The San Pablo City Council has finalized the repeal of the city’s rent registry and voted to seek a report on a rent control and just-cause eviction initiative before deciding whether to send it to the November 2026 ballot.

The repeal was approved unanimously during the ordinance’s second reading on June 15.

The California Apartment Association and the local housing community supported the repeal and applauded the council’s willingness to evaluate housing policies based on outcomes rather than assumptions.

During the same meeting, the council also received a proposed rent control and just-cause eviction measure that had obtained the required number of petition signatures to move forward. CAA opposes the local initiative.

The measure would cap annual rent increases at 60% of the consumer price index, or 3%, whichever is lower. It would also impose a broader regulatory framework, including eviction rules, relocation payments, tenant safety plans, rights of return, buyouts, program administration, hearings and enforcement.

By law, council members had to choose one of the following options: adopt the measure as written, submit it to voters, or request a report on the measure’s impacts before taking ballot-related action.

In a 4-1 vote, the council ordered the report, with Mayor Elizabeth Pabon-Alvarado, Vice Mayor Rita Xavier, and Council Members Arturo Cruz and Patricia Ponce in support.

The vote followed testimony and letters from CAA, local housing providers and coalition partners calling for a full economic and fiscal review of the measure before the city proceeds further.

Jennifer Rizzo, CAA vice president of public affairs, urged the council to complete its due diligence before moving forward.

“It is your right and responsibility as an elected official to know what is included in the initiative and its impact on the city and residents,” Rizzo said.

Supporters of the measure urged the council to adopt the initiative outright, but several council members said they wanted a clearer picture of its fiscal, legal, housing and administrative impacts, including the potential burden on the city to administer it.

By law, the report must be completed within 30 days.

San Pablo is the second Bay Area city this month to face a proposed local rent control ballot measure. In Redwood City, a similar proposal would pair tighter local rent caps with added eviction restrictions and a city-run rent program. The association has engaged in several fights against local rent control measures in recent years.

CAA will continue working with San Pablo housing providers and community stakeholders as the city completes its analysis and decides whether to place the measure on the November 2026 ballot.