Rent Control limits rent increases. The law reduces displacement pressures for tenants; allows for incomes to keep pace with rents. The current statewide Rent Control under the Tenant Protection Act excludes multiple housing types, like single-family homes and new deveolopments built in the last 15 years.

An eviction freeze or moratorium, is a temporary legal halt stopping landlords from removing tenants from their homes during emergencies or crises. These orders generally stop evictions for nonpayment of rent. Sonoma County enacted a disaster-triggered eviction freeze in 2024. 

Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) are policies designed to prevent displacement by giving tenants or qualified nonprofits the first right to buy rental buildings when owners sell.

Rent boards mediate between tenants and landlords, including on issues related to rent increases. Some make binding decisions others encourage voluntary agreements. Rent boards can either be independently elected or appointed by officials. No Rent Board exists in any SoCo jurisdiction. 

Tenant anti-harassment protections prevent landlords from harassing tenants as a means to encourage them to leave their homes. Existing federal, state, and local fair housing laws provide baseline protections, but local protections could be strengthened in Sonoma County.

Mobile home park protections can help preserve parks and keep them affordable. Strong local protections set limits on space rent increases, and provide safeguards around proposals to close or redevelop parks to help keep parks open and residents in their homes. 

The Tenant Right to Organize protects the right to form an association with your neighbors and legally requires the landlord to meet and negotiate with the tenant association. It includes new protections for flyering, canvassing, and holding tenant meetings. It currently only exists in San Francisco and Berkeley. 

Rent boards mediate between tenants and landlords, including on issues related to rent increases. Some make binding decisions others encourage voluntary agreements. Rent boards can either be independently elected or appointed by officials. No Rent Board exists in any SoCo jurisdiction. 

Right to Return policies prioritize previously displaced renters in the application process for new affordable housing. City or county ordinances encourage renters to return to the communities they were originally displaced from.