Inland Empire city moves forward with proposed just cause eviction ordinance

The Inland Empire is drawing attention from tenant advocates pursuing an expansion of local eviction controls in Southern California.

That focus is now playing out in Perris, a Riverside County city where local officials are considering a proposed just cause for eviction ordinance.

The Perris City Council on Dec. 9 voted 4-1 to advance the proposed ordinance following a first reading. City officials indicated a second reading and final vote is expected Jan. 13.

What the proposal would do

As drafted, the proposed ordinance would expand eviction requirements beyond state law by limiting evictions to specific "at-fault" and "no-fault" reasons and imposing additional procedural obligations on rental housing providers.

Among its provisions, the ordinance would:

• Require certain at-fault evictions involving criminal activity or criminal threats against the landlord to be supported by documentation, such as a police report.
• Require translation of eviction notices when a lease was negotiated in a language other than English.
• Require relocation assistance for no-fault evictions equal to two months' rent, or a waiver of one month's rent and relocation assistance worth one month's rent.

The proposal is modeled on local just cause ordinances adopted elsewhere in California, though such measures remain relatively uncommon in the Inland Empire compared with other regions of the state.

City responds to CAA's amendments

The California Apartment Association has been engaged throughout the city's review process. In response to CAA, the City Council approved an amendment during the Dec. 9 meeting to delay when local just cause protections would apply.

The amendment rolled back the applicability of the ordinance from six months of tenancy to 12 months, aligning more closely with existing state law and reducing the immediate impact on housing providers.

Representatives for the association also raised concerns about at-fault documentation standards, notice requirements and the cumulative effect of layering local eviction rules on top of the California Tenant Protection Act.

Why the issue matters regionally

Local just cause eviction ordinances remain relatively rare in the Inland Empire, which is why the Perris proposal has attracted attention. Palm Springs, which is located in Riverside County, is currently the only city within Riverside and San Bernardino counties - often referred to collectively as the Inland Empire - with a local just cause eviction ordinance in place.

For rental housing providers, the proposal underscores the importance of early engagement in local policymaking, particularly in communities that have not historically pursued expanded eviction controls.