Salinas City Council is set to decide on the county’s first rent stabilization ordinance.

At 7pm on Tuesday, Aug. 20, Salinas City Council is set to consider what could become Monterey County’s first rent control ordinance. The proposed ordinance comes after well over a year of organizing by residents, who have been showing up to voice their support at public meetings. They have carried signs and shared stories of struggles to keep a roof over their heads.

On Aug. 1, City Attorney Chris Callihan and representatives of Oakland-based consultant Economic & Planning Systems, Inc. presented the draft ordinance during a community meeting at the Salinas Police Activities League Center downtown. Residents’ signs read, “2% rent increase,” “Rent is too high!” and “support the renters rights ordinance,” in English and Spanish.

The draft ordinance would implement a rent increase limit; EPS suggests a cap of 2.5 – to 2.75-percent for increases per year. It also includes additional tenant protections such as increased relocation assistance (for just-cause evictions, the landlord would pay three months’ rent, for example) and anti-harassment policies to prevent landlord intimidation forcing renters to move out.

The draft also includes a fee for administrative costs. EPS recommends merging the fee with that of a rental registry, implemented in 2023; for many property owners, it would mean an increase in fees.

The ordinance would apply to multi-family residences built before Feb. 1, 1995, per the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, passed that year. (On Nov. 5, California voters will decide on Proposition 33, which seeks to repeal Costa-Hawkins; if repealed, cities and counties would be able to set their own rent control measures for any type of housing, including units built after 1995.)

If approved, the city ordinance would affect rent increases starting on Dec. 31, 2024.

In Salinas, 52 percent of dwelling units are rentals and nearly 19 percent would be eligible for rent stabilization.

In public comments at various meetings, renters have said most of their income goes to pay the rent, some reporting they pay up to $4,000 per month. According to Zillow, the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom residence is $2,545 and a three-bedroom is $3,550 as of Aug. 10. Prices are 22-percent above the national average, and $192 higher than this time last year. The median income for a renter in Salinas is $64,500, which is nearly $16,000 less than the median income for a Salinas resident on average.

People have pointed out the ordinance wouldn’t solve the lack of housing, and worry it could decrease rental stock if landlords opt to sell.

“Moderate rent stabilization policies with exemptions for new construction find little to no effect on new housing supply,” EPS’ report stated.

Others pointed out it would benefit long-term tenants, not new ones. “The rent restrictions in the ordinance apply while the rental unit is occupied by the same tenant. The new tenant would have to pay whatever the market rent is as set by the landlord,” Callihan says.

The proposed city ordinance comes in addition to new statewide tenant protections. In 2019, the state capped rent increases at 10 percent and prohibited evictions without cause. In July, Assembly Bill 12 took effect, limiting security deposits to one month’s rent.