Council enacts rent-control ordinance

Measure V, which voters approved, won’t take effect until Dec. 23

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Responding to a reported increase in the number of no-cause evictions and threats of evictions in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 election, the Mountain View City Council on Tuesday passed an urgency ordinance immediately enacting a provision of a new rent-control ordinance that requires evictions to be justified.

Last week, voters narrowly approved Measure V, which in addition to requiring just-cause evictions also caps annual rent increases at 5 percent and establishes a rental-housing committee.

An urgency ordinance enacting the just-cause provision was necessary because the measure won’t take effect until Dec. 23, when the results of the election are scheduled to be certified by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, according to the city.

The language of the ordinance is largely based on Measure V and applies to the same units covered by it, even if they were occupied after 1995. The ordinance is set to expire when the results are certified.

The city said in a news release that the action was spurred by a reported increase in the number of no-cause evictions and threats of evictions in the weeks leading up to the election.

Under the urgency ordinance and the measure, landlords will still be able to evict tenants for reasons including failure to pay rent and necessary repairs, according to the city.