18 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 17-23, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com rental ordinances repealed warn that investors will leave the market, Protect Salinas Renters believes those concerns are overblown. The group includes organizers who spearheaded the ordinances to begin with and who gathered signatures for the referendum vote, now advocating to keep rent stabilization in place with a no on Measure H position. “It doesn’t really apply here because what happens is that the buildings that are coming up for sale are being bought by other investors locally,” says real estate broker Ben Nurse, a former housing program manager for the City of Seaside who has his own affordable housing, who’s been volunteering with Protect Salinas Renters. “It’s just changing hands. People aren’t leaving the area.” (In Mountain View, where a rent stabilization ordinance has been in effect since voters approved it in 2016, a city report shows that while sales of rental properties increased from 21 in 2014-2015 to nearly 40 in 2015-2016, in the lead up to the ordinance, the number of buildings for sale steadily fell below pre-ordinance levels. Six properties were listed for sale in late 2025 to early 2026.) If investors want to sell their multi-family properties, “let’s just have the residents buy it and turn them into co-ops,” Nurse says, adding there are five co-ops already in Monterey County. He also argues that because Salinas’ ordinances only relate to buildings built before 1995, it has no impact on new construction. And he says, Salinas has produced no new units for lower income levels in the last four years, and is not on track to build those units in the coming years to meet state requirements. It’s not rent stabilization that’s the problem, he argues. “If we can help to cap those rents and allow families a break, they can actually stay in the community, otherwise most people are moving out because they can’t afford to continue to live in Salinas,” Nurse says. ••• Where some studies concluding rent stabilization is a net negative saw things like renters remaining in units longer thereby making it harder for new workers to enter the market, others saw that stability of place as a positive for families and the community. That was just one conclusion of the report produced by Economic & Planning Systems in 2024, the consultant hired by Salinas in the lead-up to the City Council’s enactment of the ordinances. Using the same study cited by the Brookings paper, EPS reported the findings that San Francisco’s rent stabilization lowered renter displacement by approximately 20 percent, and was especially significant in reducing the displacement of people of color. In addition, they said rent stabilization was “uniquely effective in preventing displacement of extremely low-income neighborhoods.” With 81 percent of renter-occupied units filled by Latino residents, as well as other vulnerable residents including the elderly, the EPS report contended that rent stabilization was “key to ensuring quality of life for the communities and the city as a whole.” It also cited research from San Mateo County showing that displacement, either through eviction or an inability to pay rent, “has disastrous impacts on families’ well-being,” leading to high rates of homelessness, moving to communities with worse environmental health outcomes and longer commutes. “For applicable units (19 percent of the city’s housing), the proposed ordinance is likely to stabilize rents and decrease displacement risk, which is an important equity concern to the city,” the report concluded. “Thus, existing city renters would be the direct beneficiaries of the ordinance, accruing long-term financial benefits and reduced risk of eviction.” And while the report acknowledged that the benefit to renters would come at a cost to existing landlords who could experience reduced income and limits on removing unwanted tenants, “the effects on income appear to be relatively modest,” noting that the Salinas ordinance had policies to protect from hardships through allowing landlords to petition for increases, as well as the ability to petition for passing through specific capital improvements. The conclusion detailed positive impacts to Salinas, including reduced displacement, increased economic stability and increased disposable income. Negative impacts listed were reduced labor mobility and housing availability for new residents, since rent stabilization generally reduces turnover by 20 percent. It could exacerbate an already tight market. EPS researchers saw the potential benefits outweighing potential negatives. Based on a review of literature, their survey of comparable cities and “technical fiscal and economic impacts analysis,” they recommended the city adopt rent stabilization, limiting the maximum increase of rent. As a range, EPS recommended capping annual increases between the lesser of 2.5 percent or 65 percent of the cost price increase index for the urban West, or the lesser of 2.75 percent or 75 percent of the CPI. The council chose to cap annual rent increases at the high end of that range, 2.75 percent. (For rent of $2,000/month, that would be an allowable monthly increase of $55, for a new monthly rent of $2,055.) In addition, EPS recommended that the ordinance must include protections for just-cause evictions as well as no-fault evictions and requiring landlords to pay fair relocation costs. “Rent stabilization is part of a toolkit that, along with other policies and incentives, can help alleviate some housing cost pressures. Taken in combination with other policies that encourage renter protections and additional supply, it can be part of a multipronged effort to improve the outlook for residents struggling to afford housing,” the report concluded. ••• Barajas and others who want to see rent stabilization repealed in Salinas believe there are better ways to help renters. He suggests programs offered in other states that assist renters to one day become homeowners, for example. “If the end result is to make it more affordable, are we setting the right policies, or are we making it harder?” Barajas asks. Those that want to keep rent stabilization say the answer is to stay the course. “We believe that housing is fundamentally a human right and that drives our campaign,” says Jesus Valenzuela of Protect Salinas Renters and a former Salinas councilmember who was voted out in November 2024, when a new council majority that opposed rent stabilization won. “We know that stabilizing the rents will have a positive impact on the economy as families will have more income to be distributed in our local area,” Valenzuela says. “RENT STABILIZATION IS PART OF A TOOLKIT.” DANIEL DREIFUSS A new Salinas City Council, shown here in 2025, was elected in November 2024 just a couple of months after the rental ordinances were enacted. Five new councilmembers backed by real estate and other business interests voted to repeal the ordinances on June 3, 2025. “WE BELIEVE THAT HOUSING IS FUNDAMENTALLY A HUMAN RIGHT.”
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