A group of landlords and property managers said Tuesday that it plans to file a lawsuit against Santa Barbara in response to the city’s temporary moratorium on rent increases for certain units.
The Santa Barbara City Council voted to approve the ordinance in January, and the moratorium went into effect on Feb. 26. The ordinance will expire on Dec. 31 or when a permanent rent stabilization ordinance is adopted by the city, whichever is first.
Barry Cappello, an attorney representing the Santa Barbara Rental Property Association, said the lawsuit will be filed in the next few weeks. He criticized the ordinance, alleging it was against the law and even unconstitutional. Cappello is part of the law firm Cappello & Noël LLP and served as city attorney for Santa Barbara for seven years.
“We are going to do absolutely everything we can try to set it right,” Cappello said. “But we are hoping to be able to convince the council that when they get to the hard work of a final ordinance, that they not do what they did here.”
The new ordinance freezes the base rent for certain units and prevents the landlord from increasing it.
Base rent is defined in the ordinance as the rental amount in effect on Dec. 16, 2025, for rental agreements existing on or before that date, or the rent established upon initial occupancy for tenancies that started after that date.
The freeze does not apply to units built after 1995; single-family homes; most condos; transient occupancies, institutional and government housing; and units subject to a rent affordability covenant or the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Betty Jefferson, president of the Santa Barbara Rental Property Association, said the association represents 1,200 members.
Jefferson said the ordinance is an illegal taking of property, and the ordinance would damage the value of rental properties.
Teresa Patino, who owns multiple duplexes, said she attended the Tuesday press conference because she is worried about how the rent freeze will affect her ability to maintain her properties.
Patino said the cost to repair her units has skyrocketed in recent years due to the cost of construction materials and labor. She said that if she cannot raise the cost of rent, she may not be able to afford to repair issues that are not legally required.
“If my tenant calls me and tells me that…it’s not really an emergency like a plumbing issue or something like that, I might just not fix it because I don’t have to,” Patino said. “And that makes the property deteriorate. So, you’re just going to do the minimum to just maintain and that’s really going to damage the quality of life of the tenants.”
Patino also said she worries the long-term effect of the rent freeze will be fewer apartments on the market and higher rents for the community. She said she worries that immigrants and minorities will suffer the most if they cannot find affordable rents.
The group had not filed a lawsuit in Santa Barbara Superior Court as of Wednesday.
The city’s 2025 Rental Housing Survey reported the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $2,883 and a two-bedroom apartment was $3,836. The median rent for one and two-bedroom condos was around $3,900 and the median rent for a three-bedroom single-family home was $6,725.
During Tuesday’s City Council meeting, residents speaking during public comment claimed that some landlords are still raising rent, or attempting to, despite the freeze.
Faith Ellington-Baker told the council that some tenants have tried going to the Rental Housing Mediation Board for help, but the process is “dangerously delayed.”
“It allows property managers to continue to break the law, and it means that tenants aren’t getting timely responses if they’re getting a response at all,” Ellington-Baker said.
She continued by saying the mediation board is not allowed to provide legal advice, despite many of the situations being legal issues. She advocated for a referral system and way for tenants to submit complaints to the city attorney.
“This ordinance is now law,” she said. “And, so, it needs to be enforced as such.”
