Milpitas City Council Rejects Rent Control, Eviction Ordinances

MILPITAS, CA -- Two proposed Milpitas ordinances that proponents say would have protected renters were rejected by the City Council on a 3-2 vote Tuesday night.

One proposed ordinance mandated rent control and the other was regarding "just cause" evictions. The rent control ordinance, had it passed, would have capped price increases at seven percent of the Consumer Price Index for the year before, and only included properties built before 1995.

Roughly 200 buildings in Milpitas — around 2,500 units total — would have been impacted, but single-family homes, which make up 2 out of 3 homes in Milpitas according to city officials, would not have been subject to rent control under the ordinance.

The just cause ordinance would have required landlords to have legitimate grounds for eviction, like failure to pay rent, engaging in illegal conduct, or breaching a lease.

Mayor Rich Tran and Vice Mayor Karina Dominguez voted in favor of the ordinances, but were outnumbered by 'no' votes from Council members Carmen Montano, Bob Nuñez and Anthony Phan.