Enforcement of The City of Santa Rosa Rent Stabilization Ordinance Has Been Postponed

A referendum petition was filed on September 26, 2016 challenging the Rent Stabilization Ordinance adopted by the City Council on September 30, 2016. The petition operates as a “stay” of those parts of the Ordinance that the petition challenges. That means that the challenged parts of the Ordinance will not go into effect pending a petition review process that will be handled by the County Registrar of Voters. The Registrar of Voters has up to 30 business days to determine whether the petition meets all requirements, including whether the petition contains valid signatures from the required number of registered City voters.

If the Registrar of Voters ultimately determines that the petition is defective, the stayed portions of the Ordinance will then take effect.

If the Registrar of Voters determines that the petition meets all legal requirements, the City Council must then decide whether to (1) repeal the Ordinance or (2) submit the matter to the voters at either a special election or the June 2017 general election. If the issue is submitted to the voters, the stay of the Ordinance remains in effect continuously unless and until the voters approve the Ordinance.

It is important to note that the petition challenges all parts of the Ordinance except one. The petition does not challenge the provision of the Ordinance that repeals both the current moratorium on rent increases and the separate just cause ordinance that took effect on September 16th. Because the petition did not challenge the Ordinance’s repeal provision, that provision is not stayed by the filing of the petition. That means that both the moratorium and the just cause ordinance will no longer be in effect as of Friday, September 30, 2016.

For further information, please contact Wallace, Richardson, Sontag & Le, LLP at (949) 748-3600; website: www.rwclegal.com.

The law firm of Wallace, Richardson, Sontag & Le, LLP represents landlords, property management companies, institutional and private lenders, employers and insurance companies throughout the State of California in real estate, business and employment litigation. The information provided herein is for general interest only and should not be relied upon or construed as legal advice.

© 2016 Wallace, Richardson, Sontag & Le, LLP.