Rental Property Rules in Santa Barbara County, CA (2026)
5 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 1 city in Santa Barbara County, California.
Verified from official government sources
Rent Control
Santa Barbara County has capped mobile home space rents since 1979, but only inside mobile home parks in the unincorporated area; there is no rent control for apartments or houses. County Code Chapter 11A lets management raise rent automatically up to 75% of the CPI increase each year, but a homeowner majority can force arbitration over anything above that.
Santa Barbara County Mobilehome Park Rent Control
Significant RestrictionsSanta Barbara County Code Sec. 11A-1
Especially acute is the problem of low vacancy rates and rapidly rising and exorbitant rents in mobilehome parks in the county of Santa Barbara. ... the board of supervisors finds and declares it necessary to protect the owners and occupiers of mobilehomes from unreasonable rents while at the same time recognizing the need for mobilehome park owners to receive a fair return on their investment ...
Just Cause Eviction
Landlords in unincorporated Santa Barbara County cannot end a tenancy of twelve months or longer without at-fault or no-fault just cause, and must pay relocation assistance for no-fault terminations. The county adopted this ordinance as more protective than the state Tenant Protection Act of 2019.
Santa Barbara County Just Cause Eviction Rules
Significant RestrictionsSanta Barbara County Code Sec. 44-20
(A)The owner of a rental unit shall not terminate the tenancy of a qualified tenant without just cause stated in full in the termination notice.(B)Just cause includes at-fault just cause or no-fault just cause as defined in section 44-25.
Rental Registration
Every residential rental housing unit inside unincorporated Isla Vista must register with the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department under the Isla Vista Rental Housing Inspection Pilot Program. Existing owners had 45 days from the November 18, 2025 adoption of Ordinance No. 5270 to file; newly converted or acquired rentals must register within 45 days of acquisition or 30 days after written notice.
Santa Barbara County Isla Vista Rental Registration
Significant RestrictionsSanta Barbara County Code Sec. 10-18.5
Registration. All residential rental housing units in the unincorporated community of Isla Vista shall register in compliance with this Isla Vista rental housing inspection pilot program. A.Existing Rental Housing Unit. Each owner or operator, on behalf of the owner, shall register their rental housing unit for the Isla Vista rental housing inspection pilot program on a form provided by the cou...
Rent Increase Notice
When a mobile home park in unincorporated Santa Barbara County wants to raise rent above 75% of the CPI increase, Sec. 11A-5 requires management's written notice to itemize the increase, compare it against the Consumer Price Index, and set a meet-and-confer session with homeowners before the raise can take effect.
Santa Barbara County Mobilehome Rent Increase Notice
Significant RestrictionsSanta Barbara County Code Sec. 11A-5
(a)Management's notice of an increase in the maximum rent schedule shall:(1)Comply with state law; and(2)Indicate whether or not the percentage of noticed increase in relation to the previous maximum rent schedule, less allowed costs for capital improvements and/or capital expenses, if any, is in excess of seventy-five percent of the percentage by which the most recently published edition of th...
Repairs & Habitability
Countywide in unincorporated Santa Barbara County, Code Chapter 44 makes landlords pay relocation benefits, three months of fair-market rent or $7,000, whichever is greater, whenever a building official orders a rental unit vacated because of a health-or-safety code violation. The rule is meant to push owners to keep rental housing genuinely habitable rather than let it decay and displace tenants.
Santa Barbara County Rental Habitability Relocation Pay
Significant RestrictionsSanta Barbara County Code Sec. 44-2
(f)The relocation benefit obligations imposed on property owners by this chapter partially mitigate the financial hardships faced by displaced resident households. ... In the case of a health-related or safety-related code violation, they also have the additional purpose of encouraging owners to maintain their properties in habitable condition. ... (j)"Relocation benefits" means a sum equal to ...
Rental Property Rules by City in Santa Barbara County
1 cities in Santa Barbara County have their own rental property rules rules. Each link goes to that city's dedicated page with code citations.
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