In January, Santa Barbara passed a historic rent freeze moratorium, a move that has splintered the town and spurred an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by a group of property owners. Despite the freeze, which lasts until Dec. 31 or until the city votes on a long-term rent stabilization ordinance, landlords have continued to raise rents or try to evict tenants.
“Most rent freeze violations come in the form of either lease offers that contain a rent increase, or attempts to evict in order to circumvent the rent freeze and lease the unit to a new tenant at market rate,” Santa Barbara council member Wendy Santamaria, who helped write the legislation, told SFGATE in an emailed statement.
When the city voted on the moratorium, it said that any instances of rent violations should be reported to the Rental Housing Mediation Program, a city-run program established to resolve landlord/tenant disputes. While the agency is around to help settle differences between landlords and renters, it has no ability to prosecute…