Marin County Tenant Protections

Tenants that live in a city or town located in unincorporated Marin County have eviction protection and have access to a mediation program for rent increase disputes.  There are dozens of cities and towns in the county that are unincorporated and covered under the county’s ordinances.

The county’s Just Cause For Eviction Ordinance protects tenants from eviction unless there is a just-cause reason to terminate their tenancy under the law.  Just-cause reasons may be a for-fault reason or a no-fault reason. Some common for-fault reasons are that the tenant has not paid rent, has breached a lease term, or is causing a nuisance.  Owner move-in evictions (a landlord or their relative seeks to move into the unit) and Ellis Act evictions (the landlord desires to permanently remove the unit from the rental market) are common no-fault reasons for eviction.  It is important to know that, unlike other jurisdictions with eviction control ordinances, the county does not require relocation assistance to be paid to tenants that are evicted for a no-fault reason.

Tenants should be aware that they do not have rent control in unincorporated Marin County. Instead, the Rental Housing Dispute Resolution Ordinance is a way for tenants to respond to a rent increase by initiating mediation to negotiate with their landlord.  Tenants that have received a rent increase above 5% in a twelve-month period are eligible for the dispute resolution services through this ordinance.

Because unincorporated Marin County’s Rental Housing Dispute Resolution Ordinance is not a rent control ordinance that caps the amount that a tenant’s rent can be increased, the rent-ceiling protections of the State of California Tenant Protection Act of 2019 (“State Rent Control Law”) may apply.  The new State Rent Control Law applies to all units in the unincorporated areas of the county, which are not otherwise covered by a local rent control ordinance, if the building was built more than fifteen years ago, and as long as the unit meets all other requirements under the state’s law (most single family homes are not covered though).  Under the State Rent Control Law, a tenant’s rent may not be raised more than 5% plus the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the total amount not to exceed 10%.  This means that tenants in unincorporated Marin County who receive a rent increase above 5% but less than the state rent-cap amount should proceed with the county’s mediation process to resolve a rent increase dispute.  However, for tenants who receive rent increases that exceed the State Rent Control Law’s allowable maximum, the increase dispute will need to be resolved in court, not through the county’s mediation program.

Tenants should speak with a tenant attorney and read our guide on the Unincorporated Marin County Rent Control laws to determine if their unit is in an area that is regulated by these ordinances and to understand their rights.