Yes on Prop 10
Repeal Costa-Hawkins

Prop 10 is the most important ballot measure renters in California have voted on in decades!

If y’all want to save what is left of Berkeley, or San Francisco, or Oakland or even LA, y’all better get out there and do something for Yes on 10!

Get Involved:
Yes on 10
https://voteyesonprop10.org/

Learn to Talk About Prop 10
http://www.tenantstogether.org/campaigns/repeal-costa-hawkins-rental-housing-act

PROP 10 is about LOCAL CONTROL
https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/election-endorsements/article218278780.html

Comprehensive Research Report from UC Berkeley
https://haasinstitute.berkeley.edu/opening-door-rent-control

The Community Power Slate sponsors a Yes on 10 forum:

SUNDAY OCTOBER 21 – 3 PM
South Berkeley Senior Center
2939 Ellis Street at Ashby

 

Community Power Slate
Elect a Pro-Tenant Rent Board in Berkeley

For over a quarter century, Berkeley progressives have come together to choose a consensus slate for the Rent Board. This spring, the Berkeley Tenant Convention chose local leaders John Selawsky (formerly on the School Board) and Paola Laverde, currently the Rent Board’s Vice Chair and an outspoken advocate for Yes on Prop 10. Also on the Community Power Slate for Berkeley Rent Board are James Chang, UCB junior Soli Alpert, and Maria Poblet, a founder of Causa Justa Oakland.

The landlords are running an opposition slate, so pay attention when voting!
https://www.facebook.com/CommunityPowerSlate/

MORE ELECTION NEWS

Berkeley City Council
BTU endorsed Kate Harrison (District 4: Downtown) and Igor Tregub (District 1: Fourth Street, North Berkeley BART). Igor used to be on the Rent Board and has always been a solid advocate for tenants. Kate is the wisest leader in Berkeley, with a lot of behind the scenes experience in San Francisco’s crazier days. She has done amazing work for affordable housing on the City Council in her very short term.

Both of these leaders are reasonable people with good hearts who look at facts when making decisions.
Send them money!
http://electkateharrison.com/
https://www.igortregub.com/

BTU also endorsed Rigel Robinson, a newcomer whose website mentions nothing about renters in the housing policy statement. He is currently External Affairs Vice President of the ASUC and will fill the district with the most renters, taking the place of longtime tenant leader Kriss Worthington, who has endorsed Robinson.
“Rigel believes we need to build more housing, for all students, right next to campus, right now. As a City Councilmember, he’ll push for zoning requirements that allow for taller, denser buildings around campus — while fighting for more units that are affordable.”
https://rigelrobinson.com/

Finally, BTU endorsed Mary Kay Lacey for District 8. Lacey will fight for renters in the district which has been represented by Lori Droste, who repeatedly voted to eliminate rent controlled units through demolitions and conversions to Air BnB. Lacey became known for her work on the Task Force to Save Alta Bates hospital.

“Protect against displacement by building targeted affordable housing for students, working families and those facing eviction… I am also fully committed to the Pathways Project and a ‘housing first’ solution to our homelessness crisis.”
https://lacey2018.com/issues/

BTU-Endorsed Candidates:
State Assembly: Jovanka Beckles
Rent Board: Soli Alpert, James Chang, Paola Laverde, Maria Poblet, John Selawsky (Community Power Slate)
Council District 1: Igor Tregub
Council District 4: Kate Harrison
Council District 7: Rigel Robisnon
Council District 8: Mary Kay Lacey

BTU-Endorsed Housing Measures:
Prop 10 (Costa-Hawkins Repeal): YES!
Measure O (Affordable Housing Bond): Yes
Measure P (Transfer Tax for Homeless Services): Yes
Measure Q (Rent Board Amendments): No Endorsement
Prop 1 (Affordable Housing Bond): Yes
Prop 2 (Homeless Prevention Bond): Yes
Prop 5 (Property Tax Break): No

Now, The Good News

At their 10th anniversary celebration, the statewide renters group Tenants Together chose to honor Berkeley’s own Julia Cato, who has worked hard with several groups – including BTU – to make sure the voices of seniors and tenants are heard by the folks who represent us.

Tenants Together also has a counselor training coming up. I don’t think anyone does counseling for BTU since I left, so someone really should try to get the program up and running again! Tenants could use a peer advocate to help them navigate the bureaucracies that govern, even if California does get some better laws this election day!

More Worried About Trump than Lakireddy?
Get Involved on the National Level!

The Right to the City Alliance / Homes For All held their second national Renter Power Assembly this summer, with over 100 tenant groups coming together from all over the United States. Start by joining their mailing list to give renters a unified voice on national housing policy!

