SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -
April 6, 2026 -
PRLog -- A lawsuit was filed by four separate apartment property owners as well as the Santa Barbara Rental Property Association (SBRPA) on April 3 in federal district court in Los Angeles seeking an injunction to stop the enforcement of the rent freeze and eviction restriction ordinances imposed by the City of Santa Barbara. (
SBRPA v. City of Santa Barbara, City Council of the City of Santa Barbara, et. al., U.S. District Court, Central District of Calif., Western Division, Case No. 2:26-cv-03602, April 3, 2026).
The suit was filed by the Santa Barbara law firm Cappello & Noël LLP on behalf of SBRPA.
"The complaint demonstrates a wide range of constitutional violations,"
says Barry Cappello, managing partner of Cappello & Noël, and one of the attorneys at the firm representing the association. "It shows how arbitrary and capricious, and how rushed this ordinance process was, providing proof of its unconstitutionality."
SBRPA members include more than 1,000 individuals and entities who own, manage, and provide services to over 23,000 rental housing units in the City of Santa Barbara. SBRPA is bringing this challenge on behalf of itself and its affected owner-members.
"The City Council failed to conduct adequate due diligence and dismissed legitimate concerns about the long-term effects of rent control when it passed these ordinances,"
says Cappello. "The individual property owners who filed suit are standing for all other Santa Barbara property owners. These residential rental property owners and the SBRPA had no other choice but to take legal action."
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