The Santa Monica Rent Control Board’s 2025 Annual Report (pdf) highlights a year of notable policy updates and programmatic changes aimed at strengthening tenant protections and improving oversight. Among the key accomplishments, the Board adopted new rules to limit large, banked rent increases, a shift from prior years that allowed landlords to accumulate and apply significant rent hikes at once. The agency also expanded monitoring of deed-restricted affordable units and increased outreach efforts to better inform tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities. The report notes continued adaptation to evolving state laws, including ongoing implementation of Costa-Hawkins and the Ellis Act.
Additional updates include improvements to administrative processes, such as more efficient handling of petitions and hearings, and continued enforcement efforts related to evictions and exemptions. The Board also remained active in legal and policy discussions affecting rent control, signaling a more engaged role compared to earlier years. Overall, the report presents an agency making incremental but meaningful changes to strengthen protections while navigating ongoing housing pressures.
In his weekly report, City Manager Oliver Chi listed the accomplishments of the Board and staff during 2025. In particular:
- The Board adopted a significant new regulation in October 2025 limiting the implementation of accumulated, or “banked,” general adjustment rent increases to no more than 10% in any 12-month period. Property owners may still reach the Maximum Allowable Rent for a unit, but increases must now be phased rather than applied all at once.
- The Agency also implemented an enhanced monitoring effort for deed-restricted units, contacting all owners to verify rents and tenant eligibility. Compliance was nearly 100%, with staff following up on a small number of units where verification remains outstanding.
- A targeted enforcement initiative focused on collecting long-outstanding registration fees resulted in the recovery of more than $117,000 in delinquent fees and reduced the number of properties with multi-year delinquencies by approximately one-third.
- On the housing stock itself, Santa Monica had 27,589 controlled rental units as of December 31, 2025, a net decrease of 79 units during the year. The decline was largely attributable to exemptions and changes in property status, including one large property (Holiday Villa East at 1447 17th Street) converting to a State-licensed residential care facility. This action removed 86 units from rent control jurisdiction.
- For all but studio apartments, a six-figure household income is now needed for a market-rate rent-controlled unit to be considered affordable by HUD standards.
- Median initial rents in 2025 continued to set record highs across all unit sizes, though increases have been modest over the past three years (less than 2% annually), suggesting the market may be approaching a ceiling at current price levels.
- Median initial rents in 2025 were $2,100 for studios, $2,700 for one-bedrooms, $3,675 for two-bedrooms, and $4,895 for three-or-more-bedroom units.
- Ellis Act activity saw 34 units withdrawn from the rental market in 2025, while 18 formerly withdrawn units and two units on a redeveloped property were returned, resulting in a net loss of 14 controlled units.
The City of Santa Monica’s Rent Control Department oversees and enforces the city’s rent control law, which was adopted by voters in 1979 to address rising rents and low vacancy rates. The department regulates allowable rents, ensures landlords maintain required services and amenities, limits evictions, and prevents improper removal of rental units from the market, while also ensuring property owners receive a fair return. It provides resources for tenants and landlords, including tools to look up maximum allowable rent, file petitions, register properties, and access information about rights and responsibilities under the law.
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