Santa Barbara County, CA Rental Property Rules: Rent Control (2026)
Rent control rules in Santa Barbara County, CA, also known as rent stabilization or rent cap ordinances, limit annual rent increases and protect tenants from displacement.
Key Facts
- Applies to
- Mobile home park space rent, unincorporated area
- In effect since
- November 21, 1979
- Automatic increase
- Up to 75% of CPI rise per year
- Contest deadline
- 45 days to petition for arbitration hearing
- Willful-violation fine
- Up to $500 and/or 6 months jail
Summary
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.
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 and rent increases sufficient to cover their increased costs. The purpose of this chapter is to alleviate the hardship caused by this problem by imposing rent controls in mobilehome parks within the unincorporated area of the county of Santa Barbara.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 11A, first adopted by Ordinance No. 3122 and substantially rewritten by Ordinance No. 3589, applies as of November 21, 1979 to all mobile home tenancies in mobile home parks located in the unincorporated area of Santa Barbara County. Sec. 11A-3 exempts commercial tenancies, parks of four spaces or fewer where the owner occupies one, parks built after the ordinance's effective date (for five years), government-owned tenancies, tenancies expected to last three months or less, subsidized tenancies exempted by state or federal law, and any tenancy already governed by a lease.
Rent increases are pegged to the Consumer Price Index for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area: an increase up to 75% of the CPI rise is automatic, but if management notices an increase above that threshold, a homeowner majority may petition within 45 days for a hearing before an independent arbitrator appointed through a Board of Supervisors panel, following the county's Mobilehome Rent Control Rules for Hearings. The Real Property Division manager of the Department of Public Works serves as clerk for these proceedings. Management may also add a one-time increase of up to 10% upon the sale of a mobilehome (after a 60-month gap between sales) and up to 10% during a sublease or assignment, both outside the once-a-year increase limit in Sec. 11A-8. Homeowners are protected from retaliation for exercising their rights under Sec. 6.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 11A-12 makes a willful violation of Chapter 11A punishable by a fine of up to $500, imprisonment of up to six months, or both, with each day of continued violation charged as a separate offense. A homeowner harmed by a willful violation may also sue for actual damages plus a civil penalty of up to $200 per violation, on top of any remedy available at law.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Santa Barbara County have rent control?
How much can a mobile home park raise rent each year?
What if the park owner ignores rent control?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Santa Barbara County
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