San Pablo voters will decide this November whether to adopt one of the strictest local rent caps in the region, a measure that would limit annual increases on apartments to just 3 percent or 60 percent of the change in the local Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The proposal, known as Measure S, arrives as housing costs continue to rise across the city, and it sets up a direct clash between tenant organizers, landlord groups, and a city government already grappling with its own budget troubles.
As CBS News reported, San Pablo voters will decide Measure S, which would enact rent control along with other tenant protections in the city. The proposed cap is notably tighter than what state law currently allows: California's AB 1482 permits annual rent increases of up to 5 percent plus inflation, capped at 10 percent, according to the Richmond Standard. Measure S would replace that state standard locally with a much stricter formula for fully covered units.
The measure would establish local rules for rental units, including single-family homes.
Council Sends Measure to Voters After Cost Estimate
Measure S reached the November 3 ballot, according to the Richmond Standard's reporting. The measure went to voters rather than being adopted outright.
The measure's path to the ballot began with grassroots organizing. Community groups Rising Juntos and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment submitted 2,420 signatures to qualify Measure S, and Contra Costa County Elections validated 1,719 of them, clearing the required threshold of 1,325, according to the Richmond Standard. Advocates launched the petition after criticizing city officials for failing to curb rising rents, per the same account.
Registry Repeal Adds a Twist
In a move that stands in contrast to the rent-cap push, the San Pablo City Council voted unanimously on second reading on June 15, 2026, to repeal the city's rent registry, which had tracked local rental property data since 2024, the Richmond Standard notes. Council members supported the repeal after determining that the registry created administrative burdens, the outlet reports — a decision made just one month before the council advanced Measure S to voters.
Beyond capping rent hikes, Measure S also imposes local just-cause eviction requirements, mandatory relocation payments for no-fault evictions, and a formal petition process letting landlords request individual rent adjustments for a “fair return,” according to the California Apartment Association, which strongly opposes the regulatory provisions.
Renters Make Up Majority of San Pablo Households
The debate lands in a city where tenants form a clear majority. Renters occupy 58 percent of all households in San Pablo, or 5,652 of 9,545 occupied housing units, compared to 42 percent owner-occupied households, according to RentCafe. That majority-renter makeup could shape how the vote plays out at the ballot box.
Census data adds further context to the stakes for local renters.
A Second Measure Looms on the Same Ballot
Measure S won't be the only fiscal question facing San Pablo voters this fall. The city will also ask residents to weigh in on Measure R, a proposed half-cent sales tax increase intended to generate $2 million annually toward closing a $4.4 million structural budget deficit through 2028, according to the City of San Pablo. The potential cost of administering rent control would add to the broader fiscal picture voters will be asked to address.
San Pablo isn't alone in weighing tighter local rent rules this cycle. The measure is part of a broader 2026 regional push across Northern California, with voters in Redwood City and Salinas also considering municipal rent control tighter than state law, according to Housing Is A Human Right. Neighboring Richmond has also seen similar measures pass, the group notes, placing San Pablo's vote within a wider pattern of Bay Area tenant activism.