“If the housing crisis has been slow to register at the level of national politics, it’s not for lack of momentum at the grassroots. There is no major city in the United States today without a multitude of tenants’ rights groups, and “gentrification” has, in the span of a decade, crossed from left-wing academic journals into everyday language. From coast to coast, a loosely organized, intersectional, and bottom-up movement is coalescing around housing justice—the idea that housing is inextricable from a range of other issues like racial justice, poverty, the environment, immigration, and the rights of the formerly incarcerated.”
https://righttothecity.org/

LEARN MORE SUNDAY:
https://www.facebook.com/events/315079089075676/

KEEP UP WITH BTU ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/berkeleytenants/

ELECT RENTERS
https://www.facebook.com/CommunityPowerSlate/

SAVE CALIFORNIA 
https://www.facebook.com/yesonprop10/

 

 

Affordable Housing Forum January 21
BTU, in conjunction with Berkeley Citizens Action, Progressive Student Association, and CalSERVE, are hosting an event on affordable housing, with guest speakers including Mayor Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember Kate Harrison, and Rent Board Commissioner Leah Simon-Weisberg. Topics include rent control expansions, student housing, and the newly proposed state law, SB827, which would take away more local control over large for-profit housing developments. At the library Sunday the 21st, from 2pm-4pm.
https://www.facebook.com/events/213062839239569/

Counselor Training February 7 and 8th
Our friends at Tenants Together are offering a Tenants Rights Counselor Training. They cover state law, and refer renters with Berkeley-specific problems to us or the Rent Board. Taking their training or volunteering on their hotline is a great first step toward counseling for BTU. Right now, BTU has only one person answering questions from renters. Help us help Berkeley tenants!
Contact Sara (415) 495-8100

BTU on Campus Thursday February 8th
Cal Dems and the Progressive Student Association have invited BTU to discuss housing issues at 8pm. The location on campus is TBD, so check the Facebook event. This meeting is open to both students and non-students.
https://www.facebook.com/events/213062839239569/

Tenants Endorsement Meeting February 11
Meet all nine candidates for the open Assembly race for District 15. Pamela Price, challenger for Alameda County District Attorney, will also be present. While this event is open to all, you must be a member of BTU who has attended at least one other meeting in the past year and have paid dues in order to vote. Sunday February 11, 2 to 6 pm at South Berkeley Senior Center.

2018 Tenant Convention
Planning has begun for largest tenant gathering in Berkeley, the biannual convention to choose a united team to run for Berkeley Rent Board. Contact BTU if you are interested in being a candidate, and follow developments about this year’s meeting on the tcon website:
http://berkeleytenantsconvention.net/

Your Name Here
I moved away from Berkeley but so far no one at BTU has stepped up to manage the website, and no one is really sending me any content. Does someone in Berkeley want to take on this task for BTU?

Measure U1 Debate Continued
The Berkeley City Council carried items about spending Measure U1 money to their July 25 meeting. See Items 48, 50 and 51 on that agenda.
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Agenda_Index.aspx

The State of Berkeley
Mayor Jesse Arreguin is a renter who rose to prominence as strong voice for tenants when he chaired Berkeley’s Rent Board and while he represented the downtown area on City Council. His first State of the City address highlighted his dedication to affordable housing and antidisplacement.

He said the city needs to fight the ravages of gentrification, strengthen defenses against eviction of tenants, work to eliminate the state Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, and do more to protect undocumented immigrants from deportation.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/07/11/mayors-address-cites-berkeleys-disparities-role-in-national-politics/

“Arreguín said he is also proud of the $650,000 included in the new city budget for eviction defense and housing subsidies — and of the plan to build affordable and permanent supportive housing, along with more shelter beds and transitional units for veterans, at Berkeley Way. The council voted unanimously to prioritize that ambitious plan in June, though its success depends on securing more funding for the $90 million project.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/07/11/mayor-jesse-arreguin-pledges-re-earn-berkeleys-progressive-reputation-city-address/

BCA Progressive Town Hall Sunday July 15
Progressive Town Meeting with many City Council members – sponsored by our good friends at Berkeley Citizens Action: Sunday July 16, 3-5pm at the South Berkeley Senior Center, 2939 Ellis Street.

Berkeley Rent Control – in 1942!
Bay Area housing rent control went into effect July 1, 1942, and the first day of required registration was July 15. Anyone who rented an apartment, house, or room had to register and list the rents. “No landlord may now charge a rent higher than that prevailing on March 1, 1942”, the Gazette noted on July 15. “Any tenant who for personal reasons, privately agrees to pay more than the legal rate is equally guilty of evading the law.” Six stations had been set up to receive registration forms.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/07/10/berkeley-a-look-back-wartime-introduces-city-to-rent-control/

