California’s state rent control law is exceptionally weak, capping annual rent increases at 10%, far more than most Fairfax renters can afford. (At this rate, a $3,000 rent would increase to nearly $4,000 in just three years.) Fairfax’s local law caps rent increases at 75% of inflation (or 5%, whichever is lower), making it sustainable for renters and fair for landlords.

Fairfax rent control has no impact on homeowners. Single-family homes are completely exempt from the rent stabilization ordinance and there are no new taxes associated with the new laws. They are paid for by a modest per-unit fee charged only to landlords, not homeowners. There is no evidence that rent control negatively impacts property values.

All landlords are guaranteed a fair rate of return under Fairfax’s rent control law. Any landlord who believes rent control is interfering with their ability to make a profit may petition the town to raise rents above the cap. Though according to their own public testimony, most small landlords already report issuing very modest rent increases, meaning they should not be affected by Fairfax’s rent control law.

Fairfax rent control caps annual rent increases at 75% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to ensure annual rent increases are sustainable for renters and fair for landlords. CPI is a general measurement of average prices across the economy. Historically, the cost of housing has risen far faster than most other prices. Housing is also the single largest category that determines the overall CPI average. Setting the rental cap at 75% (rather than 100%) of CPI takes into account the disproportionate role that housing costs have played in driving up inflation and determining CPI.

There is no evidence that rent control reduces new housing construction. Fairfax rent control does not apply to newly constructed units (or any units built after 1995), meaning it avoids any potential disincentive for new building. The number of units withdrawn from the market by landlords wishing to avoid regulation is minimal. Any negative impact of those few withdrawn units is far outweighed by the community benefit of preventing displacement and providing housing security for thousands of Fairfax residents.

Rent control caps annual rent increases for all tenants that it covers, lowering rents over time. There is no evidence that the marginal number of units withdrawn from the rental market by landlords wishing to avoid regulation results in higher rents. Insofar as limited supply drives higher housing costs, rent control plays a negligible role. To solve that problem, we need serious investments in affordable housing.

Fairfax’s just cause eviction law prevents arbitrary evictions by defining a list of good reasons (just causes) that a tenant can get evicted. These include both “at-fault” evictions, where the tenant has done something to justify their displacement and “no-fault” evictions, where the tenant has done nothing to justify their displacement. Fairfax’s law ensures that tenants who have followed the rules and are subjected to a no-fault eviction receive a modest relocation payment and are able to return to their unit if it goes back on the market. It also provides additional protections for tenants who are elderly, disabled, or terminally ill, and for students and teachers during the school year.

Landlords may still evict tenants who break the rules. If a tenant fails to pay rent, breaches the lease, creates a nuisance, performs illegal activities, threatens a violent crime, damages the property, or fails to give access to the landlord, they may be subject to an at-fault eviction. Tenants subjected to at-fault evictions are not entitled to relocation payments or any other protections under the just cause evictions law.

Landlords may evict their current tenant in order to move into the unit themselves or have a family member or caregiver move in. As a no-fault eviction, where the tenant has done nothing wrong to warrant displacement, the landlord is required to pay the tenant two months rent as a relocation payment. If the tenant is elderly, disabled, terminally ill, or has a child, then the relocation payment amount is three months rent. This is to ensure that the tenant family is able to find and afford a new place to live in the community.

The Fairfax Town Council passed the rent stabilization and just cause eviction ordinances in late 2022 after eight months of overwhelming public feedback urging them to stabilize rents and protect tenants from unfair evictions. They amended the laws in 2023 based on additional public input. Fairfax (like all of Marin) has some of the highest rents in the entire country. Half of Fairfax renters are rent-burdened (spending more than 30% of their income on rent) and more than a quarter are severely rent-burdened (spending more than 50% of their income on rent). Rent control and tenant protections allow Fairfax families, workers, and seniors to put down roots and be a part of the community.

Fairfax rent control limits annual rent increases for tenants living in multi-unit apartment buildings, duplexes, and ADUs/JADUs, as long as they were built before 1995. All single-family homes, condominiums, and rental units built after 1995 are exempt.

Fairfax’s just cause evictions law protects tenants living in multi-unit apartment buildings, duplexes, detached ADUs and JADUs, and single-family homes. Rented rooms inside single-family homes are exempt. Attached ADUs and JADUs where the owner lives in the primary residence are also exempt.

Under Fairfax’s just cause eviction law, subleasing can only replace tenants who leave on a one-for-one basis, allowing tenants to replace roommates who move out. The total number of tenants cannot exceed the original number on the lease and the remaining tenant must continue to reside in the unit as their primary residence. Landlords reserve the right to reasonably refuse a tenant's request to sublease.