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Cal Poly students demand rent control in SLO

June 22, 2023

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

A group of Cal Poly students spoke during public comment at a San Luis Obispo City Council meeting earlier this month calling for rent control and for officials to crack down on landlords not properly maintaining their properties. [New Times]

Prior to appearing at the June 6 council meeting, some students conducted interviews with about 100 of the peers who are living in off-campus neighborhoods. The group says it has documented mold and rodent infestations, building code violations, unresponsive property managers, absentee landlords and consistent rent increases. 

A total of eight Cal Poly students spoke during the council meeting earlier this month. Several of the students called for the council to strengthen its code enforcement programs and consider adopting a rent control ordinance. 

“Rent is only half the problem,” student Diego Cervantez said. “One student had so much black mold in their room that went unaddressed by the landlord for so long that they had to move out halfway through the year.”

Following the public comments, SLO Mayor Erica Stewart said she empathized with the students’ experiences.

“Part of the reason why I wanted to be at this dais with my colleagues is I, too, have experienced the black mold and very uninhabitable spaces to live in,” Stewart said.

Stewart asked city staff to respond to the comments.

Community Development Director Michael Codron instructed tenants whose landlords are not maintaining their properties to call the city’s code enforcement hotline at (805) 594-8188. Individuals who call the hotline with a complaint will receive a call back, and officials may schedule an inspection, Codron said. 


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the rent prices in this area are a problem. They charge $10,000 a month for many houses over by cal poly with 5-7 rooms. Meaning 1,400-2000 per ROOM! Yeah we know… starbucks and netflix and rich parents or high tuition or whatever but it does spill over into the normal neighborhoods too. Yeah college kids mess stuff up but guess what Mr. Landlord, you rented and signed a darn lease with those kids, you know what you’re getting. And likely they have co-signers meaning parents are in the hook.


Lots crybaby articles about boomers having to support their adult college children, paying out of their retirement. Due to out of control tuitions and cost of living in towns like ours. Well if you’re a college kid or young person and say hey you guys are juicing the hell out of us, maybe stop it. The same boomers come swinging saying wHy dOnT yOu tRy nOt coMplAining and ShUt uP nO morE aVaCado Bread!!! Suffer!!! Oh wait we boomers are actually paying our adult children’s bills because we boomers are obsessed with juicing capital and fleecing everyone.


Our area caters to out of towners and our prices now reflect that. LA and Silicon Valley prices with an aging population who demands leisure and hospitality services. Our local economy is screwed for anyone other than homeowners


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Cal Poly needs to force the children to learn how to maintain clean living spaces. Teach them how to keep their living area clean to prevent mold. Teach them how to perform simple repairs so they have a better space to live in. Teach them to not be reliant on others for the basics of life.


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Teaching children to maintain clean living spaces in the role of the parent. When they arrive at Cal Poly, they should be prepared for life and prepared for learning.

I am a landlord and have never seen these kinds of problems but I see these problems everwhere in the behaviour of these “children” who were not raised with life skills.


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