On Student Housing
“The old dorms, forced by state policy to be financially self-sustaining, are already insanely expensive. And now, with UC Berkeley pitching itself to wealthy out-of-state students who pay high fees , with an emphasis on the privileged offspring of well-off foreigners, even pricier alternatives are on offer, under the rubric of “Affiliated Properties.” What does this mean? If you click under this heading on the UC Housing website, you see these three buildings: Garden Village Apartments; New Sequoia Apartments; Panoramic Residences. The first two were originally permitted by the city of Berkeley as tax-paying private rental development, the kind marketed as “luxury apartments. Presumably the third, developed in San Francisco by Patrick Kennedy, who made his original fortune in Berkeley, is in the same category. Now, however, they seem to have been subsumed into UCB’s housing schemes. Are they consequently off the tax rolls?”
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2017-07-07/article/45868?headline=UC-expansion-engulfs-Berkeley–Becky-O-Malley

Op Ed on Berkeley Development Policies
“It is not true that asking developers to pay higher fees will kill their incentive to build. Just look at all the cranes out there.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/06/13/opinion-berkeley-needs-new-housing-policy-works-many-not-just/

New York Times on Berkeley Housing Crisis
The New York paper interviewed Mayor Arreguin.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/us/california-today-the-housing-crisis-hits-berkeley.html

Mother Jones Mocks Berkeley Housing Policies
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/06/climate-change-housing-berkeley/

In Other Places 

San Mateo County Study on Displacement
If you know me, you know I love data. Data from this new study of evictions and displacement in San Mateo County could help Berkeley leaders make the case for more funding for enforcement of eviction protections and rental assistance as a means of homelessness prevention.
“The surveys found that of the people who reported being displaced in the last two years, one in three had experienced homelessness or marginal housing (defined as living in a motel or hotel, renting a garage, or “couch-surfing”); only one in five was able to find a new place to live within a mile of their former residence; and one in three left the county. Several reported that their families had to split up to find housing.”

The study also shows the environmental impacts of the housing emergency.
”Those who did leave the county saw their one-way commute time increase by an average of 47 minutes and commute cost rise by $390 a month for the main household earner.”
https://almanacnews.com/news/2017/06/22/study-displaced-residents-face-many-other-adverse-effects

 

UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies Displacement Report
http://www.urbandisplacement.org/sites/default/files/images/impacts_of_displacement_in_san_mateo_county.pdf

 

Oakland Wants Berkeley’s Protections
Jonah Strauss of the Oakland Warehouse Coalition said that the referral of the owner move-in exemption to the rent board is a good move. He said Oakland should adopt strong rules like those in Berkeley, and that if a landlord does carry out an owner move-in eviction they should be required to pay a “substantial” amount to help their tenants relocate.”
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2017/07/11/oakland-looks-to-close-owner-move-in-and-occupancy-loopholes-reduce-evictions-and-harmful-rent-increases

Fremont Wants Rent Control
“The tenants are really in an unleveraged position,” Bonaccorsi said. “They don’t have equal bargaining power. There is a lot of fear, there is a lot of anxiety, there is a lot of stress, there’s a lot of families that have been displaced.”
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/07/12/fremont-isnt-ready-for-rent-control-council-decides/

San Francisco Wants Vacancy Tax
https://sf.curbed.com/2017/7/12/15961486/sf-tax-landlord-homes-apartments-vacant 

Los Angeles Short Term Rentals Debate
https://patch.com/california/studiocity/airbnb-supporters-flood-city-hall-fight-limits-rentals

Airbnb to Collect Taxes for Puerto Rico
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2017-06-22/airbnb-to-collect-room-tax-in-puerto-rico-for-government

Airbnb Still Fighting Paris 
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-airbnb-hotels-reaction-idUSKBN19R2TT

BPOA employee says U1 funds being misdirected.
“Tuesday night, they approved an “emergency” ordinance to buy the old Premier Cru building complex on University Avenue for $6.65 million. They want to use the site for future City Council chambers and maybe later, for affordable housing.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/03/31/opinion-berkeley-done-bait-switch-using-housing-funds-buy-new-council-chambers/

More on Council Item
It will repay the funds from money generated from excess property taxes and Measure U1, the new business tax on rental properties that voters approved in November. The funds will be repaid with interest, said city spokesman Matthai Chakko.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/03/27/city-council-set-buy-west-berkeley-building-will-move-meetings/

Council Item Itself
“$4.650 million (70% of the purchase price) from Measure U1 revenue”
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2017/03_Mar/Documents/2017-03-28_Item_32_Acquisition_of_Real_Property.aspx

Other News

Rent Board Delays Appointing Commissioner
The Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board honored outgoing Commissioner Harr but decided to delay appointment of a new Commissioner until May. They chose to delay because Commissioner Murphy was absent due to a family emergency.
Here is the report that ranks contenders for the position, including several candidates who did not make the slate at the 2016 Tenant Convention. BTU is not taking a position yet, because most candidates are BTU members, including Stefan Elgstrand, Tim Kingston, and Christine Schwartz.
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Rent_Stabilization_Board/Level_3_-_General/TBD_Candidate%20search%20results%20and%20rec%20memo%20and%20attachment_FINAL.pdf

