The San Diego City Council on Tuesday discussed a proposal aimed at curbing fees charged by landlords on top of monthly rent.
The proposal from Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera has been in development since last year, and was last discussed by a committee in October. It was docketed as an informational item, with no vote, to allow the council to openly discuss the proposal and shape its final form.
Renters have reported being charged confusing fees that are often not disclosed in listings or leases, Elo-Rivera said. The proposal, officially called the Residential Rental Price Gouging Fee Exploitation and Cost Transparency Ordinance, would require landlords to itemize and explain all recurring monthly fees when they advertise a unit.
The ordinance would also cap recurring monthly fees at 5% of monthly rent, while late fees would be capped at 2% of rent. And certain charges, including fees to keep common household pets or fees for services that are necessary to keep a unit habitable, would be banned altogether.
"This isn't about creating unnecessary burdens," Elo-Rivera said. "It's about restoring fairness, increasing transparency, and helping rebalance the relationship between tenants and landlords so renters have the information they need to make informed decisions."
Gil Vera, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, said the practice of adding fees to monthly rent has grown since California adopted statewide limits on rent increases in 2019.
"This way, landlords can increase rent to the max, and on top of that, collect these additional fees," Vera said. "For what purpose? To maximize profits at the expense of renters."
Groups representing landlords and housing developers said they supported the elements of the ordinance requiring more transparency around fees. But they said capping fees at 5% of monthly rent would deter investment in new construction, making housing even more scarce and expensive.
"Rental housing operators incur costs for things like pest control, pet damage and late and unpaid rent," said Evan Strawn, director of public affairs for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. "These are not just items they can write off for free. They're businesses who must recover costs, just like any other business."
Some councilmembers echoed the skepticism of the proposal to cap add-on fees, which Councilmember Raul Campillo said amounted to "price regulations."
"What I don't want us to do is create a scenario where rents rise to compensate for those (fee) caps, which would hurt everyone," Campillo said. "It's one of those issues where the details really matter."
Councilmember Stephen Whitburn said parking fees, in particular, should not be "baked into the rent" because tenants who don't need parking should not have to pay for it.
"Suddenly, you will have a situation in which people who don't own a car are paying higher rents that effectively subsidize the rents of the people who do own cars," Whitburn said. "That would be a significant unintended consequence of this, and one that isn't very climate friendly."
The council is expected to take up the proposal for a vote sometime in the fall.
