Eviction rates in the Bay Area and Northern California for 2017

Eviction rates in the Bay Area and Northern California for 2017

By Lynda Carson - November 1, 2017

In Oakland which has weak rent control laws, according to records from the City of Oakland from 1/1/2016 through 12/31/2016, it received 8,551 eviction termination notices. According to additional records from the Housing and Community Development Department in Oakland, there were around 12,050 eviction termination notices served in Oakland from 1/1/2015 through 2/29/2016.

Based on a new report from Apartment List, new figures are out regarding evictions during 2017 that occurred all across the nation, including the Bay Area, and Northern California.

Because of the recent massive fires that occurred in Northern California displacing thousands, the figures below may not tell the whole story. In recent days, under executive order, Governor Jerry Brown extended protections against price-gouging by greedy landlords operating in the counties of the North Bay area fires, including protections against rent increases over 10 percent until April of 2018.

Eviction Rates In The Bay Area And Northern California For 2017

Out of 784,923 renter households in the San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward area, there were 12,362 evictions during the past year.

Out of 60,671 renter households in the Vallejo-Fairview area, there were 2,354 evictions during the past year.

Out of 142,789 renter households in Fresno, there were 4,530 evictions during the past year

Out of 72,875 renter households in Santa Rosa, there were 1,459 evictions during the past year.

Out of 18,010 renter households in Napa, there were 434 evictions during the past year.

Out of 333,913 renter households in the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade area, there were 110,074 evictions during the past year.

Out of 22,585 renter households in the Eureka-Arcata-Fortuna area, there were 381 evictions during the past year.

Out of 27,907 renter households in Yuba City, there were 1,381 evictions during the past year.

Out of 34,966 renter households in Chico, there were 1,260 evictions during the past year.

Out of 24,948 renter households in Redding during the past year, there were 737 evictions during the past year.

Out of 63,902 renter households in Salinas, there were 1,464 evictions during the past year.

Out of 104,270 renter households in the Stockton-Lodi area, there were 3,975 evictions during the past year.

Out of 74,936 renter households in Modesto, there were 2,585 evictions during the past year.

Out of 37,152 renter households in Merced, there were 1,463 evictions during the past year.


For additional information, a list by the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project names Oakland’s Mega Evictors.


The Role Of Rent Control And Just Cause Eviction Tenant Protections

According to Apartment List: “Local laws that protect tenant rights are another important factor affecting the prevalence of evictions in a given location. Rent control, which places a ceiling on the amount that landlords can increase rents, is a well-known form of renter protection, though these laws are actually fairly rare. Another example is what are known as “just cause” eviction ordinances, which limit the ability of landlords to arbitrarily evict tenants.

While differences in tenant protection laws certainly play a role in explaining the variations that we observe in metro-level eviction rates, the exact impact is difficult to measure. Such ordinances are enforced at the local level, meaning that specific protections vary even within a given metro, and there is no comprehensive measure to compare the relative strength of tenant protections by location. That said, the ranking of metros in our analysis does seem to generally coincide with what experts on the issue might expect. According to Philip Verma of the Center for Community Innovation at UC Berkeley, the California metros that we rank as having some of the lowest eviction rates are also well known for having some of the strongest tenant protection laws.”

Tenants Organizing For Better Renter Protections

Reportedly, as recent as October 23, 2017, anti-eviction activists involved with Tenants Together, a statewide renters right’s organization, descended on Sacramento to support Assembly Bill 1506, which is intended to repeal the draconian Costa-Hawkins Act. A video archive of the hearing in Sacramento is available. More about the event can be found on FaceBook.

Additionally, a statewide ballot initiative was reportedly filed on Monday, October 23, 2017, which seeks to repeal the dreaded Costa-Hawkins Rental Act. Supporters of the initiative to repeal the draconian Costa-Hawkins Rental Act must gather 366,000 valid signatures no later than June, 28, 2018, for the anti-eviction measure to qualify for the ballot in November 2018.

On another front, on November 14, 2017, the San Jose City Council will vote whether to lower its annual cap on rent increases, by considering to switch to a rent formula based on the rate of inflation, or the Consumer Price Index which is currently 3.4 percent. Renters in San Jose are urged to appear at the November 14th, San Jose City Council meeting to support the proposed changes that will help renters against the greedy landlords.

Metro areas with the highest eviction rates across the nation in 2017 include #1) Memphis, #2) Phoenix, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Dallas, Las Vegas, Louisville, Houston, Virginia Beach, VA, and Cincinnati.

For those needing help in the Oakland area to fight against an eviction, contact the Eviction Defense Center at 452-4541, East Bay Community Law Center 548-4040, or Bay Area Legal Aid 663-4744.

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

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