Santa Barbara County Municipal Code § 44-28 Mandatory offer of residential lease

In addition to the exceptions provided in section 44-22, article V of chapter 44 shall not apply to:

(A) A rental unit occupied by a tenant who subleases that unit to another tenant for less than one year.

(B) A rental unit where tenancy is an express condition of, or consideration for employment under a written rental agreement or contract.

(C) Lawfully operated vacation rentals.

(Ord. No. 5186, § 4, 7-11-2023)

(A) For termination of tenancy pursuant to subsection 44-25(B)(2), the owner shall provide the tenant of the unit at the time of termination a written right of first refusal to re-occupy the unit when it is ready to be occupied or for up to two years, whichever is earlier, if:

(1) The tenant has provided to the owner current contact information at which to receive an right of first refusal to re-occupy the unit.

(2) The tenant returns to the owner an affirmative written acceptance of the offer to return to and rent the unit within thirty days of delivery.

(B) The written offer to re-occupy the unit shall include a written rental price, the proposed terms, and any security deposit required.

(1) Where applicable, the rental price shall be established in accordance with Civil Code Section 1954.53.

(2) Where applicable, the term offered shall be in accordance with article V.

(Ord. No. 5186, § 4, 7-11-2023)

(A) If a tenant or prospective tenant wishes to rent a rental unit from an owner and if the owner wishes to rent the rental unit to the tenant or prospective tenant, the owner must offer to the tenant or prospective tenant a written lease which has a minimum term of one year. The offer must be made in writing. The owner's signing of a lease which has a minimum term of one year shall be considered an offer in writing.

(B) If the tenant or prospective tenant accepts the offer of a written lease which has a minimum term of one year, this acceptance must be in writing, dated and signed by the tenant. The tenant or prospective tenant's signing of a lease signed by the owner which has a minimum term of one year will be considered an acceptance. The tenant shall bear the burden of proving that they accepted the lease offer.

(C) If the tenant or prospective tenant rejects the offer for a written lease which has a minimum term of one year, this rejection must be in writing and signed by the tenant on a dated single-page form which is either: (1) made available through the county's website; or (2) prepared by the owner or tenant to communicate the rejection. On or after the date the rejection is signed and delivered, the owner and tenant or prospective tenant may then enter into an agreement, that provides for a rental term of less than one year. The owner shall have the burden of proving that the lease offer was made to the tenant and whether the tenant accepted or rejected the offer.

(D) If the owner and tenant enter into a written lease which has a minimum term of one year, such lease must set the rent for the rental unit at a rate or rates certain and these rates shall not be otherwise modified during the initial term of such lease.

(E) If both the owner and the tenant wish to continue the rental relationship, upon the expiration of the initial lease which has a minimum term of one year, a lease shall be offered again in accordance with the procedures of this section.

a) Leases with a term of one year shall be offered annually.

b) Leases with a term longer than one year shall be renewable at the expiration of each lease period for a minimum term of one year.

c) A landlord shall offer annually a written lease with a minimum term of one year to a tenant who rejected an initial offer of a written lease with a minimum term of one year but who has rented a unit from the landlord for a period of at least twelve months.

(F) If the owner does not wish to continue the rental relationship, then at the time the owner delivers notice of such termination, the tenant shall be offered a one-session conciliation meeting with the owner using a publicly funded housing mediation service, if available, or a qualified mediator of mutual choice and provided at mutual expense. The results of any conciliation meeting shall not be binding unless agreed to by the owner and tenant. A tenant need not participate in a conciliation meeting. The remedies available under this chapter shall not be affected by a tenant's inability or refusal to participate in conciliation.

(G) If a rental unit is rented without a written lease, then within ninety days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, the owner shall offer a written lease to the tenant in accordance with the Civil Code.

(Ord. No. 5186, § 4, 7-11-2023)