SAN DIEGO — New statewide legislation that would increase protections for California renters is now gaining support.
This comes as San Diego is eyeing new rules that would keep more tenants in their homes.
However, it may come too late for for some local renters currently facing eviction.
While the City of Chula Vista passed the strongest renter protections in the county earlier this year, San Diego renters not living in Chula Vista currently lack protection from no-fault evictions, even if they have paid their rent on time and abided by the terms of their lease.
Imperial Beach resident Patricia Mendoza is one of those tenants.
Dozens rallied outside the Imperial Beach apartment on Monday where Mendoza has been living with her two kids since 2017.
It is the home from which Mendoza said her landlord is now trying to force her out, so he can bring in another tenant at significantly higher rent
"It's greed," Mendoza said, "it's called greediness!"
Mendoza said that her landlord is using a loophole in the law, permitting an eviction for a "substantial remodel," although Mendoza said that the plumbing work that needs done would only take three days to complete.
"For a three-day maximum job you're going to kick out a tenant because... because you're losing money," Mendoza told CBS 8.
CBS 8 has reached out Mendoza's landlord but has not yet heard back.
In the meantime, Mendoza and her supporters are fighting for the passage of Senate Bill 567, known as the Homelessness Prevention Act: statewide legislation that would close current loopholes for no-fault evictions and also narrow the cap on permissible rent increases, now at ten percent annually.
"We need to pass SB 567 to keep people in their homes and to protect tenants," she added, "Not just me and my family but families all over the state of California."
Among them is Linda Vista resident Francisco Hernandez, who has lived in his one-bedroom unit with his family since 2006.
"It's been a really hard road for us," Hernandez said.
While current on his rent, he says his landlord is now trying to force him out, claiming his 10-year-old dog Dixie is now a lease violation.
"Everybody else coming in here, the new tenants.. they got dogs, a lot of them got dogs and pets," Hernandez added.
Hernandez believes the property owner wants his family out.so they can charge triple the current rent to a new tenant.
Meanwhile, Hernandez fears his family could end up with no home.
"What's going to happen? The streets of San Diego are going to be filled with homeless people?," he asked.
"Don't try to find a solution after when everything is under water," he added. "Right now is the time to do something: it's now!"
WATCH RELATED: What to know about Chula Vista's new renter protections (Feb. 2023).