People’s Park Anniversary as UC Considers Building, Again
April 23 is the anniversary celebration for People’s Park.
“In 1968 the University used eminent domain to evict the residents and demolish all the houses on the block. Apparently they talked of plans to build needed student housing but nothing happened. For a year the empty lot was an eyesore, muddy and strewn with garbage. In April 1969 activists put out a call for people to help create a park. Hundreds came and cleared the ground, planted flowers and trees and built a children’s playground. They created a park, a People’s Park, that still lives today.”
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2017-03-31/article/45603?headline=Berkeley-s-People-s-Park-is-in-the-news-again–Lydia-Gans

BARF Lawsuit Could End Neighborhood Preservation
The Bay Area Renter’s Federation, (SF BARF) known as a tool for developers and not a tenants group, is suing over a Council decision to deny permits at 1310 Haskell.
“The law states that a city or county cannot deny the approval of a housing project that complies with its general plan and zoning ordinance without substantial evidence that it will negatively impact public health or safety.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/10/31/lawsuit-alleges-berkeley-city-council-illegally-revoked-housing-development-permit/

Low Income Tenants Ousted By Oakland Fire
“The residents even obtained a restraining order against the building’s landlord. And, now, their lawyer is calling for an arson investigation.”
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2017/03/27/landlord-of-west-oakland-building-destroyed-by-fire-was-working-to-evict-tenants

Harsh Laws Drive Artists to Unsafe Warehouses
The father of one artist who died in Oakland’s Ghost Ship Fire is speaking out about how impossible permitting processes and costly complex rules make it impossible for artists and musicians to make their spaces safe and legal and leave those without resources prey to slumlords.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Father-of-a-Ghost-Ship-victims-urges-lawmakers-to-11005032.php

UN Report on Housing as Commodity
It details the shift in recent years that has seen massive amounts of global capital invested in housing as a commodity, particularly as security for financial instruments that are traded on global markets and as a means of accumulating wealth. As a result, she says, homes are often left empty – even in areas where housing is scarce.”
https://www.theguardian.com/housing-network/2017/feb/28/un-report-lays-bare-the-waste-of-treating-homes-as-commodities

 Report Itself
“This influx of capital has increased housing prices in many cities to levels that most residents cannot afford – in some cities by more than 50% in a 5-year period. Housing prices are no longer commensurate with household income levels, and instead are driven by demand for housing assets among global investors. When housing prices skyrocket, low and sometimes even middle-income residents are forced out of their communities by high rent or mortgage costs. When housing prices plummet, residents face mortgage foreclosure and homelessness.”
http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21264&LangID=E

It’s a funny thing law makers have to deal with: the people! Anything approved by the voters can only be changed by the voters. We out-rank the City Council, the Rent Board, even the state legislature. However, this also ties the hands of elected officials.

That is why Measure AA on the November 8th ballot in Berkeley is a much-needed fix. In November 2000, voters approved relocation funds and eviction protections for elderly and disabled tenants when Berkeley experienced the first big wave of owner-move-in evictions (OMI). But now the only way to update the 16-year-old relocation amounts is to go to the ballot box with Measure AA.

The Good News?

The City Council just raised the relocation funds for tenants thrown out for the other common no-fault eviction, the Ellis Act. Eviction restrictions and relocation funds for the Ellis Act were not decided by the voters, so City Council was permitted to update Ellis relocation assistance following a request by the Rent Board.

Rent Board Ellis Report
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Rent_Stabilization_Board/Level_3_-_General/INFO_Ellis%20Report%20to%20Committee_5-4-16.pdf

City Council Item
http://www.cityofberkeley.info/Clerk/City_Council/2016/10_Oct/Documents/2016-10-18_Item_03_Ordinance_7507.aspx

Berkeley Measure AA
“Measure AA is endorsed by many different groups, because it supports education, preserves diversity, and by slowing displacement it also helps the environment.”
http://www.berkeleymeasureaa.org/

In Other News

Election Complaint Against Measure DD
A UC student association filed a complaint to the California Fair Political Practices Commission regarding campaign law violations by the landlord group “Committee for Real Affordable Housing Yes on Measure DD, No on Measure U1, Sponsored By Berkeley Property Owners Association.”
According to the press release, the list of violations “…includes multiple advertisements and literature that does not include the mandatory disclosure requirements. In one case, a mailed document was sent without proper disclosure, and was deceptively designed to look like an official government document.”
pressreleasereaffordablehousingproponentsslambiglandlordsoncampaignviolations

 

Is this a campaign violation?
Is this a campaign violation?

