What Santa Barbara's rent stabilization ordinance does
If it takes effect, the owner of a covered unit may raise rent once in any 12 months by the annual general adjustment: 60% of the yearly change in CPI or 3%, whichever is less, and never below zero. The city has set the 2027 adjustment at 2.1%, according to its rent stabilization page.
The adjustment is posted by 10/01 each year and applies from 01/01. An increase not taken in one year cannot be carried into a later one, and increases between 12/16/2025 and the start of the program count against future increases. An owner may still set the rent for a new tenancy after a unit is lawfully vacated. An owner who believes the cap denies a fair return may petition a hearing officer, with appeals to a seven-member Rent Stabilization Board; applications for the board are due 12/02/2026.
Which Santa Barbara buildings are covered
Rental units with a certificate of occupancy (or final inspection) before 02/01/1995, with exemptions for separately sold houses and condos, mobile home spaces, hotels and short stays of 30 days or fewer, care facilities, deed-restricted affordable units and Section 8 tenancies at or below the Housing Authority's payment standard.
A house or condo is covered in one case: when the prior tenancy was ended by an owner's notice under state law, or when a condo was never sold by its developer. Newer buildings and most houses and condos fall to the statewide cap under AB 1482: 5% plus CPI, or 10%, whichever is lower, which is 8.6% in Santa Barbara County for increases from 08/01/2026 to 07/31/2027.
The freeze through 12/31/2026 and the proposed extension
A temporary ordinance, No. 2026-6206, bars any increase over a covered unit's base rent, the rent in effect on 12/16/2025. It ends 12/31/2026 unless the council extends it.
The council adopted it on 01/27/2026, 4 to 3, and it took effect 02/26/2026. As written, it ends 12/31/2026, or earlier if the permanent program starts first. It is a bridge, not the city's cap.
On 11/10/2026 the council is set to consider an ordinance that would keep the freeze in place while Ordinance No. 2026-6239 is suspended. The freeze would then end when the referendum is resolved: when the ordinance takes effect after voter approval or a withdrawn petition, the day after election results are certified if voters reject it, when a finding of too few valid signatures reaches the council, or the day after a council repeal takes effect. The city's report says adoption by 12/01/2026 would avoid a gap, or the council could adopt it as an emergency measure with five votes. Without an extension, it says, allowable increases would depend on state law and any other applicable restrictions. It also says an extension may raise additional legal issues.
The rental registry and its fee
If the ordinance takes effect, covered units must be registered by the later of 04/01/2027 or 30 days after the city posts the registration form; other rentals by the later of 10/01/2027 or 30 days after. From 01/01/2028, an unregistered unit cannot take an increase.
The fee will be set by a later council resolution after a fee study, and an owner may pass up to half of it to the tenant in 12 monthly installments (not for deed-restricted units). No fee had been adopted as of 11/06/2026.
The referendum petition and where it stands
Under state law, which the City Charter adopts, a referendum petition signed by at least 10% of the city's registered voters and filed within 30 days after the City Clerk attests the ordinance suspends it. The council must then repeal the ordinance or put it to voters, and it would take effect only if a majority votes yes.
The city's report for the 11/10/2026 council meeting says opponents have filed a petition against Ordinance No. 2026-6239 and that its signatures are being reviewed. The requirement is about 5,500 signatures, 10% of the city's registered voters, according to the report. The City Clerk first checks the raw count, and the county elections official then decides how many signatures are valid. The law gives the county 30 to 90 days from filing, not counting weekends and holidays, and the report says it is unclear when the county will finish. The referendum goes forward only if the county finds enough valid signatures. If it does, city staff say they will recommend a special election in the first half of 2027. A repeal by the council or a no vote would bar reenacting the ordinance for one year.
A coalition called the Help Save Santa Barbara Housing Committee announced the effort on 09/24/2026, and the Santa Barbara Rental Property Association backs the petition drive, according to Noozhawk (10/16/2026). The filing deadline runs from the clerk's attestation date, which the city had not published as of 11/06/2026, and the report does not give the filing date or a signature count. Separately, owners sued in federal court over the freeze earlier this year. The judge dismissed the case in July, according to the Santa Barbara Independent (10/14/2026); the city's report says the plaintiffs have filed an amended complaint and the litigation remains unresolved.
