City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance

The City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance (“Ordinance”) limits annual rent increases, prohibits evictions unless the landlord has a just-cause reason listed under the law to do so, and protects tenants from landlord retaliation and harassment.

RENT INCREASES UNDER THE CITY OF SANTA ANA RENT STABILIZATION ORDINANCE

What units are covered by the City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization Ordinance?

Unless your unit falls under one of the exemptions, the rent limitations apply to all residential rental units with a certificate of occupancy issued on or before February 1, 1995. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code §§ 8-3140, 8-3147.

The following units in Santa Ana are exempt from the Ordinance:

• Single-family homes and condominiums with the required notice of exemption, unless the owner is a REIT, corporation, or LLC with at least one corporate member.
• New units built after February 1, 1995.
• Mobilehomes with a long-term rental agreement, or that are offered for rent after January 1, 1990, or that are not used as a primary residence and are not rented.
• Affordable housing for low-income households.
• Buildings subject to a government agreement to provide affordable housing.
• Dormitories for students.
• Owner-occupied duplexes where the property contains two units in one structure, the owner occupied one unit as their principal residence when the tenancy began and continues to live there, and neither unit is an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit.
• Section 8 voucher holders. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3147(a)-(c).

Does the City of Santa Ana rent cap or the State of California rent cap apply to a tenancy?

The rent-ceiling protections under the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (“California Rent Control”) apply to all units in the City of Santa Ana that are not covered by the City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization Ordinance and that otherwise meet the requirements of state rent control. If your unit is one of the exempt buildings under the city’s ordinance, please read our guide to determine if your unit is covered by State of California Rent Control rent caps.

How much can a landlord increase a tenant’s rent under the City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization Ordinance?

For covered units, a landlord may increase a tenant’s rent by the lesser of 3% or 80% of the change in the Consumer Price Index in the county. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code §§ 8-3140(a), 8-3141. A landlord may not increase the rent more than once in twelve months. Id. § 8-3140(a). If the change in the Consumer Price Index is negative, no rent increase is permitted. Id.

A landlord cannot increase a tenant’s rent if the landlord fails to substantially comply with the ordinance, fails to maintain the unit in a habitable condition, fails to make repairs ordered by the city or a court, or fails to register the unit with the city. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3148.

JUST CAUSE FOR EVICTION PROTECTIONS UNDER THE CITY OF SANTA ANA RENT STABILIZATION ORDINANCE

What units are protected under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

All units where a tenant has lived for at least thirty days have eviction protection in Santa Ana, except the following properties:

• Mobilehomes covered by the Mobilehome Residency Law (California Civil Code § 798.56).
• Transient and tourist hotel occupancies.
• Housing in hospitals, religious facilities, extended care facilities, licensed residential care facilities for the elderly, and adult residential facilities.
• Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or a school for kindergarten through high school.
• Housing where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the owner.
• Owner-occupied, single-family residences where the owner-occupant rents or leases no more than two units or bedrooms, including an accessory dwelling unit or junior accessory dwelling unit.
• A duplex where the owner has continuously occupied one unit as their principal residence since the beginning of the tenancy.
• Housing issued a certificate of occupancy within the last fifteen years.
• Single-family homes and condominiums with the required notice of exemption, unless the owner is a REIT, corporation, or LLC with at least one corporate member.
• Affordable housing units. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code §§ 8-3120(a), (e).

Do the City of Santa Ana eviction protections or the State of California eviction protections apply to a tenancy?

The just-cause protections under the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (“California Rent Control”) apply to all units in the City of Santa Ana that are not covered by the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Ordinance and that otherwise meet the requirements of state rent control. If your unit is one of the exempt buildings under the city’s ordinance, please read our guide to determine if your unit is covered by State of California Rent Control just-cause eviction protection.