 More on Suspected Campaign Violations
“Stefan Elgstrand, secretary of the Berkeley Tenants Union, said the Berkeley Tenants Union supported the FPPC filing. ‘We want to make sure that these groups that do these deceptive mailings are held accountable,’ Elgstrand said.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/10/23/campus-group-files-complaint-measure-dd-campaign-alleged-violations/

More on Measure U1 and Measure DD
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2016-10-14/article/45005?headline=Measures-U1-and-DD-br-What-s-the-difference—Rob-Wrenn

 

Students Can’t Afford Housing at $1,500 per Room
A graduate of Hunter College in New York City, Sliwowski said that the two-bedroom apartment he had rented in the notoriously competitive Manhattan housing market as an undergraduate cost him and his roommates a total of $1600 a month. In Berkeley, after subletting a room in a house for two months that had been rented out on AirBnB, he finally beat out 59 other applicants to pay $1500 a month for a room in a house. “The university is failing to do anything to control rents in Berkeley, and failing to adequately inform students about the cost of housing,” he said.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/04/priced-out-of-house-and-home/

UC Berkeley’s Role in the Housing Emergency
While the student housing crisis is a symptom of a regional problem, the fault also rests with campus administrators, who have failed to create enough housing opportunities for students. UC Berkeley houses fewer students than most other UC campuses, providing only 24.7 percent of undergraduates and 2.6 percent of graduate students with campus housing. Even when the campus creates new student housing, it is often unaffordable for many students. In fact U.S. News and World report ranked UC Berkeley as the fifth most expensive school in the country in terms of campus housing costs.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/08/347468/

What is Affordable Housing?
“Affordable housing is housing that only costs 30 percent of the renter’s income. In Berkeley, however, housing can be considered “affordable” when it costs up to 50 percent — and even 80 percent — of the household’s income. And in the eyes of Sophie Hahn, a member of the city’s Zoning Adjustment Board, this expectation is not at all affordable and reveals the heart of the affordable housing issue in Berkeley.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/04/quick-dirty-guide-affordable-housing/

About the Co-ops
Central to its design is the understanding that in order to receive a quality education, students must have access to affordable housing. This is especially relevant at UC Berkeley, which measures its value by accessibility. UC Berkeley’s former chancellor Robert Birgeneau once said the UC’s “educational excellence is accessible and affordable,” a quality that makes Berkeley a uniquely “vital and diverse intellectual community.” But this is not the reality. Students at UC Berkeley face a brutally expensive housing market, which presents an obvious contradiction: UC Berkeley cannot claim to provide access to excellent education as long as it considers quality of life and quality of education separately.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/03/10/sharing-berkeleys-housing-burden/

Find the Rest of the Daily Californian’s Housing Issue Here:
http://www.dailycal.org/section/special/housing-issue-2016/

Berkeley Council Invites Mostly Developers to Discuss Affordable Housing Options:
Former Planning Director Mark Rhoades, now a developer himself, was a featured speaker at the February 16 Council forum.
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2016/02/17/berkeley-considers-ways-to-build-more-affordable-housing/

Several speakers who work for, or consult with, developers said Berkeley’s public process is to blame for rising building costs.
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/02/17/city-council-discusses-problems-solutions-affordable-housing-crisis-work-session-tuesday/

Berkeley has built only 206 below-market rentals since 2012
Berkeley has approved only 206 below-market rentals since 2012

8% Affordable Housing Will Not Address Crisis
“With those units, plus all of the projects at various stages of the use permit application process as well as those under construction, the totals since 2012 come out to 206 affordable units out of 2,787 total units, or 8 percent (see ABAG slide above).
…There was consensus among the experts that the city needs to expedite housing construction by facilitating funding and cutting red tape. But not all of them bought into the oft-cited notion that building lots of luxury housing will put a significant dent in the affordable housing shortage… Several lamented what they saw as the loss of economic and ethnic diversity in a city where skyrocketing residential rents are out of reach of most working people, many of them minorities. The rising rents represent “a major transfer of income from tenants to real estate investors,” and they vastly exceed what a landlord needs to profitably operate and maintain a building, said former Berkeley Housing Director Steve Barton, one of the presenters on Tuesday.”
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/general-news/20160217/berkeley-forum-seeks-ways-to-speed-construction-of-affordable-housing/2

Landlord Tax Could Fund Affordable Housing
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/02/24/city-council-approves-poll-to-residents-about-potential-ballot-measures/

Trying to Stop Berkeley Eviction Cases from Moving to Far-Away Court:
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/tenant-advocates-decry-court-move/Content?oid=4679640

Students Ask University to Step Up
The ASUC Student Housing Committee published this editorial in the Daily Californian calling for the University to produce more student housing and scrap plans for a private hotel on UC land in downtown Berkeley.
Despite plans to increase enrollment by at least 1,500 new students at UC Berkeley over the next few years, the campus only has plans to create 725 net new beds over the next five years; by contrast, the campus is increasing enrollment by 750 students next year alone… Furthermore, the university plans to build this project — and future projects — as a P3, or public-private partnership. As a P3, such a residence hall would be on university land but operated by a private company, a situation known as privatization. As a result, students would simultaneously lack the protections of local laws — such as rent control and eviction protections — while also paying more for rent to a private company.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/02/23/university-must-build-public-residence-hall-downtown/

