Tenant advocates push for stronger rental protections

Rent-control advocates are pushing back against efforts to limit tenant protections in Larkspur and Fairfax.

A new citizens' initiative is being circulated in Larkspur to bring even stronger rental protections than a stalled city ordinance, and tenants in Fairfax recently demonstrated against proposed rent hikes at an apartment building.

Dan Schwarz, the city manager of Larkspur, said a citizens' initiative was submitted to the city on Dec. 12.

“The petitioners now have the option to collect signatures to try to qualify the measure for a future ballot,” Schwarz said. “If enough qualified signatures are collected and verified, there will be a council item to discuss scheduling it for election.”

Schwarz said the deadline was Dec. 8 to qualify for the March ballot.

Larkspur voters will consider a referendum on rent control during the March 5 election. The referendum, which requires a simple majority to pass, will determine whether the city moves forward with a rent stabilization ordinance passed last year.

The ordinance caps rent increases at 5% plus inflation or 7%, whichever is lower. The rent-control ordinance was intended to take effect on Oct. 6, but was postponed during the referendum process. The ordinance would have been retroactive to the base rent as of May 8.

Larkspur was the second municipality in Marin to adopt a rent-control ordinance, following Fairfax. The Larkspur referendum is the result of a campaign led by resident Lauren Baxter, who delivered a petition to the county on Sept. 28. The county elections office verified the petition had enough signatures to move forward on the ballot.

The state's rent control bill, Assembly Bill 1482, or the Tenant Protection Act, sets rent increases at 5% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower. The state law expires on Jan. 1, 2030.

The new citizens' initiative would cap annual rent increases at 60% of the consumer price index or 3%, whichever is lower, said organizer Curt Ries of the Marin Democratic Socialists of America. It also would ban arbitrary evictions, prohibit harassment and codify the right of tenants to organize.

“The City Council wasn't willing to stand with Larkspur renters and ensure that we can keep a roof over our heads,” said Joan Weinberg, a Larkspur tenant and proponent of the initiative. “So we're going straight to the voters to get the protections we need.”

In Fairfax, about 20 renters and advocates demonstrated at the Lanai Apartments at 2555 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. on Dec. 31 to protest what