Renoviction = eviction + renovation

Earlier this year, tenants in both the City and County of Santa Barbara won huge victories because we stuck together and fought together. Before, landlords had almost free reign to “renovict” us. All they had to do was a put a notice on our doors, claiming that they needed to do “substantial renovations”, and we could be out on the street. After that they might throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Or they might do nothing at all. Now, thanks to organized, collective tenant action, it’s harder for them to evict us from our homes.

Tenants fight back

So, how did it happen? The Santa Barbara Tenants Union (SBTU) is the largest tenant-funded, tenant-run organization in the City. We heard that landlords were exploiting this loophole in California’s Tenant Protection Act, and we decided to fight back. Our goal was to convince City Council that something needed to be done, now. They’re not used to hearing the voices of tenants. SBTU is changing that.

We came to meeting after meeting at City Hall: SBTU members, some of whom had been renovicted, or were facing renoviction, and others who were standing in solidarity. If one of us is at risk, we all are. We stood before City Council and shared our stories.

When City Council saw that we weren’t going away, they realized they had to act. Because of our pressure, they called an emergency meeting to discuss new protections against renovictions.

We came to the meeting, but the landlord lobby showed up too. They were angry, and they’re used to getting their way. But in the end, the landlords were no match for unified tenants. Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously to implement an emergency ordinance on renovictions.