City of Santa Barbara hopes to strengthen tenants’ eviction rights, but Just Cause Ordinance still needs work

Santa Barbara city officials proposed 11 changes to the city’s Just Cause Ordinance, which would restrict landlords from evicting tenants without specific legal reasons, at a Tuesday night meeting. The city’s Just Cause Ordinance passed in 2019 and has been amended over the years. Now, it’s been brought into the conversation again as an enforcement mechanism of the recently passed Rent Stabilization Ordinance. Both have created tension between landlord-tenant relationships. This conflict made its way into city hall on Tuesday night, with many public commenters going head to head. “What we often see is that many eviction notices that tenants receive don’t have a reason stated at all,” Councilmember Wendy Santamaria said. “We want to provide you with clear information on what notices you need to provide and how much relocation assistance you need to give.” In agreement that the amendments were far from perfect, the city council did not take any formal action with the ordinance T