Chula Vista leaders will look at loosening the city’s strongest tenant protection law less than two years after it went into effect, following repeated requests by several landlord industry groups.
At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Councilmember Jose Preciado asked city housing officials to meet with the industry groups to discuss their concerns about the ordinance. He said he didn't think it was necessary for them to meet with other stakeholders like renters for now.
“No specific request for change of any kind, just examination of what could be reasonable.” Preciado said. “But I think it’s important that we hear from industry.”
The Tenant Protection Ordinance took effect in March 2023. It was designed to make it harder for landlords to evict renters who hadn’t done anything wrong and gives the city more power to fine landlords who violate those rules or harass their tenants.
The ordinance was supported by renter advocates, who feared that some landlords were exploiting loopholes in state rental laws to kick their tenants out without a reasonable justification.
Chula Vista had the second-highest rate of eviction lawsuits and lockouts in the county last year, according to UC San Diego’s Homelessness Hub.
Landlords and their industry groups, though, opposed the Tenant Protection Ordinance. They have continued to approach city leaders, arguing the ordinance could force property owners to raise their rents and asking the City Council to loosen some of the requirements.
In 2022, the City Council adopted the Tenant Protection Ordinance in response to a widespread rise in evictions.
Tenants’ rights advocates were particularly worried because many of the emergency state and federal eviction protections from the first two years of the pandemic were expiring. That October, a city survey found that one in 10 renters in Chula Vista reported receiving an eviction notice in just the previous three months.
“Housing insecurity should not become synonymous with the City of Chula Vista,” wrote Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program, in November 2022. “Our children and families should be treated with dignity and respect.”
The Tenant Protection Ordinance required landlords to report evictions to the city and pay between two and three months worth of rent to tenants to help them relocate. It also limited when landlords could evict tenants in order to renovate a property.
Tuesday’s meeting was meant to provide an update on how that ordinance has been carried out since last year.
City housing officials said 103 evictions had been reported since March 2023. Of those, 88 were for substantial remodeling. They said they had also referred a number of tenants to the housing counseling nonprofit CSA San Diego County for advice on their rights.
A number of landlords and industry groups said they remained frustrated with the ordinance, including the Southern California Rental Housing Association and the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors.
“I just think the burden on landlords is overwhelming,” said Brad Wilson, a realtor and property manager.
Wilson and others argued that the risk of fines and higher relocation fees could force some landlords to raise the price of renting their properties and discourage others from renting altogether. According to the rental company Zillow, the median cost of renting in Chula Vista has actually fallen since last year.
Landlords asked city officials to consider reducing the requirements for what qualifies as a “substantial remodel” and make some changes to the amount of relocation support that landlords are required to provide during an eviction.
Stacey Kurz, Chula Vista’s director of Housing and Homeless Services, pointed out that the city had already consulted extensively with both landlords and tenants’ rights organizations while developing the ordinance. Some of those grievances, she said, were with state housing laws, not with the city.
“Our ordinance only affects an owner when they choose to issue a termination of tenancy,” Kurz said. “You can go under a renovation for a six month period … and allow a resident to come back to the unit at the end of that six month period. You can choose to do that.”
Still, Preciado said he felt city housing officials should hear the industry’s concerns.
Mayor John McCann recused himself from the discussion because he owns rental properties in Chula Vista. He was previously barred from voting on the original form of the ordinance by a state watchdog organization in 2022.
Councilmember Rachel Morineau was also not present at Tuesday’s meeting.
