Seeking Justice for Renters
Seeking Justice for Renters
By Deborah Brasket, SB CAN Executive Director
Next Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to amend Ordinance 4444 relating to the rights and duties of tenants and landlords in rental properties.
This ordinance was created in 2002, when some landlords in Isla Vista had so neglected basic repairs and services — faulty hot-water heater, insect infestations, holes in the floor, etc. — that the county deemed the apartments unsafe for human habitation. The tenants were evicted — supposedly for repairs — and left essentially homeless.
In responding to this not uncommon situation, the Board of Supervisors enacted an ordinance requiring landlords in this type of situation to provide alternative housing while repairs are being made, and/or pay a “relocation benefit” in order to “partially mitigate the financial hardships” faced by displaced residents. Landlords also were required to notify the county of such evictions, and the county was to keep a record of them.
However, over the last eight years, mass evictions continued in Isla Vista and elsewhere in the county — in some cases in order to “upgrade” the housing, meaning to evict low-income tenants and rent to students at double or triple the rents. In addition, no notice of such evictions was ever filed nor records maintained by the county.
In response to these problems, the Rental Housing Roundtable (RHR) was created to address the lack of legal protections for renters, end unjust evictions and unfair treatment of tenants, increase the number of rental units available and develop cooperative ownership. This coalition of more than 30 community organizations includes the Democratic Club of Santa Maria, SB CAN, PUEBLO, Iglesia de Jesucristo de la FE-Santa Maria, Santa Barbara Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (SB CLUE), League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara, as well as a number of individual landlords.
After the fifth mass eviction in three years, RHR proposed a number of amendments to the 2002 Tenants Displacement Assistant Ordinance which seek to expand the ordinance to include demolitions, remodeling and rezoning; establish a county tracking process, and raise penalties for nonreporting; increase relocation payments, to reflect increased costs; and provide for greater education on this ordinance among both tenants and landlords.
These amendments to the tenant protection ordinance will provide assistance to tenants who are evicted through no fault of their own. After each eviction, tenants are sometimes forced to move three or four times a year, losing thousands in security deposits, forcing children to switch schools, and ruining entire neighborhoods.
Increasing tenants’ protections that will discourage landlords from evicting families is a cost-effective way for the county to prevent displacement and preserve its workforce. These amendments would enable families to have the dollars necessary to move and find a new residence.
The RHR Principles state: “Government should pass legislation that brings dignity and justice to both renters and landlords. The government should actively track the housing needs of the community and protect the existing stock of rental housing, including prices, owners, and conditions, and when a shortage exists, use public monies to fund programs and incentives to meet local housing needs.”
Fortunately, this set of proposed amendments to the earlier ordinance requires virtually no outlay of public funds, but goes a long way to providing “dignity and justice to both renters and landlords.”
Please join us at the hearing Tuesday, which will be held in the late afternoon. You can participate via remote satellite at the Betteravia Government Center in Santa Maria.
Posted in Santa Maria Times Editorial on Friday, April 16, 2010 12:00 am
Date:
16 Apr 2010 - 10:20am