Students Hold Rally
http://www.dailycal.org/2016/02/28/campus-students-rally-affordable-student-housing-friday/

Equity Residential Sells 1,800 Rent Controlled Units
Equity Residential, also Berkeley’s largest landlord, sold its units in East Palo Alto to Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a foreign investment firm. Equity is also selling all of its units in Berkeley.
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/news/2016/02/16/exclusive-east-palo-altos-woodland-park-apartments.html

Oakland: Short Term Rentals Tax to Support Affordable Housing
This from the East Bay Housing Organizations (EBHO):
“As the result of months of EBHO members’ advocacy and efforts, on February 2nd, Oakland City Council allocated $350,000/year of the Transient Occupancy Tax revenue from short-term rentals to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund for each of the two years in the current budget cycle.
Allocating TOT revenue, which is the occupancy tax paid by hotels and other tourist accommodations, from these short-term accommodations to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund will help mitigate the impact of the short-term rental industry as the City begins to explore policy solutions addressing this issue.  The TOT being allocated is from revenues the City receives over and above the $500,000/year allocated in the ’15-’17 budget, so it is not impacting other City priorities. As you read in EBHO’s report, The Impact of Short Term Rentals on Affordable Housing in Oakland, the City has an undisclosed contract with Airbnb to collect TOT.”

San Francisco: Fire Leads to Demolition, Evictions
San Francisco guarantees rent-controlled tenants who are displaced by a fire the right to return to their units after repair at their previous rent, though few do. But with the demolition, that protection no longer applies: New buildings are not subject to rent control because of state law and are not bound by the right of return. No-fault evictions on the basis of demolition are also allowed under city law. “
http://missionlocal.org/2016/02/sf-orders-demo-of-burned-mission-st-building-tenants-may-lose-right-to-return/

File Dec 24, 2 04 50 PMCode Enforcement Item Passes at City Council
Jesse Arreguin’s item asking for changes to Berkeley’s Rental Housing Safety Program passed on the consent calendar after being postponed for several meetings. Of course, the item doesn’t yet set policy, it just asks for a report back from the City Manager regarding costs for proactive rental housing inspections and other proposed improvements.
Berkeley City Council also passed Arreguin’s item to have Berkeley staff look into the feasibility of creating a “small sites program” to help nonprofits – such as student co-ops – purchase small multi-family buildings.
District 7 Council Member Kriss Worthington’s item requesting our state representatives to work to increase the California housing tax credit for low income residents also passed on consent, but several other housing items Worthington had introduced for an October meeting were held over for a fourth time and will be heard January 12th.

Rental Housing Safety Program Item:
http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/2015/12_Dec/Documents/2015-12-01_Item_28_Revising_the_Rental.aspx
more info:
https://www.berkeleytenants.org/?p=1456

Related: More Library Gardens Balcony Lawsuits
As well as blaming contractors involved in the construction, lawyers claim the company which managed the Library Gardens apartment complex did not want to spend money on remedial work or investigations as it was motivated to maximise profits.”
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/berkeley-tragedy/berkeley-lawsuit-claims-red-flag-warning-ignored-34300516.html
“Some of the Irish students who witnessed the Berkeley balcony collapse but who were not injured are expected to file lawsuits over their emotional distress, according to a new court filing in California.”
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/berkeley-witnesses-expected-to-file-lawsuits-over-incident-1.2459187

Students Getting Involved!
BTU has added many student members this year, including two recent graduates and one current student who now serve on the steering committee of your Berkeley Tenants Union. The Associated Students of the University of California joined with BTU in appealing the demolition on Durant, and the ASUC has also formed a Student Housing Committee to create a Housing Action Plan to address how the housing emergency is impacting students.
“The committee is considering several potential solutions to address the campus’s housing shortage, such as constructing additional buildings in the courtyards of Unit 1 and Unit 2 and earmarking parts of the university budget to building more affordable housing…The committee also discussed plans for a Housing and Tenants’ Rights Week, tentatively scheduled from Feb. 8-13, and a possible large public event to bring awareness to student-housing issues.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2015/12/11/asuc-student-housing-committee-discusses-housing-tenant-rights/

In Other News 

Fire Highlights Problems With Relocation Law
At issue was Berkeley’s Relocation Ordinance, written in 2011 and designed to support tenants who are temporarily forced out of their rental units. It applies most often to planned renovations that displace tenants — as well as to relocation due to fire or code enforcement, except in the case of an earthquake or other natural disaster. Under the ordinance, tenants are entitled to “relocation payments from the property owner to mitigate the costs associated with a temporary move,” until they can move back into the unit.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/12/10/tenants-scramble-to-relocate-after-dwight-way-fire/

