Housing affordability crisis in Salinas, California affects thousands of working families
More than half the city rents. Without protections, the majority of Salinas families are vulnerable.
Over half of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on housing, leaving less for food, healthcare, and savings.
What families could save each year if they only paid what they could afford. That money stays in Salinas.
As of February 2026, what Salinas renters pay every month. For many families, that is more than they can sustain.
In Salinas, buying costs nearly double what renting does. The national average is 46%. Renters here are trapped with no way out.
Despite claims that tenant protections would hurt business investment, the ordinances generated $1.4 million in revenue while actual costs were far lower. Yet the Salinas City Council repealed all four tenant protection ordinances on May 13, 2025 – just months after they took effect. Now families face an uncertain future while the next major affordable housing won't be completed until 2030.
These ordinances formed a comprehensive tenant protection package - all repealed in May 2025
Capped annual rent increases to up to a maximum of 2.75%.
Gave renters predictable housing costs and prevented sudden unaffordable hikes.
Required landlords to provide a valid reason for evicting tenants, such as nonpayment, lease violation, or owner move-in.
Protected tenants from arbitrary or retaliatory evictions, encouraging long-term tenancy and neighborhood stability.
Prohibited landlords from engaging in practices that intimidate or coerce tenants, such as shutting off utilities or threatening undocumented tenants.
Created safer rental environments and reinforced the rights of vulnerable populations.
Required landlords to register rental units and report rent amounts annually.
Enabled the city to track rent trends, identify bad actors, and enforce rent protections fairly.
On May 13, 2025, the Salinas City Council voted 5-2 to repeal all tenant protections, despite evidence they were working:
Without local protections, California state law allows:
California state law allows increases of 5% + local inflation (currently ~3-4%), or 10% maximum. That's $200-$300+ more per month on average rents.
State law provides fewer safeguards against no-fault evictions compared to Salinas' stronger local protections that were repealed.
Teachers, farmworkers, and healthcare workers - the backbone of our community - increasingly cannot afford to live where they work.
Critical Gap: The next major affordable housing project won't be completed until 2030. Families need protection now, not in five years.
Their claims don't hold up to scrutiny - and the stakes for California are too high
When rental properties convert to owner-occupied homes, working families get a chance to build wealth through homeownership instead of paying rent to investors. This strengthens communities and creates stable neighborhoods.
Salinas' tenant protection programs brought in $1.4 million in revenue while actual costs were significantly lower. They were financially successful, not burdensome. The opposition lied about the economics.
Salinas won't see major affordable housing until 2030. What are families supposed to do for the next 5 years while developers profit and workers get displaced? Protection and construction aren't mutually exclusive.
When teachers, farmworkers, and healthcare workers can't afford to live where they work, entire communities collapse. Businesses lose their workforce. Who will teach our kids and care for our elderly if we price out essential workers?
If investors only want to profit by exploiting working families with unlimited rent hikes, we don't want their money. Responsible investors who provide fair housing can still make money under reasonable regulations.
Cities across California have implemented similar protections within Costa-Hawkins limitations. Salinas' ordinances were carefully crafted to comply with state law. The legal fears were manufactured to kill popular policies.
Salinas was the first rural, majority-Latino city in Monterey County to pass comprehensive tenant protections. If these policies fail here, landlord groups will use our defeat as a template to kill similar protections statewide. If we restore them, we prove that housing justice can work in agricultural communities across California. The entire state's housing justice movement is watching Salinas. We cannot let corporate landlords win.
These policies were working - generating revenue while protecting families. The repeal prioritized property owner profits over community stability. We can restore them.
Data and research supporting our campaign for housing justice