OCEANSIDE — A slim council majority has approved a package of rental protections that go beyond state law, after months of debate over how far the city should go to help tenants.
The measure, led by Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce and Councilmember Jimmy Figueroa, adds local safeguards for renters while stopping short of adopting rent stabilization.
In April, the council directed staff to draft an ordinance for consideration. The city’s Housing and Neighborhood Services Director Leilani Hines presented the proposed ordinance to the City Council on Sept. 3.
According to staff, California has some of the nation’s most rent-burdened residents, with San Diego among the most affected regions.
Gilberto Vera, deputy director of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, stated that 44% of Oceanside residents are renters, and 63% of those households qualify as low-income, earning between 0% and 80% of area median income. Approximately 74% of low-income renters are considered rent-burdened, meaning they pay more than 30% of their gross income toward housing.
Between Jan. 1, 2024, and Aug. 6, 2025, the Legal Aid Society fielded more than 500 housing-related requests from Oceanside residents. A quarter of those households faced eviction lawsuits, mostly for nonpayment of rent, and another 12% received nonpayment notices without eviction filings.
“If you add those two numbers together, that’s about a third of Oceanside households who are calling us because they cannot afford the rent,” Vera said.
Vera added that statewide rent caps are not enough, especially in coastal cities like Oceanside.
Dozens of residents spoke in support of tenant protections, while local landlords and representatives of the Building Industry Association of San Diego, the California Apartment Association, and the Southern California Rental Housing Association opposed them.
The rent stabilization plan, which would have limited annual rent hikes to 5% — with up to 8% allowed for facility improvements — failed on a 2-3 vote, with Mayor Esther Sanchez and Councilmembers Peter Weiss and Rick Robinson voting against it.
State law caps rent increases at 5% plus the regional inflation rate, up to 10%. In San Diego County, increases between Aug. 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026, are capped at 8.8%.
The council also rejected a city-run legal defense fund, instead directing staff to explore contributing an additional $20,000 to the city’s contract with CSA San Diego County, a nonprofit that defends against housing discrimination and promotes fair housing.
The tenant protections — approved 3-2 with Robinson joining Joyce and Figueroa — include:
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Extending eligibility to tenants who have lived in a unit at least six months, compared with the state’s 12-month requirement.
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Reducing exemptions for new construction from 15 years under state law to 10 years.
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Requiring landlords to provide relocation assistance equal to one month’s rent for tenants facing no-fault evictions, including property removal from the market, substantial remodels or demolitions, government orders, or an owner or family move-in.
An earlier proposal requiring landlords to pay relocation assistance based on the fair market rent was dropped during negotiations with Robinson.
“You’re just picking somebody’s pocket,” Robinson said. “I’m already going to have to give you one month’s rent, but now you want me to give you one month plus.”
He said the change would cost landlords about $750 more for a three-bedroom unit.
The ordinance also extends the definition of substantial remodels that qualify for no-fault evictions, requiring projects to last at least 60 days, up from the state’s 30-day threshold. Cosmetic upgrades, such as flooring, cabinets, countertops, windows, and wall coverings, would not qualify.
Tenants would retain the right to return at their previous rental rate if the promised remodel or demolition does not occur, or if the owner fails to move in within 90 days or maintain primary residency for a year. Tenants may also reclaim a unit at the previous rent if it is re-listed within two years.
The new protections are expected to cover about 18,000 homes in Oceanside.
The staff report said the overall cost of enforcing the ordinance is unknown but will likely include indirect expenses such as data collection, resident education, and monitoring. The failed rent stabilization proposal was estimated at $2.7 million, funded through registration fees.
“This is really prevention that saves us money down the road,” Joyce said. “This is the down payment on our housing funds going further.”
Figueroa, a former executive director of Operation HOPE-North County, said many families at the shelter ended up there because they could not pay the first month’s rent after a no-fault eviction.
He said it costs the shelter about $70 per day to house one person. For a family of four staying four to five months, the cost ranges between $34,000 and $47,000.
“Efforts like tenant protections and rent stabilization is not just a moral choice, it’s an economic one,” Figueroa said. “Keeping working families, veterans, and seniors housed costs far less than the massive public expense of rehousing them once they become homeless. Prevention is not only more humane, but it’s also fiscally responsible.”
Sanchez opposed the protections and rent stabilization, citing concerns about future costs and loss of federal housing funds.
“I want to be a lot more precise and see what impacts are to staff when we are facing possibly up to 50% loss of federal funds for housing, when our housing department relies 98% on those housing dollars,” she said. “We’re looking at a very difficult economic time for the city, and our priorities for me have always been homelessness and building more affordable housing. That is where our efforts have gone to, and to pick this up when we don’t have general funds – we may not even have the personnel to do this.”
Weiss said he opposed the ordinance because of its potential costs and legal liabilities.
“The more I think about it, we’re not getting more than what the state is providing,” he said.
The ordinance is scheduled for final adoption Sept. 17.
