Victory for San Diego Tenants: Successful Lawsuit Protects Against Illegal Rent Hikes

SAN DIEGO, C.A.—This week, after 20 months of public records litigation, the San Diego Housing Commission has agreed to provide data regarding illegal rent increases it approved and funded—a victory not only for voucher tenants, but also for government transparency. This agreement ensures that the public can monitor how the Commission is spending public funds by having timely access to data containing rent increases it is approving and subsidizing for private landlords.

This comes on the heels of a victory in another lawsuit brought by the San Diego Tenants Union and community organizer Francine Maxwell. The National Housing Law Project represented Francine Maxwell alongside the Union, to protect San Diego voucher tenants from such illegal rent hikes approved by the Commission. The lawsuit detailed how the Commission administered its rent increase approval policy in a manner that disregarded both the state rent cap and the statutory notice requirement for units exempt from the cap.

After more than two years of litigation, filed after the Commission ignored policy advocacy, the Commission brought its rent increase policy into compliance with state laws.

“This is a hard-won battle for our community after spending years fighting for the San Diego Housing Commission to put tenants above the profits of landlords it does business with,” said Francine Maxwell. “While we’re thrilled with these wins, it should not take litigation to force the Commission to follow state laws put in place to protect tenants.”

“San Diego, like the rest of the country, is grappling with a housing crisis and limited voucher funds. Denying exorbitant and illegal rent increase requests from landlords is the bare minimum required of San Diego Housing Commission. Yet, the Commission was disregarding tenant protection laws and imposing blatantly illegal rent increases, including a 97% increase on a 79-year-old woman who relied on full-time oxygen,” said Rafael Bautista, Director of San Diego Tenants Union. “While this is an excellent outcome, we will continue to monitor the Commission’s full compliance with the law and its legal commitment to engage with us before making any future changes to a key aspect of its rent increase approval procedure.”

For years, the San Diego Housing Commission approved private landlords’ requests for exorbitant rent increases, diverting limited Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher funds to subsidize those increases and leaving fewer families in the city able to receive vouchers and the housing stability they provide. The Commission’s willful disregard of state laws contributed to longer waitlists, increased homelessness, and housing discrimination.

“This outcome will ensure tenants receive the protections afforded to them under state law, preserve scarce public funds, prompt other housing authorities in the state to ensure compliance with state law, and advance the Housing Choice Voucher program’s true purpose–to keep the lowest income tenants and families stably housed,” said attorney Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi, who had represented the plaintiffs as National Housing Law Project’s Director of California Advocacy.

As part of the settlement, the Commission must notify and discuss with the plaintiffs before making any substantive change to the 90-day notice requirement, a key aspect of its rent increase approval procedure.

Read the full text of the illegal rent increase complaint here, and the full text of the public records complaint here.