City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: July 28, 2026
Agenda Item: 11.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Heidi Von Tongeln, City Attorney, City Attorney's Office Subject: Rescind Resolution Number 11785 (CCS) that was Adopted at the July 14, 2026 City Council Meeting, to Place a Proposed Ballot Measure Amending Articles XVIII and XXIII of the City Charter to Revise Requirements for Owners to Evict Tenants for Breach of a Rental Agreement Based on the Addition of New Occupants, Revise Protections for Certain Occupants Remaining in a Rental Unit After the Original Tenant Vacates, Expand Just Cause Eviction Protections to Single-Unit Dwellings, and Modify Requirements for Good Faith Owner Move-In Evictions from Non-Rent Controlled Rental Units; and Adopt a Resolution to Place a Proposed Ballot Measure Amending Only Article XXIII, Housing Policies, of the City Charter on the November 3, 2026 Ballot to Expand Just Cause Eviction Protections to Single-Unit Dwellings, and Modify Requirements for Good Faith Owner MoveIn Evictions For Non-Rent Controlled Rental Units Recommended Actions
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (common sense exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines; and
2. Per Rent Control Board recommendation and City Council direction at the July 27, 2028 Special Joint Meeting of the City Council and the Rent Control Board, rescind Resolution Number 11785 (CCS) adopted at the July 14, 2026 City Council meeting and attached as Attachment C to Item 11(B) of the Agenda for the July 14, 2026 City Council meeting, placing a measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot that would amend Articles XVIII and XXIII of the City Charter to revise requirements for owners to evict tenants for breach of a rental agreement based on the addition of new occupants, revise eviction protections for certain occupants remaining in a rental unit after the original tenant vacates, add just cause eviction protections to single-unit dwellings and condominiums, and modify requirements for good faith owner move in evictions from non-rent controlled rental units; and
3. Per Rent Control Board recommendation and City Council direction at the 2 of 8
July 27, 2028 Special Joint Meeting of the City Council and Rent Control Board, adopt a replacement resolution placing a measure on the November 3, 2026 ballot that would amend only Article XXIII of the City Charter to add just cause eviction protections to single-unit dwellings and condominiums, and modify requirements for good faith owner move in evictions from non-rent controlled rental units; and
4. Authorize City Councilmembers to file written arguments for or against and direct the City Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis for the replacement measure.
Executive Summary
Santa Monicans have voted to enshrine eviction protections for most of the City’s renters in the City Charter. In 1979, the voters adopted Article XVIII (Rent Control), which both limits rent increases for rent controlled units and the “just cause” reasons for eviction from rent controlled units. In 2010, the voters passed Measure RR, which amended Article XVIII and adopted Article XXIII (Housing Policies) to effectively extend the just cause eviction protections that already applied to rent controlled properties, to most multi-unit rental properties exempt from Article XVIII-i.e., multi-unit properties built after Article XVIII was adopted. The just cause eviction provisions of both Article XVIII (Section 1806) and Article XXIII (Section 2304) are materially the same in that they prohibit evictions except for the same 9 reasons and Section 1806 allows evictions for one additional reason not applicable to non-rent controlled units. The result is that tenants in multi-unit housing enjoy essentially the same protections from eviction without cause, whether the tenant lives in a rent controlled or non-rent controlled unit.
On January 27, 2026, the City Council directed the City Attorney’s Office to return to council with options for ensuring that existing tenancies will not be terminated when certain close family members move into existing tenancies and directed the City Manager and City Attorney to evaluate additional tenant-stability and anti-displacement tools used in similarly situated jurisdictions. The Council further directed this work to be done in consultation with the Rent Control Board, understanding that the Charter respects the Rent Control Board’s ability to exercise its powers and duties independent of the City Council, City Manager, and City Attorney.
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Following a survey of eviction regulations in jurisdictions with strong tenant protections, on May 14, 2026, the City Attorney’s Office presented to the Rent Control Board potential amendments to both Articles XVIII and XXIII to expand just cause eviction protections to single-unit dwellings, limit certain existing grounds for eviction, and provide additional tools to ensure deed restricted affordable housing units are utilized by low-income households who need them. The City Attorney’s Office sought feedback from the Board as to each of the proposed eviction protections.
