Annual increase
60% of CPI or 3%
The lower amount would apply, rounded to the nearest quarter-percent. Unused annual adjustments could not be banked.
Housing · Tenant Stability + Future Supply
Protect renters today without making the housing shortage worse tomorrow.
Tenant stability matters. Future renters matter too. Rent control is not a housing plan.
Position on record · Updated July 12, 2026
The position, plainly
I am a District 6 renter, and I support strong tenant stability. I do not support the June 10 rent stabilization draft in its current form. It caps one part of a housing shortage without delivering homes. I would pair enforceable tenant protections with a full plan for supply, maintenance, affordability, and future renters.
What is happening
Santa Barbara is deciding whether to build a permanent local rent-control system.
The City adopted a temporary rent-increase moratorium that took effect February 26, 2026 for certain older, multi-unit rentals. It remains in place through December 31, 2026, or until a permanent rent-stabilization program becomes operative.
The June 10 public-review draft would establish a permanent local program. The public-comment period closed July 10. The City’s published materials say the ordinances are expected to return for formal Council introduction in late July. The draft remains a proposal—not adopted law—and may change before a final vote.
The draft would generally regulate covered rentals built before February 1, 1995, subject to exemptions required by state law and listed in the ordinance. It would set base rents, limit annual increases, create landlord and tenant petition processes, require a rental registry, establish hearing officers and a seven-member Rent Stabilization Board, and authorize enforcement and civil remedies.
The question is larger than whether rising rents hurt. They do. The governing question is whether this particular system protects renters in a durable way while preserving maintenance, rental participation, future housing supply, fiscal capacity, and trust.
Current status as of July 12, 2026: The temporary moratorium is in effect. The June 10 permanent ordinance remains a draft. The City’s published materials anticipate formal Council consideration in late July and a proposed operative date of January 1, 2027 if adopted.
Base rent
December 16, 2025
Existing tenancies would generally use the rent in effect on that date; later tenancies would begin from the initial lawful rent.
Vacancies
Market reset allowed
State law requires vacancy decontrol, allowing an initial rent reset when a lawful new tenancy begins.
Administration
Registry + petitions + board
The program would include annual registration, a program administrator, hearing officers, appeals, regulations, and a seven-member board.
Estimated scale
About 13,000 units
City staff used this preliminary estimate before the final exemption and fee analysis.
Estimated cost
About $2 million a year
Staff's early peer-jurisdiction estimate equated to about $154 per unit for full cost recovery before a required fee study.
Honest scope
What City Council actually controls here — and what it does not.
Council can decide whether Santa Barbara adopts a local program, how it is designed within state law, how much it costs, who pays, what it measures, and whether it is paired with a real housing-delivery plan.
Council decides
- Whether to adopt, revise, reject, sunset, or periodically review a local rent-stabilization ordinance.
- The local adjustment formula, lawful coverage rules, registry design, petition process, board structure, staffing, fees, and enforcement priorities.
- Local just-cause rules, disclosures, relocation requirements, mediation resources, habitability enforcement, and anti-retaliation support within legal authority.
- Housing-production rules, permit timelines, public-land priorities, workforce-housing partnerships, rental incentives, and short-term-rental enforcement.
- The program budget, fiscal note, fee allocation, public dashboard, and required evaluation of effects on current and future renters.
Beyond this seat
- State limits under Costa-Hawkins, the statewide Tenant Protection Act, vacancy decontrol, and court decisions.
- Mortgage rates, insurance premiums, construction costs, utilities, taxes, and other major operating expenses.
- Market rents for exempt units or the initial lawful rent after a qualifying vacancy.
- Federal and state housing subsidies, tax credits, vouchers, and judicial outcomes.
- Private decisions to sell, convert, improve, remove, or add rental housing—though City policy can influence those choices.
Alexander's operating plan
Build tenant stability into a full affordability system.
ACTION 01
Tenant Stability + Future Supply Test
Do not adopt the June 10 draft in its current form. Require every proposed revision to show who is protected, who is exempt, what happens to maintenance and rental participation, what the City must spend, and what happens to future renters.
Owner: City Council, City Administrator, City Attorney, Finance, and Office of Housing and Community Vitality.
First step: Publish a plain-language decision table before a vote comparing the draft, alternatives, costs, legal constraints, and expected housing effects.
Voters will see: A housing decision based on documented tradeoffs rather than a moral binary.
ACTION 02
Immediate Tenant Stability Path
Give renters a clear place to go before a conflict becomes displacement: mediation, multilingual rights information, habitability and retaliation reporting, legal-navigation partnerships, and rapid referral for emergency rental or relocation help when available.
Owner: Office of Housing and Community Vitality, Rental Housing Mediation Program, City Attorney, and nonprofit partners.
