Lemon Grove Tuesday became the latest city in San Diego County to increase protections for local renters.
In a 4-1 vote, members of the Lemon Grove City Council last night passed a so-called urgency ordinance mainly focused on renters who receive just-cause no-fault eviction notices.
A no-fault eviction is one in which a landlord evicts a tenant even though they’re not behind on their rent and haven’t violated any terms of the lease. They often happen when a landlord wants to renovate the property or wants to stop renting the property.
Under the temporary ordinance, the city will require landlords who initiate a no-fault eviction to give renters 120 days notice, relocation assistance and an extra month's rent at fair market rate. Residents who are low-income, seniors (60+), disabled or residents with minor children will receive relocation assistance plus two months rent at fair market rate.
“When people are paying their rent on time and meeting their obligations, then I feel like they deserve to be able to stay in that steady home,” Mayor Alysson Snow said. “You deserve more than 60-day notice and a waiver of last month’s rent.”
Expanding on state law
No-fault evictions have become a source of tension for tenants and landlords across the county since the California Tenant Protection Act was passed in 2019.
The law offers more safeguards for renters by requiring most landlords to justify evicting someone. However, it did leave flexibility for landlords to evict tenants for demolition or “substantial remodels.”
Snow had aimed to pass a more comprehensive ordinance that, among other things, would have specified what renovations warrant a “substantial remodel” no-fault eviction. It had the backing of the California AARP and the San Diego Legal Aid Society. Other councilmembers had concerns about the lack of time to review and research the ordinance.
“It's unfortunate they didn't go with the original proposed ordinance,” said Jose Lopez, San Diego director of the tenants’ rights group Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Institute (ACCE). “But I'm glad that at least they tried to do something to help the residents there (that) at least gives them a little bit of hope and a little bit more time to figure out how to keep on fighting this.”
Lemon Grove is following in the footsteps of other cities – including Chula Vista, San Diego and Imperial Beach – that have put more restrictions on no-fault evictions for substantial remodels or renovations.
Local residents speak up
More than a dozen residents from the Serra Grove apartment complex came to the meeting to express concerns about eviction notices sent to some tenants. Sheila Spencer has lived in the building for 15 years, and she says her partner has lived in the building for about 37 years.
“A lot of us, we’re like a family there,” Spencer said. “This whole situation is shocking to all of us.”
Daniel Morrissey lives in the same complex as Spencer. He has not received an eviction notice yet but has made plans to move out on his own terms.
“The people here tonight, they weren't looking for a handout,” Morrissey said. “They weren't looking for somebody to pay their rent… They wanted to be able to live their lives like normal people instead of being looked at, because we don't own the property, as somebody who doesn’t deserve to be there.”
Snow acknowledged the struggles renters face in finding affordable housing in Lemon Grove.
“It is almost impossible as we've heard from person after person today to be able to find something to rent in this community, where your doctors are, where your family is, where your homes are,” Snow said.
While most commenters backed the ordinance, a couple did not.
“Remodeling is not a loophole… it's progress,” Darrel Exline, a Lemon Grove resident said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “I don't believe the city should step into private, landlord-tenant matters beyond existing state law.”
The ordinance will be in effect for 180 days, but a city spokesperson said leadership have not decided when it will start. The temporary requirements will not change the circumstances for those who already received eviction notices.
Councilmembers expressed interest in considering a permanent ordinance at a future meeting, and directed staff to get more public feedback.
