The San Diego City Council will consider a new ordinance April 25 which its authors say will protect renters from displacement and homelessness.
The goal of the ordinance is to safeguard tenants from “no-fault evictions,” which is when a landlord requires a tenant to vacate a property for certain reasons like removing the property from the rental market or if they will be using it for themselves or a family member.
“This ordinance will help address the reality that we have people becoming newly homeless faster than we can get people housed,” Mayor Todd Gloria said in a press release April 18.
According to city officials, only 10 people found housing for every 13 who became homeless between Oct. 2021 and Sept. 2022.
During that same time frame, officials said, over 15,000 people were homeless for the first time, while nearly 12,000 were such due to a housing conflict.
Gloria and Council President Sean Elo-Rivera collaborated with tenants’ rights advocates and rental housing industry stakeholders to draft the ordinance.
“San Diegans who are paying their rent and abiding by their lease should not live in fear of eviction,” said Elo-Rivera in the same press release. “These evictions cause massive financial and emotional distress to families and can lead to displacement and put people at risk of homelessness.”
The last effort the city made to protect tenants was in 2004 when it adopted an ordinance limiting eviction grounds for tenants who have been in residence for at least two years.
The latest proposal is designed to bring San Diego up to standards with and beyond statewide regulations set by AB 1482—which limits rent increase and requires fair reasons for eviction, according to the city.
The ordinance protects tenants immediately on leases over three months and provides two months of financial assistance for those whose lease is terminated by no fault of their own.
The ordinance will also require landlords wanting to terminate a lease due to major remodels or demolition to post a copy of their permit application requesting to do so on the property when submitted and wait to give an eviction notice only when it is approved.
Tenants facing no-fault evictions, under the ordinance, will also have the first right of refusal if the rental unit is put back on the market within five years of their eviction.
