After hearing from over 100 speakers, the San Diego City Council voted 8-1 late Tuesday to approved a draft ordinance giving renters more protection from no-fault evictions.
Backed by Mayor Todd Gloria and Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, the measure would protect renters from eviction as long as they continue payments and otherwise comply with their lease. The protections would begin on the first day of a lease.
The council approved the draft ordinance with several amendments, with only Councilmember Jen Campbell voting against the measure. The ordinance is scheduled for a second vote on May 16 before it can receive final approval.
“San Diegans who are paying their rent and abiding by their lease should not live in fear of eviction,” Elo-Rivera said before the vote. “Sadly, too often, San Diego renters are being evicted despite following the rules.”
“These evictions cause massive financial and emotional distress to families and can lead to displacement and put people at risk of homelessness,” he said. “This ordinance provides the protections that San Diego renters need and deserve.”
The state of California enacted renter protections in 2019 under Assembly Bill 1482. However, if a city already had a renters ordinance in place, those previous rules took precedence.
San Diego’s draft ordinance would also require that landlords who evict tenants at no fault of their own to pay two months of contract rent for relocation expenses, and three months for seniors and those with disabilities.
Gloria and Elco-Rivera have said the new ordinance will help combat rising homelessness in San Diego.