Rental Housing Mediation Resources

California Rural Legal Assistance
CRLA is a non-profit legal service program with a mission to strive for economic justice and human rights on behalf of the rural poor.

Lawyer Referral Service of Santa Barbara County
This Program is the only non-profit, local lawyer referral service sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Bar Association and certified by the State Bar of California. No cost for attorney referral and 30 minutes initial consultation.

Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County
Free civil legal services to low – income families and senior citizens

Legal Resource Center (LRC) of Santa Barbara
Local self-service legal resources center, staffed by a California licensed attorney and open to the public. No income limitations and no cost for service.

Santa Barbara Small Claims
Your claims cannot be more than $10,000 on a claim by a natural person. Small Claims is a court where you can exercise your rights to resolve a dispute.  Attorneys are not permitted to represent either plaintiffs or defendants (attorneys are allowed in Small Claims appeals). 

California State Offices Americans with Disabilities Act Information
Call to receive general and technical information, order free materials and ADA Standards, to use fax-back service for materials.

Department of Consumer Affairs
Promotes and protects the interests of California consumers. Helps consumers learn how to protect themselves from unqualified individuals as well as helps professionals from unfair competition by unlicensed practitioners.

State Fair Employment & Housing Office
Housing discrimination complaints, hate crimes, and harassment. If there is a lawsuit alleging discrimination, there’s no need to file a complaint with the State Fair Employment & Housing Office. A lawsuit can be filed directly by the person or person’s attorney.

Department of Real Estate
Complaints against Brokers or Real Estate agents.

County of Santa Barbara Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
Provides information on health and environment, public justice and safety, traffic and transportation, and other useful resources.

Environmental Health Services
Offers a balanced program of environmental monitoring, innovative leadership, community education, emergency response and enforcement.

Fire Prevention Bureau / "PackRat"
"Hoarding" support.
Site investigation, Specialist in working with people with OC Disorder resulting in “packrat” behavior.

Fair Housing Enforcement Program
Assists people who believe they have experienced discrimination in the rental of housing in the City of Santa Barbara. Provides information on housing discrimination and investigates complaints.

Solid Waste Code Enforcement
Provides information and support with visual blight including trash removal & graffiti and promote recycling.

Building and Zoning Code Violations
Handles health and safety concerns, and land use and sign violations. Potential code violations can be reported by phone, email or in-person. Zoning violations include: illegal dwelling units, unlicensed vacation rentals, and commercial uses in a residential zone.

Better Business Bureau of the Tri-Counties
Serving the Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. They offer conciliation, mediation, informal dispute resolution (IDS), conditionally-binding arbitration, and binding arbitration to consumers after they have attempted to deal with the situation with the business.

Court Administered Dispute Resolution (CADRe)
This “multi-door courthouse” model is designed to offer litigants with pending civil cases several alternatives for resolution of their cases other than traditional litigation of the dispute: Mediation, Binding Arbitration, and Early Neutral Evaluation are used along with the existing litigation format.

Conflict Solutions Center
Offers small claims, civil harassment and restorative justice mediation. Mediates situations including workplace, neighborhood, landlord and tenant, youthful offender, consumer, business, family and community. Special youth programs and dispute resolution training also available.

Long Term Care Ombudsman Services of Santa Barbara County
Investigate and mediate complaints on long term facilities (nursing homes).

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Consumer Mediation Program
Offers consumer mediation for the following types of complaints: telemarketing, retail services, automobile repairs, home improvement. Form to submit for complaint for mediation is available on website or can be requested by phone or in writing.

Santa Barbara Association of Realtors
Offers mediation of real estate disputes.

UCSB / Community Housing Office
Rental information and mediation services for UCSB students, faculty and staff.

CAUSE
CAUSE is a base-building organization committed to social, economic, and environmental justice for working-class and immigrant communities in California’s Central Coast.

Santa Barbara Rental Property Association
Legislative representation at the state level, and educational programs and training to members and the public.

2-1-1 Santa Barbara County
2-1-1 is a comprehensive information and referral system connecting people to various resource guides.

SENIORS
Alexander House Foundation 
Offers financial assistance for housing for fixed income seniors. Must be 65 years or older and a resident of Santa Barbara for at least 10 years and low income. Call (805) 966-3665.

Area Agency on Aging
Maintain seniors' independence. Care for the frail elderly.

Family Service Agency
Provides mental health counseling for children, families and seniors; Family Support Services (access to basic needs, parenting education, Medi-cal applications, and case management); Caregiver Support, and Long-term Care Ombudsman.

CommUnify
CommUnify is a nonprofit organization that works collaboratively with the community to find innovative solutions to assist Santa Barbara County residents in living healthy, resilient and financially secure lives.  Offers assistance with rent and security deposits when funds are available, and  a variety of education and support services.

Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara
The Housing Authority functions primarily to build, acquire, own, manage and maintain residential rental units for persons of extremely low income (less than 30% of area median income), very low income (less than 50% of area median income), and to obtain rental payment assistance for similar households renting in the private real estate market. Operating through a central administrative office in Lompoc and housing management and maintenance offices in Goleta, Lompoc, and Santa Maria, the Housing Authority provides direct services to applicants, tenants and private property owners. The Housing Authority is the largest property management organization in the County.

Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara
The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is an award winning local public agency that provides safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible persons with limited incomes.

Family Service Agency of Santa Barbara County (FSA)
Family Service Agency (FSA) is a nonprofit human service organizations. Their goal is to help create and preserve a healthy community.

Domestic Violence Solutions
Provides confidential emergency shelter and on-going support groups for battered women and their children. Prospective clients are assessed on the phone by a client advocate.

Independent Living Resource Center
Assists with Housing, Personal Assistance, Interpreting, Peer Support, Assistive Technology, Youth Transition, and Older Individuals Who are Blind (OIB), Advocacy, and Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Must be a person with a disability.

Jewish Family Service, a Department of of the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara
Provides crisis intervention, information and referrals, advocacy, financial aid and counseling

Santa Barbara Rescue Mission
Provides emergency services to people bringing physical, emotional, educational and spiritual resources to all who struggle with homelessness and addiction.

The Salvation Army Santa Barbara Transition and Recovery Center 
The Santa Barbara Hospitality House provides Transitional Shelter that assists adults that are 18 years of age and over. The shelter’s overall objective is for residents to become self-sufficient by obtaining and maintaining secure income and transitioning into safe housing.

United Way
United Way's mission is to enrich the lives of children and families and build resilient communities by leading local programs and partnerships, financial empowerment, and crisis response and recovery.

Housing Transition Resource Guide

You are considered homeless if you do not have a fixed regular nighttime residence or your primary nighttime residence is a temporary accommodation in a supervised shelter, a halfway house, the residence of another person; or a place not designed for regular sleeping, such as a hallway, bus station or lobby.

Mobile Home Ombudsman Section
For questions / complaints regarding health & safety, or to obtain a copy of rental rules pertaining to mobile homes / trailers.

Mobilehome Residency Law

Golden State Manufactured-Home Owners League
GSMOL Home Office

County of Santa Barbara Mobile Home Rent Control
County Counsel
Rules and regulations pertaining to Mobile Home Rent Control within Santa Barbara County.

105 E. Anapamu St., Suite 201, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 568-2950 Maria Novatt

City of Santa Barbara Mobile Home Municipal Code
Santa Barbara Municipal Code Title 26: HOUSING REGULATIONS

Mobile Home Rent Control
The Mobile Home Rent Control Program is a component of the City of Santa Barbara's Community Development Department. It offers information on rent increases. 

630 Garden St., 2nd Fl., Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 564-5461