Rental housing providers in Santa Barbara face a temporary citywide moratorium on rent increases for much of the city’s older housing stock following City Council approval of the measure last month. Because the ordinance did not receive the five votes required for emergency adoption, it is scheduled to take effect 30 days after the Jan. 27 vote, in late February 2026.

In a 4–3 vote on Jan. 27, the council adopted an ordinance prohibiting increases to base rent for residential units with certificates of occupancy issued on or before Feb. 1, 1995. Units built after that date are exempt, as are most single-family homes and condominiums that are separately alienable under state law, along with certain government-owned and subsidized housing. Duplexes built before 1995 are not exempt.

The ordinance establishes Dec. 16, 2025, rent levels as the baseline for covered units. Rent increases imposed after that date do not reset the base rent and would be counted against future allowable increases under a permanent rent control program if one is adopted.

The moratorium expires Dec. 31, 2026, or earlier if the city enacts a permanent rent control ordinance.

At the same meeting, the council also approved new restrictions on no-fault evictions used to remove units from the rental market, requiring owners to withdraw all units at a property at once and prohibiting re-rental for five years.

The vote split 4–3, with Mayor Randy Rowse and Council members Eric Friedman and Mike Jordan dissenting.