Important Update: Anti-Price Gouging Rules Now in Effect for All of San Diego County

Hello Rental Housing Provider,

Yesterday you received the message below from SCRHA. As reported, SCRHA received confirmation that the County’s Emergency Proclamation has triggered local anti-price gouging rules. We would like to thank Supervisor Joel Anderson and his team for assisting SCRHA in confirming this important information. We do not want our members to fall out of compliance with any laws, permanent or temporary.

SCRHA is currently working with County leaders to address this oversight. We believe the simple fix is to include language similar to the Governor’s proclamation that specifies that those rules, which are automatically triggered by emergency proclamations, are suspended.

“The restrictions set forth in Penal Code section 396, which are automatically triggered upon proclamation of a state of emergency, are suspended, and no such restrictions are imposed, with respect to this El Niño event, at this time.”

While SCRHA appreciates the County being proactive, there is simply no emergency yet that should necessitate anti-price gouging rules, and certainly not those specific to rental pricing.

SCRHA wishes to assure you we are working on a common-sense solution to this issue. Stay tuned for more information.

Sincerely,
SCRHA

Anti-Price Gouging Rules Now in Effect for All of San Diego County

SCRHA has secured confirmation that the County of San Diego’s recent Emergency Proclamation has triggered portions of the County’s ordinance designed to protect residents in the wake of an emergency or disaster. For rental housing, this means it is unlawful to increase rent to existing or prospective residents by more than 10% regardless of whether or not a property is exempt from statewide rent caps (AB 1482/The Tenant Protection Act). Separate rules apply to mobilehomes and short-term/vacation rentals.

Yesterday, September 30, the County of San Diego proclaimed a local emergency in preparation for a potentially historic El Niño season expected to bring heavy rain, repeated storms and significant flooding risks across the region this fall and winter. The move allows County crews and departments to respond faster and more effectively to storm impacts, including flooding, landslides, debris flows and damage to critical infrastructure. It also aligns with Governor Gavin Newsom’s Sept. 21 statewide emergency proclamation, which mobilizes state resources ahead of anticipated severe weather. However, the Governor's declaration did not trigger statewide anti-price gouging rules. Click here to read the County proclamation. 

The following applies to rental housing:
 
Home and Apartment Rentals. For a period of 30 days following that proclamation or declaration, it is unlawful for any person to increase the rental price as advertised, offered, or charged for housing, to an existing or prospective tenant, by more than 10 percent. However, a greater rental price increase is not unlawful if that person can prove that the increase is directly attributable to additional costs for repairs or additions beyond normal maintenance that were amortized over the rental term that caused the rent to be increased greater than 10 percent or that an increase was contractually agreed to by the tenant prior to the proclamation or declaration. For rental housing that was not rented or advertised for rent within one year prior to a declaration of emergency, the price cannot exceed 160 percent of the fair market rent value of the rental housing as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Click here to read the full details, Section 31.502. Please note, Section 31.503 (Eviction Moratorium) is not currently in effect. SCRHA will notify members should that section become applicable.