Renter protections are being considered in three cities within days

Renter protections are being considered in three cities within days

By Lynda Carson - January 23, 2016

Oakland - During the week of Jan. 25, renter protections that may include rent control, and just cause eviction protections, are being considered in the nearby cities of Lafayette, Pacifica, and Santa Rosa.

Additionally, more renter protections are also expected to be considered in Alameda and Oakland within weeks, due to the massive housing crisis that exists in the Bay Area, and throughout California.

The Lafayette City Council, is expected to consider rent control on Monday Jan. 25. The City Council is considering to pass renter protections in their town after many tenants repeatedly accused Sack Properties (CEO Kirby Sack), of allegedly ripping them off. Allegedly, Sack Properties was requiring the tenants to pay more for their utilities, than what the entire complex they resided in was being billed for. Additionally, Sack Properties faces many other allegations of alleged tenant abuse, according to the Contra Costa Times, http://tinyurl.com/jc4fkuh .

As a result of the lack of renter protections in Lafayette, on Monday Jan.25, at 7:00pm, at the library/community hall located at 3491 Mt. Diablo BLVD, the City Council will be considering renter protections. The renter protections may include a moratorium on rent increases, and just cause eviction protections.

On Monday Jan. 25, at 7:pm, at the Pacifica City Hall, located at 2212 Beach BLVD, the Pacifica City Council is expected to consider some form of renter protections, including rent control. Renters and activists have been struggling to convince the council to protect their households from major rent increases and unjust evictions, according to the SF Examiner, http://tinyurl.com/h7bgvel .

Several options of renter protections will also be discussed by the City Council of Santa Rosa on Tuesday Jan. 26, http://tinyurl.com/jjzs8k5 . The renters and families have been struggling to get protection from the greedy multi-billion dollar housing, and real estate industries, that have been displacing them from their communities.

Rent hikes in California have outpaced the national average during every month of 2015, according to ApartmentList.com, http://tinyurl.com/zccoulx . Of the ten most expensive cities in California, San Francisco is at the top of the list followed by Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Palo Alto, West Hollywood, Berkeley, Pacifica, San Mateo, San Rafael, and Foster City.

Another recent survey that was reported on by the East Bay Express, also reveals that the fair market rents in Oakland have almost doubled since 2011. Additionally, in the top ten cities throughout the nation with the greatest rent increases during recent years, Oakland tops the list according to Smartasset.com, http://tinyurl.com/z2m7roh , surpassing San Francisco, New York City, San Jose, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Chicago.

Recently there was a huge battle in nearby Richmond, revealing how big money stole renter protections that were passed by the City Council in that town, when many voters were tricked into signing a petition that stopped the renter protections from going into effect, http://tinyurl.com/py63a9r .

In numerous nearby cities during the past year and more, renters have been terrified. Tenant activists and renters have been struggling to convince city officials that excessive uncontrollable rent hikes, and unjust no-cause evictions, are devastating their communities. The renters are being abused, and in city, after city, they often are being tossed out of their housing by members of the multi-billion dollar housing and real estate industry. Industries that are involved in economic cleansing throughout California. Families are facing eviction by the thousands throughout the Bay Area, as many City Council members are turning a blind eye to what has been going on.

Prominent wealthy restaurant owner / landlord Chris Henry, of nearby Marin County, has been accused of being a slumlord in Fresno, and on January 14, 2016, the tenants at Summerset Village filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against him, http://tinyurl.com/hnycfzv .

According to the Fresno Bee, allegedly, the property manager at the site was accused of threatening the tenants with eviction, if they dared to report any slum-like conditions existing at the property. Meanwhile, it was reported that Chris Henry was allegedly raking in $100,000 a month from rents collected at the property, while around 150 tenants or more, were allegedly living in slum-like conditions, http://tinyurl.com/j3gm2bc .

In November 2015, while discussions were taking place in Alameda involving renter protections, barely a few days after a moratorium on evictions was passed that had a loophole in it, Sridhar Equities LLC (CEO Matt Sridhar), out of San Jose, issued eviction notices to 33 households, according to the East Bay Express, http://tinyurl.com/jk9g2hz .

Ranting and raving against renter protections for the rental housing tenants of Alameda, local landlord Donald W. Lindsey (Don), and his companies, have been accused of allegedly being involved wrong doing by the California Bureau of Real Estate (BRE), http://tinyurl.com/jqv87qw . The accusations being made by Robin Tanner, a Supervising Investigator of the State of California, are serious enough, that Lindsey may lose his real estate license, according to BRE.

Don Lindsey is the leader and founding member of a large group of landlords called Alamedans for Fair Rents, who are totally opposed to renter protections in Alameda.

At a recent January 5, City Council meeting, leading the pack of landlords that spoke out in anger against some weak renter protections being proposed, was Don Lindsey. Lindsey was followed shortly, by landlord lobbyist Gregg McConnell, in addition to around 37 other landlords that evening to speak out against renter protections being considered by the council.

Hours later, the City Council was trying to figure out how they can satisfy the landlords, while debating the weak tenant protections being proposed that the Alameda Renters Coalition denounced as being ineffective. The council members kept referring to what Gregg McConnell had to say earlier, before making some of their decisions in the effort to avoid voting for real rent control, and just cause eviction protections permanently.

Landlord lobbyist Gregg McConnell, http://tinyurl.com/j48roap , has appeared at many City Council meetings throughout the Bay Area for many years, to oppose renter protections, including rent control, and just cause eviction protections. McConnell, also claims that he is the mastermind behind the Costa Hawkins Act. The Costa Hawkins Act, is a state law that restricts cities in California from implementing strong rent control measures, as a way to protect renters in rental housing that was built after 1995.

On Tuesday February 9, the Alameda City Council is expected to consider passing some weak renter protections that were proposed on Jan. 5, http://tinyurl.com/gllbk3p , that are opposed by the Alameda Renters Coalition, http://www.thealamedarenterscoalition.org/ .

The City of Oakland is also expected to vote on some legislation in the near future, that involves impact fees to be used for creating so-called affordable housing projects, in addition to some form of additional existing renter protections.

Oakland has a weak rent stabilization program that is landlord friendly, and for many years tenant and housing activists have been insisting that the city needs real control. Rent increases in Oakland have skyrocketed in recent years, http://tinyurl.com/z2m7roh , as a direct result of not having a real rent control program.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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