Oakland Ellis Evictions
With no-fault evictions on the rise, Oakland is considering a relocation fee that will be higher than San Francisco’s or Berkeley’s.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/SevenDays/archives/2015/12/07/ellis-act-evictions-on-the-rise-in-oakland

Lafayette Wants Rent Control
This summer, the Bay Area suburb of Lafayette backed down on a city moratorium on rent increases when controversial landlord Sack Properties agreed to limit increases to 10%. However, tenants say the owner added on new charges and fees instead of raising the rents. Now renters are back before the City Council asking for protections.
“He outlined the many charges and fees: water charges, marked-up garbage costs, pet rent, parking rent, mandatory renters insurance, questionable language in new leases that give the landlord the right to evict tenants for anything deemed to be an excessive mess, and a $3,000 charge for an early break of the lease.
A parade of concerned tenants spoke to the council about all of these issues, emphasizing the serious inconsistencies in utility charges, and lack of transparency.”
http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue0920/Tenants-Criticize-Landlord-Practices-Again.html

Redwood City Wants Rent Control
Across Redwood City, the median rent price for two-bedroom apartments increased from $2,500 to $3,800 since 2012, according to the real estate website Zillow. Minimum wage and other full time workers are unable to afford those rents. They end up having to move out of the area and in sometimes quitting their local jobs.”
http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2015/12/21/redwood-city-renters-officials-face-off-as-housing-crisis-intensifies

Zoning Board remand will be February 25th
Zoning Board remand will be February 25th

Berkeley Tenants and the students of the ASUC filed an appeal last summer to stop the demolition of 18 rent-controlled units on Durant. Berkeley’s City Council finally heard the appeal on December 1st, but just sent the decision back to the Zoning Board with instructions for the volunteer board to pay close attention to several issues in the appeal as well as a lengthy economic report submitted by the Rent Board.
Both the ASUC and BTU had dozens of speakers present to highlight various aspects of the problem, and emphasize that this would be a far-reaching policy decision for the Council, not just about this one project. The Council seemed particularly swayed by a letter from a former student tenant. But in the end, there wasn’t even that much deliberation, and no decision, just a remand.

On the one hand, BTU is pleased that the Council did not uphold approval of the project, because this would be the first time in history that our city would agree that a developer can’t make a profit by rehabilitating an older building instead of tearing it down. On the other hand, it would be nice to see our elected leaders stand up for affordable student housing. BTU had hoped the Council might chastise the developer for encouraging damage to his own building in order to claim he could not afford to fix it.

It is not yet known when the ZAB (Zoning Board) will hear the appeal. In the meantime, the 4×4 Committee, which is where the Rent Board meets with the City Council, discussed changes to allow more demolitions while protecting tenants and creating affordable housing.

“In approving the demolition permit, the ZAB agreed with the owner’s financial projections that it could not make a fair rate of return on its investment if it were to rehabilitate the building in its existing configuration — a notion contested by Pamela Webster, Lisa Stephens and Matthew Lewis in an appeal on behalf of the Associated Students of the University of California. The trio noted, moreover, that the owner allowed the building to deteriorate by keeping it vacant and inviting the Berkeley Fire Department to do training exercises there in late 2014, which involved cutting holes in the roof.…
Dozens of speakers warned that upholding the demolition permit would set a dangerous precedent. They warned that it would encourage landlords to pay exorbitant prices for rent-controlled buildings and let them go to waste while expecting the city to guarantee them a good return by allowing them to tear down the buildings and build larger ones with market-rate apartments.”
http://www.contracostatimescom/breaking-news/ci_29192392/berkeley-council-sends-permit-demolish-rent-controlled-building

For More About the Demolition Ordinance:
https://www.berkeleytenants.org/?page_id=773

Zoning Board Approved Kennedy Bait-and-Switch
A while ago, infamous Berkeley developer Patrick Kennedy (Panoramic) got approval for a residential hotel which was to house folks making less than 120% of area median. The other day, Zoning allowed him to change the project to tiny studio apartments (300 square feet) with no parking. Kennedy will make two of the 22 units at 2711 Shattuck affordable to 120% AMI, and two affordable to folks making 50% of Area Median Income. The other 18 will be market rate. Commissioner Denise Pinkerton was particularly vocal, condemning other ZAB members for calling for more affordable units.
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/12/14/berkeley-zoning-board-approves-new-units-on-telegraph-shattuck/

Videos From the November 22 Housing Teach-In:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS2O9Gttsg5cwvAjJi-VMccKBLLu3-Iun

teach-In

Media Estimates 180-plus Attended Teach-In November 22

“Audience members lined the walls, balcony and sat on the floor for the “teach-in,” organized by the Ad Hoc Committee for a Progressive Berkeley in conjunction with eight other advocacy and tenants’ rights organizations.”
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/11/24/20k-a-month-for-berkeley-house-skyrocketing-rental-prices-draw-crowd-to-housing-affordability-teach-in/comment-page-1/

