Four separate property owners filed a lawsuit on Friday against Santa Barbara over its rent freeze.
The lawsuit seeks to immediately halt the freeze, which went into effect in February.
“The complaint demonstrates a wide range of constitutional violations,” says Barry Cappello,
managing partner of Cappello & Noël, and one of the attorneys at the firm representing the
association. “It shows how arbitrary and capricious, and how rushed this ordinance process was, providing proof of its unconstitutionality.”
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court, Central District of California, on behalf of the Santa Barbara Rental Property Association.
The Santa Barbara City Council voted 4-3 earlier this year to freeze rent increases while the city works on a rent stabilization ordinance. The rent freeze will last through Dec. 31, 2026.
The freeze does not apply to people renting from single-family homes or rental units managed by a public agency. It applies only to apartment buildings built before 1995.
“The City Council failed to conduct adequate due diligence and dismissed legitimate concern
about the long-term effects of rent control when it passed these ordinances,” Cappello said in a news release. “The individual property owners who filed suit are standing for all other Santa Barbara property owners. These residential rental property owners and the SBRPA had no other choice but to take legal action.”
The plaintiffs are listed as Teresa Patiño, a property owner: JKRK, L.P., which lists Robert V Kooyman as the registered agent; 3442 Richland LLC, which lists Michael K. Cheng as the registered agent; and 1501 SB, LLC, which lists Jim Youngson as the registered agent.
Only Patiño is listed as an actual name in the lawsuit. The other three individuals are only named through their LLC, but an online LLC business record check shows them as registered agents.
The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday is set to discuss an update on the status of the rent stabilization ordinance.