What are the just causes to evict a tenant under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

The following are the at-fault just causes for eviction:

• Failure to pay rent.
• Breach of a material term of the lease.
• Maintaining, committing, or permitting a public nuisance.
• Committing waste.
• Refusal to execute a substantially similar written lease renewal.
• Criminal activity on or off the property directed at the landlord, landlord’s agent, members of the tenant’s household, or other tenants.
• Assignment or subletting of the premises in violation of the lease.
• Refusal to allow the landlord lawful access to the rental unit.
• Use of the premises for an unlawful purpose.
• Failure to vacate after termination of the tenancy.
• Failure to move out after providing written notice of intent to vacate. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3120(b)(1).

The following are the no-fault just causes for eviction:

• Owner or relative move-in for a spouse, domestic partner, child, grandchild, parent, or grandparent.
• Withdrawal of the property from the rental market.
• Compliance with a local ordinance, a government order, or a court order to vacate.
• Demolition or substantial remodel.

Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3120(b)(2).

Can a tenant be evicted for subletting their unit under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

A tenant may partially sublet a unit if the tenant asks permission in writing, the tenant continues living in the unit, and the subtenant replaces a departing tenant. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3120(b)(1)(G)(i)(I)-(III). If the landlord fails to respond to a written request to add a roommate, the request is deemed approved. Id. § 8-3120(b)(1)(G)(i)(IV).

What are the requirements for an owner- or relative-move-in eviction under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

For leases entered into after November 19, 2021, an owner or relative move-in is permitted only if the tenant agrees to it in writing or the lease allows for it. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3120(b)(2)(A)(ii). The landlord must submit a written affidavit to the City affirming that the landlord or qualifying relative intends to occupy the property for at least twenty-four months. Id. Within five days after serving the notice of termination, the landlord must also submit a copy of the termination notice and proof of service, through the City’s Rental Registry portal. Id. § 8-3121(a)(4). Additionally, a landlord must provide relocation assistance or waive the final three months of rent. Id. § 8-3120(d)(1).

What requirements must a landlord meet to withdraw a rental property from the market under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

A landlord may terminate a tenancy to withdraw the property from the rental market if the landlord intends to keep the property off the rental market for at least twenty-four months. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3120(b)(2)(B). This intent must be stated in a written affidavit submitted to the City. Id. Within five days after serving the notice of termination, the landlord must also submit a copy of the termination notice and proof of service to the City through the Rental Registry portal. Id. § 8-3121(a)(4). The landlord must also provide relocation assistance or waive the final three months of rent. Id. § 8-3120(d)(1).

What requirements must be met for a demolition or substantial remodel under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

A landlord may terminate a tenancy if the landlord intends to demolish or substantially remodel the rental unit. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3120(b)(2)(D)(i). A substantial remodel means the replacement or substantial modification of a structural, electrical, plumbing, or mechanical system that requires a permit, or the abatement of hazardous materials, such as lead-based paint, mold, or asbestos. Id. § 8-3120(b)(2)(D)(iii). The work must be unsafe to complete with the tenant in the unit and require the tenant to vacate for at least thirty days. Id. Cosmetic improvements, including painting, decorating, and minor repairs, do not qualify as a substantial remodel. Id.

The landlord must provide advance notice of the tenant’s opportunity to reoccupy the unit once the repairs are complete or, at the tenant’s request, and provide the tenant with the right of first refusal to rent a comparable vacant unit owned by the landlord. Id. § 8-3120(b)(2)(D)(ii)(I). If the landlord rents the remodeled unit within six months after the work is completed, the evicted tenant also has the right of first refusal to reoccupy the unit unless that right was waived in writing. Id. § 8-3120(b)(2)(D)(ii)(II). The tenant is also entitled to relocation assistance or a waiver of rent for the final three months of the tenancy. Id. § 8-3120(d)(1).

Is a tenant entitled to relocation assistance under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

When a landlord terminates a tenancy for a no-fault just cause, the landlord must either provide relocation assistance or waive the final three months of rent. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3120(d)(1). If the landlord provides relocation assistance, payment must be made within fifteen calendar days after service of the termination notice. Id. § 8-3120(d)(3)(A).

The relocation assistance or rent waiver must equal three months of the rent in effect when the landlord serves the termination notice. Id. Any relocation assistance or rent waiver must be credited against relocation assistance required by any other law. Id. If the landlord fails to strictly comply with these requirements, the notice of termination is void. Id. § 8-3120(d)(4).

