In January 2024, the Santa Barbara City Council passed new tenant protections, requiring more communication between landlords and tenants when major renovations are needed for a property.
Some local landlords say they want to comply with the new rules but are struggling to understand them.
"I don't want to be criminally prosecuted. I'd rather wait. And then they give me a path and then gives me the legal right to do what I need to do, rather than then try to do it on my own and then be criminally prosecuted for it," said Nic Gonzales, a local landlord.
"I've looked on the website for definitive language. Even the amount for relocation fees, outlines, everything we have to do… It's not there," added Loy Beardsmore.
To try and better understand the steps needed for lawful temporary renovation evictions, I read through the City Municipal Code and found a lot of information but not many specifics, and the website is only offered in English.
"So it depends on what the substantial remodeling is. It will affect what they need to do. So there just couldn't be a place where everything is explained for every scenario and every situation because it's different for different types of properties," explained Denny Wei, Santa Barbara city attorney.
I then visited the Public Works Building and Development where I learned the standard permitting process can take up to 120 days or more for large renovations, but the front desk didn’t have specifics on how to adhere to the new tenant protections.
"We want to comply, but they have to provide that information on the website. They have to outline the process and they have to make it in a procedure that anybody, the average person could follow, and then also do it in Spanish so that we can have all the community participate, not just the English-speaking community," Gonzales said.
The landlord group plans to attend Tuesday's City Council meeting and ask for further clarification.
