Stop Illegal Price Gouging Rent Increases!
Did You Know?
📋 It’s illegal for rent to increase by more than 10% during a declared state of emergency, like COVID-19 or the the recent severe storms?
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📢 We think that tenants should be aware and that the County District Attorney should enforce it!
đź“° Read our Santa Barbara Independent Briefing Here
State law makes it illegal for the rental price advertised, offered, or charged for housing to an existing or prospective tenant to be raised more than 10% once a state of emergency is declared, even while the unit is vacant and even if there’s a change in property ownership.
We’ve all seen rent hikes well above 10% during states of emergencies
During the February 2024 storms, both the state and county declared states of emergencies. All levels of government declared the COVID-19 Pandemic states of emergencies for years and before that, our County had a state of emergency during the 2017 Thomas Fire and Debris Flows.
It’s hard to come across tenants who haven’t come across more than 10% increases during these periods.
… Yet we haven’t seen enforcement and many tenants don’t know our rights
Despite our efforts, the County District Attorney has failed to adequately notify our community of our rights or enforce these important tenant protections.Â
Knowing your rights can help you push back on landlords engaging in this illegal behavior — and we could use your help demanding the DA step up to help!
Help Us Stop Illegal Rent Increases
Report Rent Hikes of >10%
Report your case to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's Office. Join our weekly Tenant Help Desk if you'd like help and let us know you've reported it so we can hold the DA accountable.
Share Your Rent Increase Story
Have you seen any units increase in rent more than 10% since 2017 or during the recent February storms? What's your experience with rent increases?
Join Your Tenants Union
Learn more about how you can become a Union Member and help us help grow our movement for tenant power locally!
High Rent Increases Are Illegal Price Gouging
The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated California and Santa Barbara’s rental crisis. For years, rents have skyrocketed year after year, pushing millions of tenants into financial instability. Rental companies and real estate experts justify these increases as “simple supply and demand” or “natural fluctuations in the market,” but one major reason since late 2017 is actually criminal price gouging since California has been in a perpetual state of emergency.
Read our Editorial in the Santa Barbara Independent to learn more.
Tell Me More:
California has been in an uninterrupted state of emergency since December 7, 2017, starting with the Thomas Fire, as the following timeline demonstrates:
•  Governor Brown declared a state of emergency on December 7, 2017, due to the Thomas Fire
•  Brown extended the declaration on January 12, 2018, waiving the lapse period due to extreme conditions caused by a sudden storm system resulting in the Montecito mudslides.
•   Brown then issued another extension of the initial 2017 declaration on April 13, 2018, stating: “the provisions of Penal Code section 396, subdivisions (b) and (c), prohibiting price gouging in time of emergency, will remain in effect until December 4, 2018, in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.”
•   On November 28, 2018, Brown extended the declaration yet again, and in particular the anti- price gouging statutes from PC §396, effective through May 31, 2019.
•   Governor Newsom then extended this declaration, also specifically mentioning PC §396, effective December 31, 2019.
•   Newsom made a new declaration December 23, 2019, extending the prohibition against price gouging to December 31, 2020.
•   From December 31, 2020, to the time of writing, California and the U.S. have been under various overlapping emergency declarations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Â
Santa Barbara County has therefore been under a state of emergency declared either by the Governor or U.S. President, or both at different times, uninterrupted, since December 7, 2017.
Fill out the form above and let us know what you’re seeing so we can stay in touch and let you know once we see key moments to support us putting an end to illegal and unreasonable rent increases! As an additional step, you can contact the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office to ask them to enforce these laws.Â
This law applies to the rent change in a rental unit, no matter if there’s been a change in tenants, leaseholders, or even if there’s been a vacancy.
This rule limits rent increases to 10% since 2017, no matter if there’s been a change in ownership or management.Â
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