At its most recent meeting, the Santa Ana City Council, in a 4-3 vote, approved rent control and eviction protection, setting course to be the first city in Orange County to enact such measure.
According to the O.C. Register, the rent control measure would cap rents at 3 percent annually or 80 percent of inflation for buildings built in or prior to 1995, and for mobile home parks established in or before 1990.
With the state’s eviction moratorium official over as of Sept. 30, the city council also looked at eviction protection for renters, including a set aside of $300,000 from pandemic relief money to create an “eviction defense fund,” and the hiring a consultant who will act as a bridge until the city creates a new rent control board and a rent registry for apartments
Additionally, the city council approved new limits to “ just cause evictions.” Per the O.C. Register, the new law will have the landlord provide the eviction notice in the language the owner and tenant used to negotiate the lease.
Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento noted during the meeting that more than 50 percent of the city’s residents are rental tenants.
The measures are expected to be finalized at the Oct. 5 council meeting.