately 55% of Santa Ana residents,7 many of whom have lived in the same
unit for decades, and they deserve the same stability as homeowners. Most recently, a group of 32
economist signed a joint letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency in support of rent stabilization.8
The JCEO is one other tool in the City’s toolbox that addresses the housing crisis and helps to alleviate
one of the causes of homelessness. The JCEO helps to ensure that tenants who timely pay their rents
and who comply with provisions of their rental agreement are not unfair evicted. In particular, the
JCEO provides that tenants who are evicted for no-fault just cause receive some assistance relocating.
Exhibit A to this Council Requested Item Memorandum is an Ordinance Amending the City of
Santa Ana Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance. It would require a supermajority
of the total number of Councilmembers (five out of seven) to adopt an amendment to the RSO
and JCEO relating to:
1. The RSO’s repeal;
2. The JCEO’s repeal;
3. Increasing the maximum allowable annual rent increase above 3% per year or 100% of
the Consumer Price Index (as defined in the RSO) or whichever is lower;
4. Dissolution of the Rental Registry and/or the Rental Registry fee;
5. Dissolution of the Rental Board;
6. Removal or amendment of circumstances established as no-fault just cause for purposes
of eviction; and/or
7. Changes to the RSO which may have the same or substantially similar results as items 1-
6 listed above.
The amendments to the RSO and JCEO as evidenced in the attached Exhibit A are crucial for ensuring
the continuity and longevity of these protections.
Submitted By
•Councilmember Thai Viet Phan
Attachment
•Exhibit A - An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Santa Ana Amending Article XIX
of Chapter 8 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code Pertaining to the Rent Stabilization and Just
Cause Eviction Ordinances
6 Matt Levin, “What is Prop 13?”accessed August 17, 2023, https://projects.scpr.org/prop-13/history/.
7 See United States Census Bureau, QuickFacts, accessed August 17, 2023,
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/santaanacitycalifornia/HSG445221#HSG445221.
8 Letter re Tenant Protections for Enterprise-Backed Multifamily Properties Request for Input (July 28, 2023),
https://peoplesaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Economist-Sign-on-Letter_-FHFA-RFI-Response-1.pdf.
Ordinance No. NS - ____
Page 1 of 7
ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXXX
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA ANA AMENDING ARTICLE XIX OF CHAPTER 8
OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE PERTAINING TO
THE RENT STABILIZATION AND JUST CAUSE EVICTION
ORDINANCES
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The City Council of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines, and
declares as follows:
A. At the City Council meetings on September 21, 2021, and October 5, 2021, the
City Council discussed the City of Santa Ana's (“Santa Ana” or “City”) ability to
address rent increases on residential real property and in mobilehome parks
wherein hundreds of City residents provided spoken and written comments about
their experiences of landlords purporting tenant crimes without proof as
justification for evictions, unjust rent increases without a proportional increase in
the quality of housing provided, and various quality of life issues as residents,
renters, and property owners in Santa Ana.
B. On October 19, 2021, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. NS- 3009, known
as the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (“RSO”) and Ordinance No. NS-3010, known
as the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (“JCEO”) appearing as Article X, Division 4
and Division 5 in the Santa Ana Municipal Code (“SAMC”). The RSO and JCEO
were adopted to regulate rent increases and evictions in certain rental properties
and mobilehome spaces in the City of Santa Ana.
C. The findings in Ordinance No. NS-3009 and Ordinance No. NS-3010 articulate
that significant rent increases and housing instability pose a threat to public
health, safety and welfare, and a particular hardship for senior citizens, persons
living on fixed incomes, and other vulnerable persons living in Santa Ana. These
findings are still true and incorporated herein.
D. Additionally, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-054, directing staff to:
(1) Conduct further study of the additional regulatory framework and
infrastructure necessary to implement residential rent stabilization, just cause
eviction, and other protections for Santa Ana residents facing housing instability;
and, (2) Include the creation and operation of a Rent Board or similar body, a
rent registry, and the related costs thereof.
