Renters in the City of San Diego got a major expansion in their rights as tenants with the new Residential Tenant Protection Ordinance to Prevent Displacement and Homelessness. Passed by the City Council in April and signed into law by Mayor Todd Gloria, this ordinance went into effect June 24 protecting tenants who abide by the terms of their lease against harmful evictions.
The inspiration for the updates to this law stem from my time interning at a legal clinic in City Heights’ schools. Week after week, families would seek assistance with the same issue: housing. Individuals and families came with eviction notices, despite not doing anything wrong. Some faced steep and unaffordable rent increases. Others lived in subpar conditions or had their immigration status levied against them if they spoke up.
All these stories resonated with me, as my family and I have felt the effects of evictions and housing instability. I know the consequences of being uprooted from my home during the middle of a school year and how it feels to not know where my family will live after the end of the month.
Working at the legal clinic was often heartbreaking and frustrating. No matter how many people we were able to help, the following week, there would be a new group of folks facing the same issues. In many instances, the challenges the community faced were allowable under the law. Midway through the internship, I was convinced, legal work could only do so much and that changes to policy would have a greater impact on the community.
Unfortunately, the struggles of renters have become even more common in our communities since the days I spent as a legal intern. That is why I was compelled by the community’s calls for action to expand tenant protections. Now, with San Diego’s new tenant protections in effect, we can prevent needless evictions that displace renters and put people in danger of becoming homeless.
This new law requires landlords to inform renters of their rights. This information can be the difference between staying in your home or being displaced. Empowering tenants to know their rights, legal protections, and resources available to them is critical. So here are some things to know about the ordinance:
- Renters who abide by the terms of their lease, in most cases, should not be evicted.
- There are some exceptions for when an owner removes a property from the rental market, one of their immediate family members moves into the home, or substantial renovation is needed.
- For those exceptions, landlords must pay the tenant two months of rent, or three if the tenant is 55 or older or has medical issues.
- For renovations, landlords must post the permit of the proposed renovations on the premises.
- These rights are effective on the first day of the lease term.
Additionally, and very importantly, landlords who violate the law are liable to pay for tenants’ legal fees. No longer will illegally evicted tenants be dependent on overworked and under-resourced volunteer lawyers or law students. Now, attorneys will have a greater incentive to take on potential eviction cases when landlords have violated San Diego’s tenant protections.
This new law protecting renters seeks to even the power balance between landlords and tenants. That is why tenant advocates, my staff, and I worked in partnership with the community to update a 2004 law that had become outdated and insufficient.
Given the latest numbers on the increase in homelessness in the past year, we need to use every tool available to us to prevent people from being forced to live on the street. This new law is a preventative step because it keeps individuals and families from falling into homelessness. Such precautions ensure we continue to champion housing as a fundamental human right and head in the right direction as we find ways to address our housing crises and find solutions for our unhoused population.
Housing is a human right, a critical component for a decent life, and the foundation for everything we do. That is why this tenant protection ordinance is a major accomplishment for the city and its residents.
City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera represents District 9 and serves as president of the council.