Portland officials move to address housing crisis while Oakland claims no crisis exists

The entire bay area is experiencing an affordable housing crisis, and it is beyond time for action.
Contact your elected official TODAY and tell them that it is PAST TIME for action.

Please call or email your council member now, and use the following script (contact info below):
Dear Mayor/Councilmember/City Administrator:

I am a RENTER in Oakland.
As you learned at a recent City Council Meeting, many Oakland residents are experiencing shockingly high increases in their rents, while others have been recently displaced or facing the prospect of being pushed out of Oakland because of the increasingly expensive housing market.

Recent reports show that Oakland's rents and home prices have increased faster than virtually any city in the nation. Oakland's median rent is now $2,650, according to Zillow. Oakland's median household income is $52,583, according to the US Census. Thus the median household must spend 60 percent of its total income to rent the median home, which is twice the level that is considered affordable.

Although Oakland's rent control program has helped some tenants to remain in affordable housing, however much of that housing stock has serious habitability issues, which continues to get worse as Oakland Building Services fails to proactively inspect apartment buildings or enforce housing code violations.

The Housing, Health, and Habitability in Oakland Executive Summary Fact Sheet for 2011-2012 details the serious habitability issues that face almost ONE-THIRD of tenants who seek assistance from Tenant Services organizations were currently facing in Oakland rental housing. http://www.acphd.org/media/315757/healthyhousing_factsheet.pdf

In 2012 and in response to the Alameda County Grand Jury Investigation of the City of Oakland Building Services Department, the City of Oakland Office of Planning, Building & Neighborhood Preservation submitted a "Proposed Program Design for Proactive Code Enforcement Operations" http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca/groups/ceda/documents/report/oak033410.pdf

It is now 2015, and many of these proposals have yet to see the light of day, most importantly: III. Multiple-Family Substandard
Properties sections A and B - a proactive approach to rental housing inspections.

Oakland's deteriorated multi-family housing stock and the lack of proactive code enforcement makes for a lucrative 'fix and flip' market for real estate investors, and a nightmare for tenants. Owners of affordable (but substandard) multi-family properties are pressured to sell, and tenants are pushed out. Long overdue repairs are called 'improvements' and the cost is passed down to the tenants.

Tenants can presumably go to Oakland's rent board to contest rent increases, but when there is no proactive building inspection, the burden of proving what is and isn't 'deferred maintenance'' is placed on the tenant. Many rent board hearings are not simple events, and very few landlords can afford to pay an attorney for representation.

Many other cities have acknowledged that urban areas are experiencing a housing crisis, and that simply building more luxury dwellings will not do anything to alleviate the skyrocketing rents and displacement.

Portland, Oregon - a city that is not known for high rents was in the news last week when their City Council and Mayor approved a housing emergency plan, putting aside funds for affordable housing and offering incentives while proposing new fees on developers to help pay for affordable housing. They are providing 650 additional shelter spaces for women and those with disabilities.

Now that the Council has had time to review and discuss 'A Roadmap Toward Equity: Housing Solutions for Oakland, California, I am eager to get a resolution on the exorbitant rents being charged by new landlords attempting to cash in on Oakland's housing market, and how you propose on protecting our existing affordable housing stock. Current Oakland residents deserve elected officials who ACT on this crisis, rather than sweeping it under the rug.

In partnership with other tenants across Oakland, California, I as a VOTER, fully expect that you are prepared to address this housing crisis immediately.

Your refusal to do so means that Oakland tenants - who from what I understand hold the majority of the voting power - may need to considering finding elected officials who are willing to stand up for their residents.

Thank you
[Your Name]
Mayor Libby Schaaf
(510) 238-3141 or officeofthemayor [at] oaklandnet.com or @libbyschaaf (twitter)
City Administrator: Sabrina Landreth
(510) 238-3301 or cityadministrator [at] oaklandnet.com
Council District 1 – Dan Kalb
(510) 238-7001 or dkalb [at] oaklandnet.com
Council District 2 – Abel J. Guillen
(510) 238-7002 or aguillen [at] oaklandnet.com
Council District 3 – Lynette Gibson McElhaney (Council President)
(510) 238-7003 or President [at] Oaklandnet.com
Council District 4 – Annie Campbell Washington
(510) 238-7004 or ACampbellWashington [at] oaklandnet.com
Council District 5 – Noel Gallo
(510) 238-7005 or ngallo [at] oaklandnet.com
Council District 6 – Desley Brooks
(510) 238-7006 or dbrooks [at] oaklandnet.com
Council District 7 – Larry Reid
(510) 238-7007 or lreid [at] oaklandnet.com
Councilmember At Large – Rebecca Kaplan
(510) 238-7008 or atlarge [at] oaklandnet.com