In a 4-3 vote, the Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday added requirements regarding lawful evictions to the Municipal Code, in the same meeting in which the council supported a temporary rent increase moratorium.

The requirements are specifically for lawful evictions, which are done in order to take a unit off the rental market. 

Council members Meagan Harmon, Wendy Santamaria, Kristen Sneddon and Oscar Gutierrez voted for the requirement.

Councilmen Eric Friedman and Mike Jordan and Mayor Randy Rowse were opposed.

The eviction ordinance in the Santa Barbara Municipal Code outlines protection for tenants in the city by ensuring landlords cannot evict a qualified tenant without “just cause,” or a lawful reason.

A qualified tenant is defined as someone who had a lawful and continuous occupancy at a rental unit for a year. 

The ordinance extends to most residential units in the city.

The council’s decision Tuesday would add a requirement that landlords have to take down all of the units from a property from the rental market even if they want to withdraw just one, according to the staff report.  

Additionally, lease termination notices should be given to tenants at the same time, but eviction dates in the notices can vary depending on the tenants’ rental agreements.  

Thirdly, property that is taken off the rental market cannot be rented out again for five years, according to the city staff report. 

The draft of the ordinance included a sentence that required all evictions to be in accordance with the chapter of the SBMC and be completed within one year of the eviction. However, the council voted to remove that language from the ordinance.  

The council also directed city staff to return with an ordinance that adds the remaining lawful eviction provisions that are not included in the current ordinance in accordance with state law.