As stated in Article XVIII, the purpose of this program is to act as a proactive rental housing inspection service in Isla Vista that will help combat overcrowded, substandard housing through its identification, prevention, and correction. However, once it goes into effect, this program will have important implications that Isla Vista tenants should be aware of.

This article excludes:

• Non-rental housing such as long-term housing

General Concerns: What it means for tenants

• Subleasers should have the same protections as a normal leaser, but the tenant won’t have proper protection due to the “just cause” clause
  • There are two types of “just cause”
    • At-fault evictions: Tenant breaks the lease terms (e.g., not paying rent, damaging property)
    • No-fault evictions: Reasons not related to tenant behavior (e.g., owner wants to move back in or wants to substantially remodel the unit)
  • Under the “just cause” clause, landlords can evict any tenants in housing that requires 30 or more days of repairs
  • As many leases start in the summer, most students that would be evicted will not be entitled to any of the eviction relocation benefits such as rapid rehousing
• The program does not differentiate between UCSB students, SBCC students, or non-student tenants within Isla Vista
  • But, in the event of repair-related evictions, SBCC and non-student tenants in Isla Vista are not protected
• If inspections are carried out during the summer:
  • It is most likely that no one evicted during this time would qualify for relocation assistance, and would all be evicted for reasons that fall under “just cause”
  • The landlords can use this inspection plan to selectively evict tenants (such as long-term residents like families) in order to increase rent

Section 10-18.6. Inspections

This section touches on the inspection notification process and the inspection process as a whole.

• There is no set number of complaints required to trigger a mandatory inspection, meaning that even many complaints cannot force an inspection
• The notification of inspection process involves three different parties each being notified by a different party (county to owner, owner to management company, management company to tenants) which makes the notification process extremely long, complicated, and open to be abused and exploited
• Tenants might be able to refuse inspections, but the County inspector can then secure lawful entry to inspect the premises through mechanisms such as an inspection warrant
  • Additionally, if the inspector reasonably believes that the unit is so hazardous that it needs immediate attention in order to protect public safety, the inspector has the right to immediately enter and can use any reasonable means necessary to do so.

Section 10-18.7. Inspection Exemptions

This section lays out what types of buildings are exempt from inspections.

• Government regulated, subsidized Residential Rental Housing Units or those with government sponsored financing (primarily managed by the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HASB) and People’s Self-Help Housing (PSHH) and includes the Parkview Apartments at 6688 Picasso Rd in Goleta and the Isla Vista Apartments at 6660 Abrego Road)
  • These properties are exempt because they are subject to routine inspections related to housing conditions or property maintenance by another government agency or rent subsidized program
• Newly constructed buildings which is a building that has a certificate of occupancy issued in the last 3 years
  • Newly constructed buildings are exempt from the initial inspection despite the fact that issues such as “lack of adequate heating”, “Dampness of habitable rooms”, “Infestation of insects…”, “visible mold growth”, “dilapidation or improper maintenance”, and more can develop within 3 years of construction

Section 10-18.8. Enforcement and Corrections

If an inspection leads to the discovery of Health and Safety Standards violations, the inspector will issue a written correction notice or follow the Health and Safety Standards enforcement procedures.

• The correction notice must include a description of the violation, the specific action needed to fix the violation, and the time frame allotted for this correction to occur
• If the owner fails to comply with the notice, the county can compel compliance through avenues such as fines, civil proceedings, etc. 

Section 10-18.10. Retaliatory Evictions

This section explicitly states that by law a landlord cannot evict a tenant in retaliation for that tenant filing a complaint with Santa Barbara County stating that the housing unit may be in violation of a building, housing, or sanitation code.

What this article means for tenants:

• Risk of eviction:
  • Landlords can evict tenants under “just cause” if units require 30+ days of repairs. These types of repairs are more common during the summer, when most students won’t qualify for relocation assistance
  • Additionally, summer inspections can be used to selectively evict tenants such as long-term residents in order to raise rents
• Forced entry allowed:
  • Inspectors can legally enter with a warrant or immediately in urgent cases
• New buildings (under 3 years old) and government-regulated housing are exempt, even if they have serious issues
• The protection against retaliation may prove hard to enforce:
  • Though landlords can’t legally evict residents for code complaints, tenants need to be proactive in asserting this right