| Hi Friend,
Community power and organized tenants delivered a major victory for Santa Barbara renters.
On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council passed a temporary rent freeze while the city implements a strong, permanent rent stabilization ordinance.
Who is covered:
Generally speaking, if your building was built in 1995 or earlier, is multi-family, and is not low-income or government-subsidized housing, these protections apply to you.
What this means:
- Rent Freeze: A temporary moratorium on rent increases goes into effect February 26 through December 31, 2026 or the implementation date of the rent stabilization ordinance. This protection shields tenants from sudden rent hikes.
- Additional Protections: The City has advanced another policy, which includes stronger protections through the Just Cause ordinance to prevent landlords from using threats of removing units from the rental market to evict tenants and raise rents.
Centering People in Policy
Protecting our neighbors is a policy best practice. You, along with well over a hundred neighbors, called for these protections after we saw the writing on the wall: property managers are harassing tenants into signing new leases and opponents are openly threatening rent hikes in response to our work reigning in runaway rents.
The longer our city talks about rent stabilization without taking action, the more people are put at risk. Santa Barbara is finally advancing interim protections against unjust evictions and rent hikes to prevent policy malpractice while long-term solutions move forward. And let’s not forget: this win is the direct result of you and your neighbors organizing, showing up to protect one another, and demanding action for years.
While these protections are short term, they matter to some of us who need it most. In one of the most hostile places for renters, it’s important we celebrate this hard fought victory as we keep building our momentum for permanent tenant protections in our region.
If you need help understanding how these new protections apply to you, contact our local organizer Angeliza Sanchez at angeliza@causenow.org.
And if you want to be part of the fight for stronger tenant protections and long-term solutions to the housing affordability crisis, we’d love to have you with us. Please reach out with questions or to get involved.
If you haven’t yet, consider a one-time or recurring donation to keep our organizing and housing justice work going.
Together, we are proving what’s possible when tenants organize.
Lucas Zucker and Hazel Davalos
Co-Executive Directors, CAUSE |