RETALIATION AND HARASSMENT UNDER THE CITY OF SANTA ANA JUST CAUSE ORDINANCE

Is retaliation by a landlord against a tenant prohibited under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

Yes. Landlords cannot terminate a tenancy or refuse to renew the tenancy because a tenant exercised their rights under the ordinance. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3122(a)(1) and (a)(3).

What landlord conduct is prohibited harassment under the City of Santa Ana Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

No landlord, landlord’s agent, contractor, subcontractor, or employee shall do any of the following:

1. Interrupt, terminate, fail to provide, or threaten to interrupt or terminate housing services required by a rental agreement or law.
2. Take any of the following actions in bad faith:
   1. Fail to perform repairs and maintenance.
   2. Fail to exercise due diligence in completing repairs and maintenance once undertaken.
   3. Fail to follow appropriate repair, containment, or remediation protocols designed to minimize exposure to noise, dust, lead, paint, mold, asbestos, or other potentially harmful building materials.
   4. Conduct elective renovation or construction of a unit for the purpose of harassing a tenant.
   5. Refuse to acknowledge or accept a lawful rent payment.
   6. Refuse to cash or process an acceptable rent payment for more than 30 days.
   7. Fail to maintain a current address for delivery of rent payments.
   8. Violate a tenant’s right to privacy.
   9. Release information protected by the tenant’s right to privacy.
   10. Request or demand an unreasonable amount of information from the tenant in response to a request for reasonable accommodation.
3. Abuse the right to access the unit.
4. Try to influence a tenant to move out through fraud, misrepresentation, intimidation, or coercion.
5. Threaten a tenant with physical harm or use offensive or abusive language.
6. Violate a law prohibiting housing discrimination.
7. Attempt to end a tenancy or evict a tenant based on facts the landlord has no reasonable reason to believe are true or on a legal claim that is not supported by the facts.
8. Remove a tenant’s personal property or furnishings from the rental unit without the tenant’s prior written consent.
9. Provide false written or verbal information about federal, State, County, or local tenant protections.
10. Offer payments to a tenant to vacate more than once in six months after the tenant has notified the landlord in writing that they do not want further offers, or attempt to coerce a tenant to vacate through threats or intimidation.
11. Communicate with a tenant in a language other than the tenant’s primary language for the purpose of intimidating, confusing, deceiving, or annoying the tenant.
12. Interfere with a tenant’s right to quiet use and enjoyment of a rental unit.
13. Repeatedly engage in serious acts or omissions that substantially disturb a tenant’s comfort, peace, or quiet and cause, are likely to cause, or are intended to cause the tenant to move out or give up rights related to the tenancy.
14. Remove a housing service to cause a tenant to vacate the unit.
15. Interfere with tenants’ rights to organize or engage in activities with other tenants for mutual aid and protection, including meeting with other tenants, allowing access to tenant organizers or advocates, or distributing or posting information about tenant rights and organizing opportunities in common areas.
16. Threaten or intimidate a tenant based on immigration or citizenship status, or improperly disclose a tenant’s immigration or citizenship status. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3122(b).

PENALTIES FOR A LANDLORD WHO VIOLATES THE LAW

Can I sue my landlord for wrongful eviction under the City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

Yes. Tenants can sue their landlord for a wrongful eviction, and the landlord will be liable to the tenant for their damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3200(d).

Can I sue my landlord for retaliation and harassment under the City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance?

Yes. Tenants can sue their landlord for their damages for any violation of the ordinance. Santa Ana, Cal. Mun. Code § 8-3200(b). A tenant may also seek injunctive relief to stop conduct that violates the Ordinance. Id. § 8-3200(c).

WHEN TO CALL A TENANT LAWYER

If you are a tenant in the City of Santa Ana and have questions about your rights under the City of Santa Ana Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Eviction Ordinance or California’s statewide rent control and just-cause eviction laws, contact Tobener Ravenscroft LLP to speak with an attorney.