First step: Create one renter-facing intake and triage pathway with response standards and published referral outcomes.
Voters will see: Faster help, fewer dead ends, and clearer enforcement of existing protections.
ACTION 03
Local Long-Term Rental Partnership
Make it easier for local housing providers to keep units in long-term use through repair financing partnerships, permit fast paths, master leases, a targeted risk pool, renter matching, and recognition for owners who offer stable local tenancies.
Owner: Office of Housing and Community Vitality with Housing Authority, nonprofit, lender, employer, and philanthropic partners.
First step: Identify the strongest barriers that keep legal units vacant, short-term, or outside the long-term market and launch a limited, measurable pilot.
Voters will see: More existing homes activated and retained for long-term residents.
ACTION 04
Rental Supply Delivery Plan
Pair tenant protections with the homes rent regulation cannot create: ADUs, adaptive reuse, small multifamily housing, workforce housing, public-land partnerships, preservation of existing affordable homes, and stronger short-term-rental enforcement.
Owner: City Administrator, Community Development, Housing, Finance, Public Works, and named delivery partners.
First step: Publish a Housing Delivery Priority List showing sites, partners, barriers, financing paths, deadlines, and occupancy milestones.
Voters will see: Housing tracked from planned to permitted to completed to occupied.
ACTION 05
Small Housing Provider Clear Path
Use plain forms, multilingual notices, predictable deadlines, mediation-first resolution for appropriate disputes, proportionate fees, and clear compliance assistance so the system does not push small local owners out while well-resourced violators treat penalties as a cost of business.
Owner: Program administration, Rental Housing Mediation Program, City Attorney, and Finance.
First step: Test every rule and form with tenants, small providers, professional managers, advocates, and City staff before launch.
Voters will see: Stronger compliance, less confusion, and enforcement aimed at harm rather than paperwork traps.
ACTION 06
Rental Market Public Results Dashboard
Track the outcomes the debate usually hides: rent changes, petitions, code complaints, maintenance, unit exits and additions, vacancies, conversions, registrations, costs, fees, legal claims, and the number of homes available to future renters.
Owner: City Administrator, Housing, Finance, Community Development, and an independent evaluation partner where useful.
First step: Establish the baseline before any permanent ordinance becomes operative and require a formal 18-month and 36-month review.
Voters will see: Whether tenant stability improved—and whether the rental market became larger, smaller, safer, or harder to enter.
The Public Results Test
A housing policy should protect people and survive contact with the real housing system.
What is happening?
Renters face real instability while Santa Barbara has too few homes and a permanent local regulatory system is under consideration.
Why does it matter?
The decision affects current tenants, future renters, maintenance, housing participation, City staffing, legal exposure, and the credibility of the full affordability plan.
What would Alexander do?
Reject the current draft as written, protect tenants through clear enforceable pathways, expand long-term rental participation, deliver more housing, and require public measurement.
How will voters know?
The City will report tenant outcomes, supply outcomes, maintenance, program cost, enforcement performance, and corrective action on a fixed schedule.
ACTION · OWNER · COST · DEADLINE · RESULT
How progress will be measured
The scoreboard must include current tenants and the people still trying to find a home.
Tenant stability
Rent changes, displacement complaints, no-fault terminations, mediation outcomes, relocation cases, and repeat disputes.
Rental supply
Covered units, new long-term rentals, units removed or converted, vacancies, re-rentals, and homes restored to residential use.
Maintenance
Habitability complaints, repair timelines, capital-improvement petitions, unresolved violations, and changes in housing services.
Access for future renters
Advertised availability, time to lease, rental-entry costs where measurable, and production of new workforce and long-term rental housing.
Program performance
Registrations, exemption claims, petitions, decisions, appeals, processing times, enforcement actions, and case backlogs.
Fiscal honesty
Total annual cost, staffing, legal expenses, fee revenue, cost per covered unit, and any General Fund subsidy.
Small-provider participation
Compliance assistance, ownership type, exits from the rental market, and whether local small-scale housing remains viable.
Housing delivery
Planned, applied, approved, financed, under construction, completed, and occupied homes by affordability level.
A fair look at the disagreement
The strongest case for rent stabilization deserves a serious answer.
The case for the draft: Renters can face large increases they cannot absorb, even when they have paid reliably and built their lives around a home. A predictable cap can reduce sudden displacement, improve household stability, and give tenants more bargaining power in a market with limited alternatives.
The concern: A cap protects some incumbent tenants, but it does not build housing or finance deep affordability. A permanent registry, petition, hearing, enforcement, and fee system can also change maintenance, ownership, sale, conversion, and rental-participation decisions. The consequences fall partly on people who do not yet have a unit.