What Santa Barbara owners can do now
- Check coverage on paper: the certificate of occupancy date, and whether any house or condo on the list is one of the covered exceptions.
- Hold any increase on a covered unit: the freeze runs through 12/31/2026 and may be extended, and as of 11/06/2026 the 2.1% applies only if the ordinance takes effect. Check the council's 11/10/2026 action before you serve a notice for 2027.
- Plan the registration: if the ordinance takes effect, the form, the deadline and the fee come from the city.
- Price a sale on the rent roll as it is: buyers underwrite in-place rents, market rents and turnover; show all three, with move-in dates.
Our Santa Barbara sales
We sold 318 S Voluntario St, an 8-unit building, for $2,295,000 in 06/2019 and again for $2,610,000 in 04/2021, both long before the city's ordinance. For every local cap in Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, see our rent control guide for the three counties.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Santa Barbara's rent control take effect?
The city's report for the 11/10/2026 council meeting says the ordinance adopted 10/06/2026, No. 2026-6239, would have taken effect 11/06/2026, but a filed referendum petition suspends it while the signatures are reviewed. If the petition qualifies, the ordinance takes effect only if a majority of voters approve it. The temporary freeze applies in the meantime, through 12/31/2026 unless the council extends it.
How much can I raise rent in Santa Barbara in 2027?
On a covered unit, as of 11/06/2026, it depends on the referendum. If the ordinance takes effect, 2.1% once in the year. While the freeze is in place, no increase over the base rent. If the freeze ends with no ordinance in effect, state law and any other applicable rules set the limit. Newer buildings and most houses and condos fall under AB 1482, which allows up to 8.6% in Santa Barbara County for increases from 08/01/2026 to 07/31/2027.
Does Santa Barbara's rent control cover single-family homes?
Generally no: separately sold houses and condos are exempt, with two exceptions in the ordinance (a prior tenancy ended by an owner's notice under state law, or a condo never sold by its developer).
What happens if the referendum qualifies?
The ordinance stays suspended, and the council must repeal it or put it to voters at a regular or special election; it takes effect only if a majority votes yes. City staff say they will recommend a special election in the first half of 2027. The temporary freeze ends 12/31/2026 unless the council extends it, which it is set to consider on 11/10/2026.
Does Goleta or the rest of Santa Barbara County have rent control?
No. Goleta has tenant protections (just cause and relocation) but no rent cap, and no other city in the county has an apartment cap; AB 1482 is the limit there.
Own in Santa Barbara?
We have sold in Santa Barbara and underwrite rent rolls the way a buyer will. If the ordinance changes your plans, we can show you what your building is worth under it.
Get a valuation of your buildingSources
- City of Santa Barbara, Council Agenda Report for 11/10/2026, Item 17 (extension of the temporary rent increase moratorium; Ordinance No. 2026-6239), read 11/06/2026: docs.santabarbaraca.gov
- City of Santa Barbara, Rent Stabilization, read 11/06/2026: santabarbaraca.gov
- City of Santa Barbara, Ordinance No. 2026-6206 (temporary moratorium), read 10/24/2026: santabarbaraca.gov
- Santa Barbara City Charter, Sec. 514 (ordinances effective after 30 days), read 10/24/2026: ecode360.com
- Santa Barbara City Charter, Sec. 1303 (elections), read 10/24/2026: ecode360.com
- California Elections Code section 9237 (referendum petition), read 10/24/2026: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- California Elections Code section 9241 (council action on a referendum), read 10/24/2026: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- Noozhawk, new coalition wants voters to decide on Santa Barbara rent control law, 09/24/2026: www.noozhawk.com
- Noozhawk, petitions circulate, 10/16/2026: www.noozhawk.com
- Santa Barbara Independent, the long road to Santa Barbara's rent stabilization ordinance, 10/14/2026: www.independent.com
- California Civil Code section 1947.12 (AB 1482 rent cap; in effect until 01/01/2030), read 10/24/2026: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- California Attorney General, local rent caps, read 10/24/2026: oag.ca.gov
Status as of 11/06/2026, from the City of Santa Barbara's pages, its council report for 11/10/2026 and the ordinance texts; press reports are named as press. Not legal advice. LAAA Team of Marcus & Millichap.