At its June 11, 2026 meeting, the Santa Monica Rent Control Board voted to consider the options presented by the CAO.
At its June 25, 2026 meeting, the Board voted to recommend that the City Council place additional proposed amendments to Article XVIII on the November 3, 2026 ballot, as follows:
1) Amend Article XVIII, Section 1806(a)(1), to establish a small-rental-debt threshold, based on the average of HUD Small Area Fair Market Rents for equivalent-sized units in residential ZIP Codes located wholly or partially within the City, before nonpayment of rent may serve as a basis to terminate a tenancy; 2) Amend Article XVIII, Section 1806(a)(2), to prohibit terminating a tenancy based on the addition of certain family members, dependents, minor children, and non-family household members, subject to applicable law, affordable housing deed restriction, notice and approval requirements, and occupancy limits; 3) Amend Article XVIII, Section 1806(a) to add just cause grounds for eviction and related notice provisions to address compliance with applicable affordable housing deed restrictions;
4) Amend Article XVIII, Section 1806(c), to prohibit the eviction of certain covered occupants who have resided in a rental unit for at least one year at the time a tenant vacates;
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5) Amend Article XVIII, by adding new Section 1822 to include a finding that Article XVIII is more protective than California Civil Code section 1946.2, to support continued application of Section 1806 to rent-controlled tenancies.
At its July 14, 2026 meeting, the City council adopted three resolutions consistent with the recommendation of the Rent Control Board and, where applicable, including parallel provisions that would extend the same new protections to non-controlled residential rental units, as follows:
• Resolution Number 11783 (CCS) adopted the recommendation to submit a ballot measure to the voters to make certain administrative changes and add requirements for owners to evict tenants for noncompliance with affordable housing deed restrictions;
• Resolution Number 11784 (CCS), adopted the recommendation to submit a ballot measure to prohibit evictions based on non-payment of rent when the tenant owes less than a fair threshold amount of rent; and • Resolution Number 11785 (CCS)adopted the recommendation to submit a ballot measure to revise requirements for owners to evict tenants for breach of a rental agreement based on the addition of new occupants, revise protections for certain occupants remaining in the unit after the original tenant vacates, expand just cause eviction protections to single-unit dwellings, and modify requirements for good faith owner move in evictions from non-rent controlled rental units. (Attachments A, B)
Following the adoption of Resolution 11785 at the July 14, 2026 City Council meeting, the City received concerns regarding the proposed amendments to Sections 1806(a)(2) and 1806(c) of Article XVIII and Sections 2304(a)(2) and 2304(c) of Article XXIII that would revise the requirements for owners to evict tenants for breach of a rental 5 of 8
agreement based on the addition of new occupants and revise protections for certain occupants remaining in the unit after the original unit vacates. New concerns raised included that the proposed amendments may effectively force landlords to enter into new landlord-tenant relationships, that the proposed amendments could create a possibility that a landlord would be prohibited from taking back possession of their property perpetually, and that the proposed amendments would circumvent state-law rights to reset rents under specified conditions.
In light of the new concerns raised, the City Council and Rent Control Board conducted a Joint Special Meeting on July 27, 2028 to receive an update from staff on the concerns raised and give direction on potential modifications to the provisions in the ballot measure adopted by Resolution 11785.
At the meeting, the Rent Control Board commissioners recommended that the City Council remove the proposals in Resolution 11785 that would amend Article XVIII to allow for more study and community input on those proposed changes. The City Council then directed staff to return so that the Council could consider: 1) rescinding Resolution 11785; and 2) enacting a new replacement resolution that would submit a ballot measure to the voters that would include the proposed amendments to Article XXIII of the City Charter only. Specifically, the ballot measure would expand just cause eviction protections to single-unit dwellings and condominiums and to modify requirements for good faith owner move in evictions from non-rent controlled rental units to align the requirements with those already in Article XVIII. The Resolution would not include the other amendments to Article XXIII or the amendments to Article XVIII proposed in Resolution 11785 related to revise the requirements for owners to evict tenants for breach of a rental agreement based on the addition of new occupants and revise protections for certain occupants remaining in the unit after the original unit vacates. The attached Resolution is consistent with Council direction, thereby effectively narrowing the original scope of Resolution 11785, giving the Board and the Council more time to carefully consider and develop appropriately tailored eviction protections related to adding additional occupants to a rental unit and family members and occupants being allowed to stay when a tenant of the owner vacates. 6 of 8
Discussion
Consistent with the recommendation of the Rent Control Board and the direction of the City Council at the July 27, 2026 Special Joint Meeting, staff recommends the Council rescind Resolution 11785 and adopt the attached Resolution described in more detail below.
