County housing inspections to continue in Isla Vista despite rental group’s opposition in court
ISLA VISTA, Calif. – In response to a county ordinance requiring inspections of rental properties passed last year, the Isla Vista Rental Property Owners Association filed a lawsuit arguing the requirements violate federal and state tenant protections.
In May of this year, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed Ordinance 25ORD-00005, also known as the Isla Vista Rental Housing Inspection Pilot Program Ordinance, which requires rental property owners in Isla Vista to register with the County Planning and Development Department and submit to inspections of their properties by county authorities.
Funding for the new inspection regime came from an agreement that settled a lawsuit between the county and the Regents of the University of California system regarding housing obligations as the student population at UC Santa Barbara grows.
Isla Vista is densely populated by students during the Fall and Spring semester.
According to the County of Santa Barbara, 87 percent of all residents are renters and 96 percent of the residents are college-aged.
The Board of Supervisors designated $600,000 from those settlement funds for the 12-month program as part of agreement between the local government and the higher education organization to develop mutually beneficial projects.
Inspections of health and safety violations as well as unpermitted construction started this summer with an eye to inspect the entire community before the start of the Fall semester at nearby UC Santa Barbara.
Property owners or designated representatives are required by the ordinance to be notified 15 days before a scheduled inspection and are responsible for alerting tenants and facilitating access.
The ordinance exempts buildings built within the past three years or rentals already subject to routine compliance inspections.
In response, a non-profit, mutual benefit corporation representing rental property owners in and around Isla Vista was founded and filed a civil lawsuit seeking injunctive relief by blocking the inspections authorized by the ordinance.
The lawsuit, filed in late July in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, argued that, "the Ordinance compels owners of rental properties in Isla Vista to register the properties as well as notice and participate in an inspection of the properties. This Ordinance requires an owner to enter a tenant’s dwelling unit in violation of California Civil Code section 1954. The Ordinance also violates the US Constitution because it constitutes an illegal search, violates due process, violates equal protection, and is preempted by State law."
The County of Santa Barbara filed its opposition to the injunctive relief sought by the rental property group which was denied its request to halt the pilot program as the lawsuit works its way through the court system.
The opposition to the request for injunctive relief noted, "Rental inspection and maintenance programs like the Ordinance are not unique or untested. Both the First and Sixth Appellate Districts have had the opportunity to review challenges to similar proactive rental inspection programs and have upheld the programs after considering each of the concerns raised in Plaintiff’s Complaint."
The County's response further highlighted that the California State Housing Law authorizes proactive inspections without permit applications or a direct complaint of a violation.
The lawsuit argued that the ordinance unfairly targeted the Isla Vista community stating, "there is no rational basis for selectively implementing inspections within the Isla Vista community while excluding other communities within the County. Isla Vista does not have any higher incidence of habitability or safety complaints as compared to other areas of the County of Santa Barbara. The community of Isla Vista does not report more incidents of health or safety concerns than other areas of the County."
In response, the County of Santa Barbara detailed that, "The Ordinance states its purpose as to 'protect the public health, safety, and welfare through the identification, prevention, and correction of substandard housing conditions that adversely affect the quality of life for residents living in the community and around the rental properties' (SBC § 10-18.1(A).) and 'to proactively identify such substandard and unsafe residential rental buildings and units and ensure the rehabilitation or elimination of those buildings and dwelling units that do not meet minimum housing and building codes.' (SBC § 10-18.1(B).) The Ordinance further states a finding that 'there exists, within the unincorporated area of the Community of Isla Vista, substandard, overcrowded, and/or unsanitary residential rental buildings and units where the physical and habitable conditions violate state and local housing and building codes and standards which results in making them unfit or unsafe for human occupancy or habitation.' (SBC § 10-18.1(A).)."
"[T]he Board of Supervisors finds that tenants within the unincorporated community of Isla Vista are reluctant to report Building Code violations or other dangerous conditions to the County in fear of retaliation by their landlord," further argued the County in its response to the lawsuit. "In contrast [with the Isla Vista Rental Property Owners Association] the County and public will suffer substantial harm if a preliminary injunction was issued. The inspections under the Ordinance were intended to be conducted prior to the start of the University of California, Santa Barbara academic school year, so as to lessen the disruption to the majority of Isla Vista occupants in rental properties."
There are still opportunities for the Isla Vista Rental Property Owners Association to make additional attempts to halt the inspections before the first day of classes for the Fall Semester at Santa Barbara City College on Aug. 25 and the beginning of the Fall Quarter at UC Santa Barbara on Sep. 21, 2025.