E. On October 4, 2022, the City Council adopted amendments to the RSO and
JCEO to implement efficient and effective program services to rental property
Ordinance No. NS - ____
Page 2 of 7
owners and tenants and promote long-term sustainability of the programs, which
include:
1. Create a Rental Housing Board;
2. Create a Rental Registry;
3. Adopt a Rental Registry Fee;
4. Develop a Work Plan;
5. Conduct a Fee Study Based on the Work Plan and Staffing Needs;
6. Expand Compliance Activities;
7. Create a Capital Improvement Petition and Tenant Petition;
8. Establish Petition Fees and a Petition Review Process;
9. Create a Voluntary Mediation Process; and,
10. Join the Rent Stabilization Consortium.
F. Since the adoption of the RSO and JCEO, Santa Ana residents have made
multiple reports about landlords who have refused to comply with the law relating
to rent increase and improper evictions.
G. Requiring supermajority approval for changes to certain provisions in Article XIX
in Chapter 8 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code pertaining to the RSO and JCEO
shall help to provide tenants, landlords, Mobilehome residents, and interested
parties with consistency and ongoing stability relating to the implementation of
the RSO and JCEO as well as the programs and services related thereto.
H. Pursuant to the City's police power, as granted broadly under Article XI, section 7
of the California Constitution, and Santa Ana Charter section 200, the Santa Ana
City Council has the authority to enact and enforce ordinances and regulations
for the public peace, health, and welfare of the City and its residents.
I. The City Council finds, determines, and declares that the threat to the public
health, safety and welfare of the City and its residents necessitates the
enactment of the Ordinance.
J. The Request for City Council Action for amendments to these Ordinances dated
_______________, 2023, shall, by this reference, be incorporated herein, and
together with this Ordinance, any amendments or supplements, and oral
testimony, constitute the necessary findings for this Ordinance.
Section 2. The recitals and statements of fact set forth in the preamble to this
Ordinance are true and correct, constitute a substantive part of this Ordinance, and are
incorporated herein by this reference.
Section 3. Section 8-3103 of Division 1 (Generally) of Article X (Property
Maintenance) of Chapter 8 (Buildings and Structures) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code
is hereby amended to read as follows:
Ordinance No. NS - ____
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Sec. 8-3103. - Implementing regulations, policies and procedures.
The City Manager or Program Administrator shall have the authority to
promulgate regulations, policies and procedures to implement the requirements
and fulfill the purposes of this Article. No person shall fail to comply with such
regulations, policies and procedures.
The Santa Ana City Council shall not repeal or render ineffective, or take other
actions which may have the same or substantially similar results as repealing or
rendering ineffective, the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance,
without approval of at least a supermajority (5/7) of all members of the City
Council.
Section 4. Subsubsection 1) of Subsection (b) of Section 8-3120 (Restrictions
on Termination of Tenancy Without Just Cause) of Division 2 (Just Cause Evictions) of
Article XIX (Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance) of Chapter 8
(Buildings and Structures) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to add
the following before the phrase “At-fault just cause, which includes any of the
following:”:
(1) The Santa Ana City Council shall not remove, amend, render ineffective, or
take other action which may have the same or substantially similar results to
removing, amending, or rendering ineffective, the circumstances established
as at-fault just cause, without approval of at least a supermajority (5/7) of all
members of the City Council.
Section 5. Subsubsection 2) of Subsection (b) of Section 8-3120 (Restrictions
on Termination of Tenancy Without Just Cause) of Division 2 (Just Cause Evictions) of
Article XIX (Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance) of Chapter 8
(Buildings and Structures) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended to add
the following before the phrase “No-fault just cause, which includes any of the
following:”:
1) The Santa Ana City Council shall not remove, amend, render ineffective, or
take other action which may have the same or substantially similar results to
removing, amending, or rendering ineffective, the circumstances established
as no-fault just cause, without approval of at least a supermajority (5/7) of all
members of the City Council.
Section 6. Subsection (a) of Section 8-3140 (Prohibited Increases) of
Division 3 (Rent Stabilization) of Article XIX (Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction
Ordinance) of Chapter 8 (Buildings and Structures) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code is
hereby amended as follows:
Section 8-3140 – Prohibited Increases.
