The California Apartment Association is objecting to a move by San Diego County officials to impose a moratorium on evictions and rent hikes through late March for neighborhoods hit hardest by recent major rainstorms that caused massive statewide flooding and property damage.

The 13,000-member trade group, representing apartment owners, investors, developers and managers, said San Diego officials went beyond state regulations in efforts to protect tenants by capping rent increases and prohibiting evictions in affected neighborhoods through March 30, nearly a month beyond the expiration date for recent state emergency declarations.

“CAA views the current ordinance as an infringement on housing providers’ rights and a misuse of emergency powers, echoing its opposition to a similar eviction moratorium imposed by the county during the pandemic in June 2021,” the Sacramento-based group said in a statement.

While it opposed the county action, the trade group did not plan to block enforcement but said it was looking to inform members of the situation in relation to storm recovery. The move shows the conflicts that occur between apartment owners and state officials in the wake of weather or health emergencies in balancing the needs of landlords that depend on a steady supply of rent payments with tenants who officials say could be vulnerable to price gouging.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a $10 million assistance package for neighborhoods hit hardest by some of the region’s heaviest rain on record, with many areas getting what would normally be a month of rainfall in the span of just a few hours. Massive flooding damaged buildings while displacing hundreds of apartment residents and homeowners.

The county measure also prohibited evictions and capped rent increases at the rate of change of the federal Consumer Price Index, effective Jan. 30 to March 30, affecting any eviction process initiated after Jan. 22. Two recent state-enacted emergency declarations, affecting 12 counties including San Diego, include similar anti-price-gouging provisions but are set to expire by March 5.

The latest county rules affect 11 zip codes in southern San Diego and the neighboring cities of Coronado, National City, Spring Valley and Lemon Grove. San Diego County supervisors backing the measure said financial aid and rent-pricing protections were needed to give longer-term relief to residents in affected communities, several of which have large contingents of lower-income residents who depend on rental housing.

“I hope that we don’t make this conversation political,” Supervisor Nora Vargas said during the Jan. 30 meeting. “There’s a lot of work we need to do on recovery.”

San Diego was among California regions hit hardest by a series of heavy “atmospheric river” rainstorms that caused unprecedented flooding, landslides and power outages throughout the state in recent weeks. Storms caused statewide property losses between $9 billion and $11 billion, according to preliminary estimates from data provider Accuweather. Los Angeles, San Diego and other Southern California regions received the brunt of damage from floods, mudslides and downed trees and power lines.

San Diego authorities estimate flooding caused $90 million in damage to local public infrastructure. Officials said the county received nearly 2,800 reports from members of the public regarding property damage after the storms, with 525 reporting major damage. About 1,000 of those reporting major damage said they have no insurance.

The San Diego action is similar to eviction moratoriums and rent hike limits enacted by multiple California cities and counties, along with others nationwide, in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic starting in March 2020. Government leaders sought to guard against massive evictions as many renters and homeowners became unemployed due to business shutdowns, with most moratoriums expiring by 2022 as the pandemic’s emergency status was lifted.

Damaging storms statewide prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to issue two emergency declarations affecting a total of 12 counties, most recently on Feb. 4. Both declarations triggered the state’s anti-price-gouging law, which prohibits increasing the price of numerous consumer goods and services, including rental housing, by more than 10% above preemergency levels.

The state restrictions apply to existing tenants and to rent increases when a unit turns over to the next tenant. The latest storm-related statewide housing protections are scheduled to expire on March 3 for four affected counties and on March 5 for eight counties.

State officials said violations of anti-price gouging laws can result in penalties that include up to a year in county jail and up to $10,000 in fines. California law empowers local jurisdictions to impose additional penalties and in some cases adjust enforcement periods based on circumstances.

Newsom this week made a formal request to the federal government for disaster recovery aid to San Diego, the nation’s fifth most populous county.