Fairfax Becomes the Smallest Jurisdiction in California to Pass Rent Control
Rent control campaigners take their message to the streets during a parade in Fairfax.
On Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022, the Fairfax Town Council voted 5-0 in favor of adopting an ordinance to establish rent stabilization and 4-1 in favor of adopting an ordinance to strengthen just cause eviction protections. Fairfax is the first town in Marin County and the smallest jurisdiction in California to pass rent control. Fairfax has about 7,500 residents and 37% of Fairfax households rent their homes. The town council had been considering rent stabilization and just cause eviction policies since March 2022.
The rent stabilization ordinance will cap annual rent increases at 60% of the Consumer Price Index or 5%, whichever is lower, making it one of the strongest rent control provisions in the state. The just cause eviction ordinance will strengthen existing protections by establishing a right of return and relocation payments for displaced tenants, closing Ellis Act eviction loopholes, and providing additional protections against eviction for tenants who are elderly, disabled, or terminally-ill and for teachers and students during the school year.
The landmark ordinances were passed after a year of grassroots campaigning led by the Marin Democratic Socialists of America, which launched a campaign to establish rent control in Marin County during the fall of 2021 shortly after its chapter formation that summer. Marin DSA, a smaller chapter with nearly 100 members in good standing, has gathered over 3,700 petition signatures from Marin County residents in support of rent control and just cause eviction protections. This was done through regular tabling and door-to-door canvassing efforts held nearly every weekend during the year. Marin DSA is also working to pass rent control in nearby San Anselmo and Larkspur.
Without the efforts of Marin DSA’s coordinating committee and its incredibly dedicated members this victory would not have been possible. Additionally, over the course of the campaign Marin DSA formed a coalition of supporting organizations including: Sierra Club Marin Group, Legal Aid of Marin, North Bay Labor Council, North Bay Jobs with Justice, California Alliance for Retired Americans Marin CAT, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5, Teamsters Local 665, Unite Here 2850, National Union of Healthcare Workers, Showing up for Racial Justice Marin, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California, Marin Environmental Housing Collaborative, Disability Justice Marin, Tenants Together, and Skylark Tenants Association.
Since the passage of the ordinances in Fairfax late last year, an opposition campaign has emerged funded in large part by corporate landlords. Their aim is to overturn the ordinances completely and remove these robust protections that have been so desperately needed by working class and vulnerable residents in the town. As Marin DSA’s Co-Chair Curt Reis said at a recent town council meeting during public comment on February 2nd, the council “passed these laws because there was an overwhelming outpouring of public support for over eight months of council meetings, and because these ordinances are desperately needed.” Marin DSA will do everything in its power through its membership, coalition partners, and supporters to ensure the ordinances remain in place.