Proposed Resolution: Replacement Resolution Extending Just Cause Eviction Protections for Single-Unit Dwellings and Updating Owner Move-In Eviction Regulations (Section 2302 and 2304(a)(8))
The proposed removes the portions of Resolution 11785 covering eviction protections related to additional occupants and carries over, with no changes, those portions related to extending just cause eviction protections to tenants in single-unit dwellings and condominiums and updating owner move-in eviction regulations to align Article XXIII with Article XVIII. For ease of reference, the discussion on these provisions from the July 14, 2026 City Council staff report are set forth below:
Article XXIII as adopted in 2010 applies to residential rental units that are not subject to rent control and are not single-unit dwellings.
In the past several years, many jurisdictions in California have extended just cause eviction protections to most single-unit dwellings, including City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles (unincorporated areas), West Hollywood, Culver City, Pasadena, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, and East Palo Alto. Notably, some jurisdictions that extend just cause eviction protections to single-unit dwellings do exempt single-unit dwellings by an owner or owner’s immediate family member who shares a bathroom or kitchen facilities in common with the tenant. The TPA similarly applies to single-unit dwellings other than those in which the owner-occupant rents no more than two units (including ADUs) or bedrooms, those owned by certain business entities, and those otherwise eligible for exemption but for which the landlord has not served the tenant 7 of 8
with a written notice of the exemption.
Should just cause eviction protections be extended to single-unit dwellings, including or limited to condominiums, landlords of such units are much more likely to seek to evict tenants for the owner or owner’s relative to move in than are landlords of multi-unit properties that are currently subject to Article XXIII. Section 2304(a)(8) authorizes landlords to terminate tenancies for the owner or family member to move in, subject to certain guardrails to ensure that this authorization is not used to circumvent just cause requirements.
When Section 2304(a)(8) was adopted in 2010, it contained all of the same limitations on owner move-in evictions as the parallel provision of Article XVIII, Section 1806(a)(8).
In particular, both provisions required that the owner or qualified relative seeking to move into the rental unit intend in good faith to move into the unit within 30 days after the tenant vacates and to occupy the unit for at least one year, and required that the landlord re-offer the unit to the tenant in the event the landlord or family member failed to move in to the unit within 30 days. These provisions of Article XVIII were amended in 2022 with the adoption of Measure RC, to require that the owner or qualified member who seeks to move into a unit intend in good faith do so within sixty days after the tenant vacates and to occupy the rental unit for at least two years, absent extenuating circumstances, and to provide that an owner must re-offer the unit if the owner or family member fails to occupy the unit for at least two years. No parallel amendment was made to Article XXIII in 2022, but if just cause eviction protections are extended to single family homes, it would be advisable to add the same protections to Article XXIII.
Should the City Council also wish to extend the just cause protections to single-unit dwellings and provide the same level of protection against bad faith owner move in evictions that rent controlled tenants have, it could do so by placing a measure on the November 2026 ballot to amend Article XXIII as set forth in the proposed resolution attached as Attachment C.
Environmental Analysis
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The proposed resolutions and/or ordinance are exempt from the provisions of California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to 15061(b)(3) of the State Implementation Guidelines (common sense exemption). Based on the evidence in the record, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed resolutions and/or ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
Based on past practice, the Rent Control Board would reimburse the City for any additional costs incurred by the City as a result of placing the measures on the November ballot.
Prepared By: Romy Ganschow, Chief Deputy City Attorney
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. A - July 14 2028 Staff Report
B. B-RESO 11785
C. C-Reso Article XXIII
D. Written Comments
E. PowerPoint Presentation