What Salinas residents should know about Measure H

By Tyler Sullivan, staff attorney at California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.

For months, a Salinas family watched their children's asthma worsen while the mold they suspected spread inside their walls. They asked their landlord to address the troubling issue, hoping for some relief, and heard nothing. They returned with a second plea which included a doctor's note describing the children's worsening symptoms; still their landlord did nothing, ignoring the needs of his tenants—worried parents and sick children. 

I've been a housing attorney long enough that stories like this shouldn't shock me. They still do. Not because they're rare, but because they aren't. 

At California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., which has provided free legal help to low-income Californians for 60 years, I work with families across Monterey County who live with mold, leaks, rodents and broken stairs. They're often afraid to speak up because they fear retaliation. Our attorneys and community workers have seen retaliation. Our staff also see families face the choice between their children's health and keeping a roof over their heads. 

This November, Salinas voters will decide on Measure H, which asks whether to keep or repeal four local tenant ordinances written to address situations like this one. The vote is all or nothing: every provision stays, or every provision goes. More than half of Salinas residents rent their homes, so the outcome affects much of the city. Because the ordinances only took effect in 2025, many residents, along with some landlords, lawyers and judges, don't yet know what they do. Here is a plain-language guide. 

Some of the rules are about stability. Under the Just Cause Eviction Ordinance, tenants can only be evicted for a legally recognized reason, such as not paying rent, violating the lease, or an owner moving in. That protection starts when a lease is signed and covers more renters in more situations than the state's Tenant Protection Act. The Rent Stabilization Ordinance caps annual increases at 2.75% or 75% of the latest 12-month rise in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. Landlords who aren't earning a fair return can petition the city for a larger rent increase. 

Others are about safety and respect. The Anti-Harassment Ordinance defines “harassment” and sets penalties for it. Landlord “harassment” includes shutting off utilities, entering a home repeatedly without notice, taking away something the lease promised, or failing to make legally necessary repairs. One family I worked with had rented a two-bedroom house for years when the landlord announced that the garage would be rented to someone else, with no reduction in rent. That garage held their storage, their children's play space, and one of their two bathrooms. Another family, whose adults understand limited English and had no written lease, endured repeated unannounced visits in which the landlord yelled over things like toys in the yard, often in front of their children. The ordinances are designed to help prevent similar situations. Refusing to make required repairs also counts as harassment, and that gives tenants a way to get action. If a landlord won't fix a basic health or safety problem, or stops providing a promised service like hot water, tenants can petition the city to lower the rent until the problem is fixed. For a family like the one living with mold, that means help that doesn't depend on a landlord's goodwill or a costly trip to court. 

Finally, the ordinances make sure people know the rules. Landlords must give tenants standard notices of their rights, which the city publishes online in English and Spanish. That matters for families like the one facing weekly visits they could barely understand. City staff answer questions from tenants and landlords alike, process rent petitions, and oversee a rental registry where landlords record their units and rents. The City then can use this information to track how the rules are working. 

When the City Council adopted these rules, it cited an imbalance in bargaining power between landlords and tenants, noting that renters often can't assert their legal rights for fear of retaliation. It also cited an affordability crisis in which more than half of Salinas renters struggle to keep up with rising rents. Salinas isn't alone in this approach. Oxnard, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Concord and Palm Springs are among the many cities with their own tenant protections. 

With most protections only beginning in 2025, there is not yet enough data to measure the ordinances' long-term effects on the power imbalance and affordability. In my practice so far, I've seen proposed rent hikes reduced, city staff explaining tenants' rights, and renters using the petition process to get repairs done with City oversight. 

Everyone who calls Salinas home should have a safe place to live and be treated with dignity. Many landlords already work that way; the ordinances were written with the ones who don't in mind. Whatever voters decide, every Salinas community member deserves to understand what is on the ballot. 

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