By Jorge Mercado Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026

In an effort to call the city of Santa Barbara’s temporary rent freeze ordinance illegal, the Santa Barbara Rental Property Association is taking legal action against the city to invalidate the freeze, according to Cappello & Noël LLP, the Santa Barbara-based law firm representing the association

The move comes after the Santa Barbara City Council voted on Jan. 13 to enact a Temporary Rent Increase Moratorium Ordinance, which went into effect on Feb. 26. The city council also directed staff to draft a permananent rent stabilization program that would go into effect by the end of the year.

“In an astonishing display of constitutional disregard, the Santa Barbara City Council proposed in October rent control with a rent cap tied to just 60% of CPI — a policy that represents nothing less than the unconditional surrender of property rights. In addition, the City Council then passed, on a 4-3 vote, a rent freeze that deprives landlords of a Fair Market Return on investments. Wrapped in the language of ‘rent stabilization,’ the proposals directly violate established law, ignore economic reality, and mislead tenant advocacy groups into believing the city has authority it simply does not possess,” the SBRPA said in a statement.

The SBRPA is contending that the rent freeze and subsequent rent stabilization program would be unconstitutional and interfering with private contracts prohibited by the Contracts Clause.

As such, SBRPA retained Cappello & Noël to pursue legal recourse to invalidate the temporary freeze, as well as halt work on the permanent ordinance, according to a the March 3 press release.

“Rising taxes, insurance and maintenance costs are hitting property owners hard,” said Barry Cappello, Cappello & Noël managing partner. “Rent stabilization is bad economics. Owners need a return on their investment even as costs rise and must keep their property in a first-rate and safe condition. Rent control has proven over the years that when housing stock is not maintained, housing conditions for the tenants worsen.”

“We intend to follow this process through to the end and make sure either the City Council rights this wrong or a court with proper jurisdiction orders it stricken,” Capello said.