Alexander's decision: Protect renters today and future renters tomorrow. Keep strong just-cause, habitability, anti-retaliation, mediation, and disclosure protections. Do not adopt the June 10 permanent rent-stabilization system as written. Build a broader affordability operating plan and measure every tradeoff in public.
Questions people actually ask
The position in voter language.
Do you support the current rent stabilization draft?
No. As of July 12, 2026, I do not support the June 10 draft in its current form. It creates a permanent cap and administrative system without a complete housing-delivery plan or enough public evidence about maintenance, future rental supply, small-provider participation, program cost, and effects on people still looking for a home.
Are you against tenant protections?
No. I support just-cause protections, habitability enforcement, anti-retaliation rules, clear disclosures, multilingual mediation, fair notice, and practical help when a renter is at risk of displacement. Tenant stability is a core housing goal.
Why not simply cap rents more tightly?
Because the cap is one part of a system. It can help an incumbent tenant remain in place, but it does not create a vacancy for a new renter, build workforce housing, finance deeply affordable homes, reduce permit costs, or restore an unused unit. The question is how to gain stability without shrinking tomorrow's choices.
What should happen to renters facing a large increase now?
The current temporary moratorium and state and local protections determine what is legally allowed. Beyond that, the City should provide one rapid path to accurate information, mediation, habitability and retaliation enforcement, legal-navigation partners, and emergency or relocation resources when available. This campaign page is general policy, not legal advice.
Does the draft cover every rental home?
No. The draft generally focuses on covered older rental units and lists exemptions required or permitted under state law, including many post-February 1, 1995 units, qualifying separately alienable homes, qualifying owner-occupied duplexes, certain institutional and deed-restricted housing, mobilehome parks governed elsewhere, and lawful short-term occupancies. The exact ordinance text controls.
What about corporate landlords?
Rules should apply clearly, enforcement should focus on actual harm, and entities with professional compliance capacity should not gain an advantage by ignoring habitability, notice, registration, or tenant-protection law. The City should also avoid designing a system that drives small local providers out and leaves the market more concentrated.
How would your alternative create affordability?
Through several levers working together: tenant stability, long-term rental incentives, ADUs, adaptive reuse, small multifamily housing, workforce-housing partnerships, public land, subsidy, Housing Authority participation, short-term-rental enforcement, faster approvals, and preservation of existing affordable homes. Affordability is a system, not one ordinance.
Would you eliminate the temporary moratorium immediately?
The temporary moratorium is current law and has a defined expiration or transition point. My position on the permanent policy is separate: do not replace a temporary measure with the June 10 permanent system as written. Use the remaining period to build a more balanced tenant-stability and housing-delivery package.
How would you protect small housing providers?
Use plain-language rules, predictable forms and deadlines, proportionate fees, compliance assistance, mediation-first resolution when appropriate, and firm enforcement for habitability, retaliation, fraud, and repeated violations. The goal is stable tenancies and well-maintained homes—not paperwork failure.
How will voters know whether the policy works?
By tracking both sides of the promise: whether current tenants became more stable and whether Santa Barbara retained, activated, and built enough rental housing for future tenants. The dashboard should also show maintenance, petitions, processing time, enforcement, City cost, fees, legal claims, and corrective action.
Go deeper
The full housing plan, the platform, and the actual actions.
Share what housing stability means in your life.
Tell Alexander what you have experienced as a renter, housing provider, worker, employer, parent, senior, or neighbor. The campaign is building a policy that protects current tenants and keeps a door open for the next person who needs a home.
Sources
Read the ordinance and the public record directly.
- City of Santa Barbara — Rent Stabilization program page. Current City notices, draft links, prior meetings, and official updates.
- Public Review Draft Rent Stabilization Ordinance — June 10, 2026. Proposed Chapter 26.90, including coverage, rent adjustments, petitions, registry, board, and enforcement.
- City Council Agenda Report — June 9, 2026. Staff summary of major policy components, estimated program scale, preliminary cost, public-comment process, and anticipated return to Council.
- City of Santa Barbara — Temporary Rent Increase Moratorium FAQs and Ordinance No. 2026-6206. Current temporary rules and operative dates.
- Additional Just Cause and “Ellis Act” Amendments — June 10, 2026 public-review draft. Companion tenant-protection, notice, disclosure, withdrawal, and recordation provisions.
- City of Santa Barbara — Rental Housing Mediation Program and Landlord & Tenant Rights. Current City information and dispute-resolution resources.
- Alexander Stoeber — Actual Actions Plan. The campaign's housing-delivery, activation, public-land, permitting, and measurement proposals.
This page states a campaign position and general policy proposal. It is not legal advice, does not determine whether a specific property or tenancy is covered, and should not replace review of the enacted ordinance, official City guidance, or advice from a qualified professional. Draft language and Council timing may change.
Facts last verified July 12, 2026
