Rent Stabilization

• Owners may not impose more than one rent increase for a covered dwelling unit in any 12-month period.
• The maximum permissible annual rent increase is 4%

Generally speaking, the ordinance applies to all multifamily residential properties that were issued their first certificate of occupancy before February 1, 1995, unless a specific exemption applies. Examples of the types of properties that are exempt from the ordinance include:

• Most single-family homes or condominiums (see note below)
• Duplexes in which one of the two units is occupied by the owner (see note below)
• Duplexes in which one of the two units is occupied by the owner
• Dwelling units expressly exempt from rent control per state or federal law
• Government-subsidized dwelling units
• Dwelling units that are subject to the City’s Mobile Home Park Rent Stabilization System
• Institutional properties like dormitories, hospitals, convents, and group homes
• Hotels, boarding houses, or other types of properties used for transient occupancy

Use the form below if you believe that the owner of the property that you rent has charged you a higher rent than is permitted by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance (City Code Section 27, Article II).

Please reference one of the tenant guides below available in English, Spanish, Tagalog, Mixteco, Zapoteco, Nahuatl, Purepecha and Otomi

The owner of every non-exempt residential must register their property via the form below with the city by completing, signing under penalty of perjury, and submitting it to the Housing Department

Please email registration forms to [email protected] or deliver/mail the form to 435 South “D” Street, Oxnard CA, 93030.

The ordinances do not apply to certain types of residential property, including:

• Hotel and transient occupancy, including properties with a City of Oxnard Short Term Rental (STR) Permit;
• Housing in nonprofit hospitals, religious facilities, extended care facilities, and licensed residential care facilities for the elderly;
• Dormitories owned and operated by an institution of higher education or kindergarten through grades 12 inclusive school;
• Housing accommodations in which the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with the Owner who maintains their principal residence at the property;
• Most single-family, owner-occupied residences, including a residence in which the Owner-occupant rents or leases no more than two bedrooms. See Chapter 27-24 (B)(3) of the City Code for details;
• A duplex in which the Owner occupies one of the units as the Owner’s principal place of residence at the beginning of the Tenancy, so long as the owner continues in occupancy.

Summary of Rent Stabilization Ordinance

The rent ordinance does not apply to:

• A unit subject to the City’s Mobile Home Park Rent Stabilization System;
• Housing restricted by deed as affordable housing; and
• Residential real property that is alienable separate from the title to any other dwelling unit, with some exceptions.
• Any residential property that has a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995

The new ordinance limits increases in residential rents to 4% per year. More than one rent increase in any twelve (12) month period is prohibited.

There may be circumstances where owners can raise rent over 4% in order to obtain a reasonable return on their property. If you believe this is the case for your property, you must provide a copy of the City’s Fair Return Petition to both the City and the applicable tenant(s), as well as proof to the City that the petition was sent to the applicable tenant(s).

The City’s Fair Return Petition is available at: https://bit.ly/fair-return

Notice Requirements

Owners must notify tenants about the Rent Stabilization Ordinance and their right to respond to any Fair Return Petition filed.

Any notice to increase rent to a tenant, must include:

• Notice of the existence of Chapter 27, Article II of the City Code;
• The tenant’s right to respond to any Fair Return Petition filed with the City
• No rent increase shall take effect until the above requirements have been met.

The notice to the tenant must be in the language used to negotiate the terms of the tenancy (and must be written if the lease is written).

Landlords subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance shall pay a rent stabilization fee as established by City Council. The City anticipates establishing its rent stabilization fee by spring of 2023.

Property owners must notify tenants of a rent increase. Please use the form below.

A person or entity is entitled to contest a civil citation no later than 30 days from the date when the citation was served. This form must be used to contest the citation, and the completed form must be accompanied by a deposit of the full amount of the penalty stated in the citation. If the person or entity to whom the citation was issued cannot afford to pay the penalty due to genuine financial hardship, that person or entity may apply for a hardship waiver, by which the person or entity must demonstrate an inability to pay. A hearing will not be scheduled unless the full amount of the penalty is deposited or the city waives the deposit due to the responsible party’s financial hardship.

You are eligible for a waiver of the penalty deposit for your civil citation if:

1. You are an individual named in the citation as a responsible party; and

2. you are receiving public benefits, are a low-income person, or otherwise do not have enough money to pay your household’s basic needs as well as the deposit.

To receive the waiver, you must provide documentary evidence to establish your eligibility. If your fail to provide sufficient evidence to establish your eligibility for the waiver, your request will be denied. If your request is denied, you will be required to pay the deposit.

Under the United States and California Constitutions, investors, including investors in residential rental property, are entitled to “a fair and reasonable return on their investment.” This does not mean that government must guarantee that investors earn a profit. But it does mean that government may not by regulation prevent an investor from obtaining a “fair and reasonable return” on investment.

In the context of controls on residential rentals, the Courts have determined that a government regulation does not prevent a fair and reasonable return so long as the regulation itself does not prevent the owner-investor from collecting an amount of rent sufficient to cover the owner’s costs of operation, the servicing of reasonable financing, and at least some profit.

This information should help guide your decision about whether to submit a Fair Return Petition and, if you do so, should help you to focus on the information most germane to the Petition’s outcome.

The presentation below was created for property owners to explain the rent stabilization and the just cause ordinance.

This form must be submitted to the City of Oxnard when any tenant is given a notice that their tenancy will be terminated so that the owner or an owner’s qualifying relative can move into the unit from which the tenant is to be displaced.