A proposed Santa Monica ballot measure would stop landlords from evicting tenants over small rent debts — including cases involving balances as low as $73.87, which supporters say appear in city records.
But the larger amounts showing up in recent local eviction filings suggest the policy could leave most nonpayment cases largely unchanged.
Here's what to know
For rent-controlled apartments and other rentals protected by the city's eviction rules, RR would bar a landlord from filing a nonpayment eviction unless the tenant owed more than one month's federally estimated fair market rent for that unit size, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press.
The cutoff amounts would be updated every year by averaging federal fair market rent estimates across Santa Monica's five ZIP codes. The figures would be $2,708 for a studio, $3,034 for a one-bedroom, $3,782 for a two-bedroom, and $4,796 for a three-bedroom. In practice, that shifts the result mainly in smaller debt cases.
According to the city attorney's analysis, RR would not wipe out what is owed, and landlords could still pursue unpaid rent through methods other than eviction.
More background
The key issue is how often the measure would matter in actual cases. Since 2024, about 75% of eviction lawsuits reported to the city have been based on nonpayment, and the median amount owed in those cases was about $6,000. In most unit sizes, that is higher than one month's fair market rent.
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As a result, voter approval would likely leave most nonpayment eviction cases on the same path they follow. RR appears more likely to change outcomes when the amount owed is below the threshold set for the unit size.
Because the trigger is tied to citywide fair market rent rather than a tenant's actual monthly rent, tenants in lower-cost apartments could get more than a month behind before reaching it, while tenants in higher-priced units could hit it by missing one month's rent. The measure's text does not directly resolve that disparity.
No published analysis has yet shown how often that mismatch might come up, leaving one of RR's main unknowns unanswered.
What's being done?
If voters pass RR, Santa Monica would replace the rule that allows an eviction case over any unpaid amount with a single citywide minimum for nonpayment cases.
Backers describe that approach as a targeted safeguard against destabilizing evictions over smaller debts. They have called the threshold "reasonable, common-sense" and cited records showing notices tied to balances far below a month's typical rent, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported.
Landlords, however, would still retain other ways to seek unpaid rent, and the city attorney's analysis says those collection options would remain available outside the eviction process, per the Santa Monica Daily Press. In effect, the measure could change when a tenant can be removed without taking away other paths for a property owner to pursue the money.
There has been little visible organized opposition. No ballot argument or formal opposition campaign was filed against RR, although a regional landlord group told the City Council the measure could let tenants "fall too far behind to catch up," per the Santa Monica Daily Press.
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