San Diego approves strict new renter protections

Dozens of people sit in a large room, some holding signs.

San Diego Union-Tribune

April 26, 2023 7:33 PM PT

The San Diego City Council approved on Tuesday night a host of new renter protections that faced heavy opposition from landlords, and even some renter advocates.

The City Council approved the new legislation 8 to 1 with some changes. The legislation will need a second vote May 16 before final approval.

The new law would require a landlord to give two months’ rent to a tenant who is evicted for no reason. These “no-fault” evictions include a renter being asked to move for a significant remodel of the property, if the owner decides to take the unit off the rental market or, simply, a landlord deciding after a lease term not to renew a particular tenant.

“Renters in San Diego deserve more protections in the face of rising housing costs and the existing power imbalance between landlords and tenants,” said Council President Sean Elo-Rivera. “This is a significant step toward preventing displacement and homelessness.”

Renters could still be legally evicted for violating lease agreements, such as not paying rent. City planners said the law was aimed at bad landlords who use “no-fault” lease terminations as a way to remove renters without doing a legal eviction.

Landlord groups, and individual landlords, who spoke at the meeting said the two-month payment — or three months for a senior or disabled person — was unfair because it added to costs. They said it gave them an incentive not to make apartment repairs and probably would lead to fewer rentals as potential landlords gave up on the idea of renting altogether.

Still, renters who spoke at the more than seven-hour meeting argued they lacked protections in the highly competitive and expensive San Diego rental market. Rent has increased 19.8% in two years in the city, for an average monthly cost of about $2,552, according to data from real estate tracker CoStar. The current vacancy rate is about 4.2%, making the process of finding a new unit difficult for many.

“We need to remember not all landlords are ethical,” supporter Dan Castillo said. “We need to provide a floor of standards so folks in our community do not fall through the cracks.”

Renter advocacy group San Diego Tenants Union called the renter protections “watered down” and said the two or three months of rent payments to people removed in no-fault evictions were too low.

Some council members proposed changes to the protections, but only one said she would vote no. Councilmember Jennifer Campbell said she voted against because so many of her constituents told her of their opposition to the law.

Councilmember Marni von Wilpert pushed for an amendment that would give landlords more time to comply, which would delay the implementation of the law for some landlords until Jan.1, 2024. More clarification on the amendment is expected before the second reading of the law in May.

Council President Pro Tem Monica Montgomery Steppe said she understood the challenges landlords faced but argued that the law would, in the long run, help keep people off the streets.

“We have to continue to make [San Diego)] better for everyone,” she said.

At least 65% of landlords in San Diego are noncorporate, or “mom and pop,” landlords, according to estimates by the Southern California Rental Housing Assn. Many said they had only a few units and already struggled with costs, making more regulations an added difficulty.

“That is who is going to be hurt, the small guy,” said Dan Feder, owner of F&F Property Management, which is based in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood.

Some landlords wore green badges that said “ethical housing provider” and told stories of how they took good care of their units and had seen their own costs increase for insurance and other items.

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San Diego, California - April 25: The San Diego City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a new set of tenant protection laws aimed at giving renters more rights when facing no-fault evictions. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: The city seal. The San Diego City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a new set of tenant protection laws aimed at giving renters more rights when facing no-fault evictions. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: Woman holds up sign not in favor of the proposed ordinance. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: Speaker forms outside the city council hall. The San Diego City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a new set of tenant protection laws aimed at giving renters more rights when facing no-fault evictions. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: Looking into the city council meeting. The San Diego City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a new set of tenant protection laws aimed at giving renters more rights when facing no-fault evictions. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: Raquel Barrios addresses the council members. She is not in favor of the proposed ordinance. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: Martin Chevalier holds up a sign. The San Diego City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a new set of tenant protection laws aimed at giving renters more rights when facing no-fault evictions. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: Council members listen to both sides of the arguments. San Diego City Council to vote on Tenant Protection Ordinance intended to combat homelessness. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego, California - April 25: Council members. The San Diego City Council is set to vote Tuesday on a new set of tenant protection laws aimed at giving renters more rights when facing no-fault evictions. Tenant rights advocates and landlords alike attend the council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, April 25, 2023 in San Diego, California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) (Alejandro Tamayo/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

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San Diego would go beyond state law, which requires one month of rent for relocation assistance. Right now, America’s Finest City has no relocation assistance. It is exempt from new state laws because it already had a limited tenant protection law on the books.

Melanie Woods, a representative of the California Apartment Assn., said the extra months of rent relocation should be limited to people who really needed it, such as low- to moderate-income renters. She said the organization also opposed another stipulation that many renter rights would start immediately, instead of in 12 months, as in the state’s law.

Another part of the law that is hotly debated is a stipulation that, after some no-fault evictions, renters be given a chance to renew their tenancy if the property is back on the rental market within five years. This was a point of contention with some advocacy groups that said there should be a guarantee that the person gets to return with the same rent as before.

Other protections in the law are mainly aimed at providing paperwork to tenants informing them of their rights. The ordinance said landlords must give notice of a lease violation (such as not paying rent), and give time to fix the problem. Today, a landlord could just begin the eviction process immediately.

A landlord must still give 30 days’ notice before a no-fault eviction but now must also provide the renter with an explanation of their rights to receive relocation assistance.

The legislation also attempts to define what is a substantial remodel. It says that before removing tenants, landlords must take steps that include disclosing to residents that they’re applying for permits, obtaining construction permits and showing a copy of the permits to the tenant, and disclosing under penalty of perjury the reason construction is needed.

There are exemptions for the type of units the ordinance covers, such as accessory dwelling units, Section 8 housing, vacation rentals, hotels and residential care facilities.

With rents rising across the nation, many cities have been considering stronger protections for renters. Los Angeles is being sued over its renter protection law, which says a landlord cannot evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent if it doesn’t reach a threshold of $1,747 for a one-bedroom and $2,222 for a two-bedroom. Critics argued that bad renters could just shortchange their rents for months and not face eviction.

San Diego approves strict new renter protections

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