Fairfax to reexamine tenant protection ordinances

Under persistent pressure to repeal rent control and just-cause-for-eviction ordinances, the Fairfax Town Council has agreed to take a closer look at the regulations.

The council voted 5-0 Wednesday to appoint Mayor Chance Cutrano and Vice Mayor Barbara Coler to a subcommittee to work with tenants and landlords to review both ordinances. The town is the only Marin municipality to pass local rent control laws.

“The council obviously wants to make sure we get these ordinances right and we’re working closely with the stakeholders in the community to do so,” Cutrano said after the council meeting.

In addition to an online workshop on May 6 to discuss the just-cause ordinance, officials plan to host another workshop to talk about proposed amendments to both ordinances, Cutrano said.

The three-hour hearing Wednesday was the latest in a series of contentious meetings in which tenants, landlords and supporters sounded off on why the approved tenant protections are good or bad. The latest discussion was prompted by a group of residents who successfully petitioned town officials to put it on the agenda.

Philip Salaverry, who owns rental property, made a presentation on behalf of the petitioners, asking the council to rescind the ordinances.

“Help the town heal,” he said. “Do the right thing and the citizens will back you up.”

Critics argue that rent control will limit the housing stock and drive rents skyward, while proponents say it provides housing security. Property owners talked about how they rely on rental income, while tenants shared stories of struggling to find affordable housing.

“I believe in rent control,” said resident Wynn Richards said, calling for a few tweaks to the rules. “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

The Marin Democratic Socialists of America has been a prominent group organizing supporters of rent control. Curt Ries, a member of the group and a San Anselmo tenant, said a third of Fairfax renters spend more than half their income on rent, and called the ordinances “common decency.”

“We’re counting on you to hold the line,” Ries said. “Stand with struggling renters and not with big real estate.”

The council discussed rescinding the ordinances and putting the ordinances on hold before ultimately deciding to study them further.

When contacted after the meeting, Salaverry said he’s not satisfied.

“Something this enormous that will affect people across town for decades to come deserves to go to a vote of the people,” he said.

Michael Sexton, a property owner who started the websites Fairfaxresidents.org and Marinresidents.org, has raised funds for a local broadcast commercial against rent control.

Sexton said he and others are gathering signatures on the “Keep Fairfax Fair” initiative to put the issue on the ballot. That effort was launched by Michael Burke, a real estate agent who represents many of the Fairfax landlords.

Sexton said supporters began canvassing April 1 and have more than 250 signatures.

“This is a policy that affect’s people’s income, their livelihood, their retirement,” Sexton said. “Regardless of any workshop or changing the ordinance, it still does not actually go to the people unless it’s on the ballot.”

There is already a statewide limit on how much landlords can raise rents. The Tenant Protection Act of 2019 caps rent increases at 5%, plus the consumer price index rate. The maximum annual increase permitted under the state law is 10%.

The Fairfax ordinance sets an annual rent increase cap at 60% of the regional consumer price index. The annual adjustment, however, cannot be less than 0% or greater than 5%, making it one of the strongest rent control laws in the state. The ordinance is retroactive to February 2022.

California’s Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act prohibits local rent control regulations on properties constructed after 1995. Detached homes and condominiums are also exempt from rent control under the law. However, the text of the new Fairfax ordinance says, “An estimated 97% of all Fairfax housing units are in structures built before 1995.”

According to town staff, there are 1,200 households that rent, representing one-third of town residents. Of those, more than 70% are low- to extremely-low-income households.

The just-cause-for-eviction workshop will be online at 3 p.m. May 6. Instructions on how to join are at bit.ly/3zF2Y46.