Will rent control be the best or worst thing to hit Santa Barbara?
Depends on who you ask. Or who you trust.
UCSB economist Peter Rupert says rent control will destroy Santa Barbara for decades to come. Frank Rodriguez of CAUSE, The Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, says rent stabilizatin is badly needed to help keep Latino residents and working people in the city.
Josh Molina talks with both Rupert and Rodriguez in these enlightening, compelling podcasts that shine a deep light on the issue.
The Santa Barbara City Council will vote on the matter at its Tuesday meeting, which begins at 2 p.m.
“In every place that it has been tried, around the world, for some 80 years, it has failed, and the same thing happens, over and over and over again,” said Rupert, the director of the Economic Forecast Project.
“What happens is we see a deterioration of apartments, we see a decline in the number of apartments available for rent. If we have a housing shortage now and it is not affordable, a few years from now, it’s going to be even worse.”
Rodriguez, who grew up in Santa Barbara, says too many people are being pushed out of the city.
“We need eviction protections, alongside rent stabilization and habitability enforcement,” Rodriguez said.
“That kind of tenant protection triangle works because that way folks cannot be displaced because a unit is uninhabitable that they have to leave, some are just evicted without reason, and the rents are raised to a point where they can’t live there no more. That kind of protection for us is an impotant safety net and why we have been advocating for rent stabilization. We know the majority of our community is rent-burdened, especially here in Santa Barbara County.”
Santa Barbara Talks is a podcast owned by journalist and college instructor Joshua Molina. Please visit and subscribe to his You Tube channel and visit his website for more podcasts and content.