Ordinance No. NS - ____
Page 4 of 7
(a) Increases in Rent on Residential Real Property or Mobilehome Spaces in
the City of Santa Ana in excess of three percent (3%), or eighty percent
(80%) of the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less, and
more than one Rent Increase in any twelve (12) month period, are
prohibited, unless expressly exempt under the Costa-Hawkins Rental
Housing Act codified in California Civil Code section 1954.50, et seq., or
the Mobilehome Residency Law codified in California Civil Code sections
798, et seq. If the change in the Consumer Price Index is negative, no
Rent Increase is permitted. The term Consumer Price Index means, at the
time of the adjustment calculation completed by the City pursuant to
subsection (b), the percentage increase in the United State Consumer
Price Index for all Urban Consumers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-
Anaheim Metropolitan Area published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
not seasonally adjusted, for the most recent twelve (12) month period
ending prior to the City’s calculation pursuant to subsection (b). A violation
of this section occurs upon the service of notice or demand for a
prohibited increase in Rent. The Santa Ana City Council shall not adjust or
amend this section to allow for increases in Rent on Residential Real
Property or Mobilehome Spaces in the City of Santa Ana in excess of
three percent (3%), or one hundred percent (100%) of the change in the
Consumer Price Index, without approval of at least a supermajority (5/7) of
all members of the City Council.
Section 7. Subsection (l) is added to Section 8-3160 (Rental Registry) of
Division 4 (Rental Registry and Rental Registry Fee) of Article XIX (Rent Stabilization
and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance) of Chapter 8 (Buildings and Structures) of the
Santa Ana Municipal Code as follows:
(l) The Santa Ana City Council shall not dissolve, render ineffective, or take
other action which may have the same or substantially similar results to
dissolving or rendering ineffective, the Rental Registry, without approval of
at least a supermajority (5/7) of all members of the City Council.
Section 8. Subsection (a) of Section 8-3161 (Rental Registry Fee) of
Division 4 (Rental Registry and Rental Registry Fee) of Article XIX (Rent Stabilization
and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance) of Chapter 8 (Buildings and Structures) of the
Santa Ana Municipal Code is hereby amended as follows:
(a)Amount of Fee. A Landlord shall pay to the City a Rental Registry Fee for
each of the Landlord’s Rental Units in the City. The amount of the Fee
shall be determined by resolution of the City Council adopted from time to
time and set forth in the City’s Miscellaneous Fee Schedule. The Fee
shall not exceed the amount found by the City Council to be necessary to
administer the provisions of this Article, and the City Council’s findings in
this regard shall be final. The Santa Ana City Council shall not dissolve,
render ineffective, or take other action which may have the same or
Ordinance No. NS - ____
Page 5 of 7
substantially similar results to dissolving or rendering ineffective, the
Rental Registry Fee, without approval of at least a supermajority (5/7) of
all members of the City Council.
Section 9. Subsection (g) is added to Section 8-3180 (Rental Housing Board)
of Division 5 (Rental Housing Board) of Article XIX (Rent Stabilization and Just Cause
Eviction Ordinance) of Chapter 8 (Buildings and Structures) of the Santa Ana Municipal
Code as follows:
(g)Dissolution of the Rental Housing Board. The Santa Ana City Council shall
not dissolve, render ineffective, or take other action which may have the
same or substantially similar results to dissolving or rendering ineffective,
the Rental Housing Board, without approval of at least a supermajority
(5/7) of all members of the City Council.
Section 10. The City Council finds and determines that this Ordinance is not
subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to sections
15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result in a
direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, as there is
no possibility it will have a significant effect on the environment and it is not a “project,”
as defined in section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines. Furthermore, the proposed
Ordinance falls within the “common sense” CEQA exemption set forth in CEQA
Guidelines section 15061(b)(3), excluding projects where “it can be seen with certainty
that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on
the environment.”
Section 11. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of
this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of
any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby
declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection,
sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more
sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or
unconstitutional.
Section 12. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days after its
adoption.
Section 13. The Clerk of the Council shall certify to the adoption of this
Ordinance and cause the same to be published in the manner prescribed by law.
Ordinance No. NS - ____
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ADOPTED this ___ day of ___________________, 2023.
_______________________
Valerie Amezcua
Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Sonia R. Carvalho, City Attorney
_______________________________
John Funk
Assistant City Attorney
AYES: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
NOES: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
NOT PRESENT: Councilmembers: ________________________________________
Ordinance No. NS - ____
Page 7 of 7
CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY
I, , Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify the attached
Ordinance No. NS-XXXX to be the original Ordinance adopted by the City Council of the
City of Santa Ana on .
Date: ________________ ____________________________________
Clerk of the Council
City of Santa Ana