Early tally tight on rent limit

Voters might narrowly nullify Larkspur's controversial rent control initiative, according to early returns Tuesday night.

Measure D, a referendum on the city's rent-control law, requires a simple majority to pass. It would rescind the rent stabilization ordinance passed last year.

Measure D has 834 yes votes, or 50.67%; and 812 no votes or 49.33%, according to the first batch of returns.

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

The rent-control ordinance complements a just-cause-for-eviction ordinance, which also is retroactive to May 8. It expires Dec. 31, 2030.

That ordinance establishes relocation assistance payments equal to three months' rent or $5,000, whichever is greater, for a no-fault eviction. The ordinance establishes a tenant's right to return to a dwelling if the landlord chooses to rent the residence within 12 months of eviction. It also has protections for those who are elderly, disabled or terminally ill.

Larkspur was the second municipality in Marin to adopt a rent-control ordinance, following Fairfax. The Larkspur measure is the result of a campaign led by resident Lauren Baxter, who delivered a petition to the county Sept. 28.

“We worked for over a year to come up with an ordinance and I hope it gets enacted,” said Mayor Scot Candell.

Supporters have spent or contributed more than $291,000 to an effort to overturn the ordinance.

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