“Among the ideas discussed, Stephen Barton, panelist and former deputy director of the city’s Rent Stabilization Program, proposed an affordable housing tax that taps into the excess profits landlords receive from rent. Revenue from the tax would be used to aid the development of below-market-price housing.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2015/11/23/community-members-meet-affordable-housing-teach/

“Areas included housing for teachers and firefighters; those sleeping in doorways; workers who can’t pay escalating rents; seniors whose fixed income is less than even small rent increases allowed under rent control; students stuffed five or more into two-bedroom apartments; and very low income tenants with federal housing vouchers that no local landlord will accept.”
http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_29160259/berkeley-panel-urges-community-activism-address-housing-crisis

“The city is an increasingly unaffordable place for low- and moderate-income households and for students, which is threatening the city’s valued diversity,” according to the Berkeley Progressive Alliance, which is sponsoring the event. Co-sponsors include Sustainable Berkeley Coalition, Berkeley Citizens Action, Berkeley Tenants Union, California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), the Berkeley NAACP, Black Student Union of Berkeley City College and the Better Berkeley Working Group.There will be a panel composed of former Berkeley Housing Director Stephen Barton; affordable housing activist Moni Law; Rick Lewis, executive director at Bay Area Community Land Trust; Berkeley Student Cooperative President Austin Pritzkat; and Katherine Harr of the Berkeley Tenants Union.”
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_29145519/berkeley-affordable-housing-teach-explore-solutions-skyrocketing-rents

A Similar Message at City-Sponsored Panel
“Christina Murphy, with the Friends of Adeline Corridor, spoke from the audience, saying in her work as housing case manager at the Berkeley Drop-in Center, she sees a growing number of seniors and people working three jobs without housing.” People going to Cal live in their cars,” she said, arguing the solution is a windfall profit tax on landlords, a proposal the city council will address.” People are building in our town and not putting in the money they should,” she said.”
http://www.contracostatimes.com/bay-area-news/ci_29124916/berkeley-few-prospects-affordable-housing-panel-says

Public Finds City-Sponsored Panel Lacking Solutions
“No mechanism was described whereby the people would gain a seat at the planning tables, at which they could actually shape the course of things to come. But still, it was called “participation.” The issues involved, from the neighborhood’s perspective, in these prior meetings, were clear. Affordable housing, no dislocation, no evictions; at several meetings, that was summed up as a call for a moratorium on market rate housing until the need for affordable had been satisfied. Somehow, none of that appeared in this A-H 101 session.”
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2015-11-20/article/43940?headline=State-of-Emergency-101—Steve-Martinot

Broken Elevator Illustrates Need for Code Enforcement
The elevator at Acton Courtyard – owned by Equity Residential and exempt from the Rent Ordinance because it is recent construction – was broken for 14 days, despite Berkeley codes which require repair within 24 hours. Disabled residents were trapped in their homes or unable to access their units.
Changes to Berkeley’s code enforcement will be discussed at Council December 1.
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2015/11/24/broken-elevator-strands-disabled-berkeley-tenants/comment-page-1/

No Place for Students
The UC system is adding 10,000 students and Mayor Bates says Berkeley might get 4,000 of those. Currently, UCB houses only 8,244 of their 37,581 students. Now, students say a proposed city law regarding Group Living Accomodations will make it harder for student co-ops to provide affordable housing and build community. Meanwhile, private dorms like Casa Cedar and The Berk are charging students $1000-$1400 a month TO SHARE a room.
http://m.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/where-are-students-supposed-to-go/Content?oid=4588970

Oakland to Increase Rent Board Fee
“The city needs to triple the existing fee that funds the program, from $30 to $110 per every rental unit, or it will be unable to enforce its rent adjustment rules and resolve tenant landlord disputes. However, both landlord and tenant advocates are opposing the proposed fee increase, on the grounds that it’s excessive.”
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/eviction-and-rent-hike-complaints-skyrocket-in-oakland/Content?oid=4580708

Tony Thurmond’s Housing Town Hall
“Some solutions proposed, such as increasing the impact fees levied on building developers, were quite popular among the audience. Acknowledging others that were not, such as adding an annual tax to cable subscriptions to fund affordable housing, Thurmond requested at the onset that the audience members ‘boo quietly’ if they wished to.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2015/11/15/assembly-member-holds-town-hall-on-affordable-housing-shortages-talks-solutions/

SF Mission Home For Sale at Discount
It’s kind of sad that selling your house for only $650K makes the news, but what this woman did for her Mission District community is still cool.
http://sfist.com/2015/11/25/woman_sells_mission_apartment_for_2.php

History Lesson
This good tenant attorney blog gives a little etymology.
http://crowandrose.com/2009/06/they-dont-call-em-landlords-for-nothing-2/

…And the Fun Never Ends
Councilman Arreguin may bring back necessary changes to the demolition ordinance at the December 15 City Council meeting.