OCEANSIDE — Two Oceanside City Council members plan to introduce an ordinance establishing some of the region’s first local protections for rental tenants.
Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce and Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa announced the proposed ordinance during a press conference on March 31, Cesar Chavez Day, in honor of the late civil and labor rights leader who advocated for stable housing for farmworkers.
For both council members, addressing housing stability is a public health issue as more residents struggle to keep up with rising costs.
“Displacement leads to poorer health outcomes and limits access to healthcare and undermines every fabric of our community,” Figueroa said.
Figueroa said 41% of the city’s housing stock consists of rental units, and 74% of lower-income households are burdened by high rents.
“These families are one paycheck, one rent increase away from losing everything,” he said.
Both council members shared personal experiences with housing instability. Figueroa said his family lives “paycheck to paycheck” and worries about unexpected costs. Joyce recalled being evicted so his landlord could renovate and re-rent the property at a higher rate.
Others also shared their struggles with finding stable housing in Oceanside.
Michelle Gonzalez, a former student of Figueroa’s during his time supervising the Libby Lake Project REACH youth program, said her family was evicted from their longtime home in Libby Lake. The landlord had claimed a relative would be moving in, but Gonzalez said they later found out new tenants were paying a higher rent.
“We don’t need to make rehousing another issue for our working families,” Gonzalez said. “This is our city despite every burden we face to be able to still live in it.”
According to Joyce, the proposed ordinance would expand on the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 by requiring a higher relocation payment for no-fault evictions and creating a local right-to-return provision for tenants evicted due to substantial remodels or other no-fault reasons.
Joyce said tenants forced to relocate for reasons beyond their control would receive two months’ rent instead of one. Seniors and people with disabilities would be entitled to three months’ rent.
“These provisions go a long way to creating a stable environment for our renting seniors,” Joyce said.
Joyce said that, unlike state law, which begins protecting tenants after one year of tenancy, Oceanside’s proposed ordinance would take effect from the first day of a lease.
The proposal would also establish San Diego County’s first rent stabilization ordinance, Joyce said. While the state currently allows rent increases of 5% plus the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), capped at 10% annually, Oceanside’s ordinance would cap rent hikes at 5% annually, eliminating the CPI provision.
Joyce acknowledged that state law limits how far cities can go with rent control measures, noting the local ordinance would apply only to multifamily and apartment housing built before Feb. 1, 1995.
“We’re going to do as many as we can as the state allows us to do,” he said.
The ordinance would also aim to raise awareness of tenant rights and protections. Joyce said many residents are unaware of existing statewide protections, and that many mobile home residents face similar challenges.
Under the proposal, landlords must file all eviction notices with the city within five days. The city would also provide tenants access to legal services.
Joyce and Figueroa plan to introduce the ordinance at the April 9 City Council meeting.
