Protesters Demand Action in Wake of Antioch Police Racist Texts Scandal
ANTIOCH, CA - Fallout continues from a string of alleged racist and homophobic text messages shared among the Antioch Police Department.
Dozens of community members held a rally and march in protest ahead of Tuesday's special city council meeting. Demonstrators demanded immediate action and accountability as the number of police officers involved in the scandal continues to grow.
"How are we going to feel if we can not call someone when we are in danger that is actually going to help us?" said Devin Williams, who helped organize the rally.
Oakland Council Members Propose Phasing Out Eviction Moratorium by September
OAKLAND, CA - In Oakland, a debate is heating up about how pandemic protections against eviction should come to a close.
Tuesday, Oakland's Community & Economic Development Committee will discuss a proposed ordinance brought forward by council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and council President Pro Tem Dan Kalb that would set up a gradual timeline for ending the city's eviction moratorium. If approved, the proposed ordinance would phase out the eviction moratorium, allowing certain evictions to resume from May through the end of August, then ending the eviction moratorium on Sept. 1.
The ordinance also seeks to make several changes to strengthen Oakland's existing just cause eviction protections.
Town hall: America’s largest landlord raises rent, evicts tenants in SD
SAN DIEGO, CA - Local tenants and activists met at Logan Heights Library with City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera to call for more tenant protections on March 25. The town hall coincided with a report from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) called “Blackstone comes to collect: How America’s Largest Landlord and Wall Street’s Highest Paid CEO Are Jacking Up Rents and Ramping Up Evictions.”
The Blackstone Group is the largest private equity company in the world, with $975 Billion in assets under management (AUM). Blackstone is by far the nation’s largest landlord, owning and managing over 300,000 units of rental housing in the U.S., and many more around the world. The report shows that Blackstone bought 5,600 units in San Diego County in 2021. As units become vacant, the company raised rents in some units between 43-64% in just two years.
L.A. County’s eviction moratorium has expired. What does that mean for renters?
LOS ANGELES, CA - The last day of March marked the end of Los Angeles County’s pandemic-era eviction protections.
Even before then, evictions had been on the rise. In the last year, eviction filings across the county have returned to pre-pandemic levels of more than 3,000 per month, according to Kyle Nelson, a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA.
California lawmakers push housing, homelessness bills — but will they work?
CALIFORNIA - Take a random selection of 10,000 Californians and 44 people will be homeless, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Human Services. That’s over 171,000 people across the Golden State. Half of the nation's unsheltered population — people living on the streets, in tents, in cars, in parks — live in California. On top of that, 17 million California renters face housing instability according to the California Budget and Policy Center.
Homelessness and not enough affordable housing are not new issues in California, but rising home prices, skyrocketing rent, and the growing number of people living without shelter have brought public frustration to a boiling point, with local mayors, city councils, and county boards of supervisors taking the brunt of that frustration as they stumble through policies and initiatives to try to respond to the parallel crises.
A bevy of bills floating through the Legislature this year hope to strengthen the state’s involvement in easing those frustrations. Will they work?
Gran preocupación por el incremento de desalojos de vivienda al decretarse el fin de la pandemia
LOS ANGELES, CA - “Estoy profundamente preocupada por el fuerte aumento en los desalojos ahora que ciertas protecciones para inquilinos han terminado. Mientras trabajamos para dar un techo a los angelinos, también tenemos que evitar que se queden en el desamparo”, declaró esta semana la alcaldesa de Los Ángeles, Karen Bass.
Dijo que espera que las protecciones de emergencia aprobadas por la Ciudad de Los Ángeles protejan a los inquilinos de los desalojos ilegales. “Nadie en nuestra ciudad debería enfrentar ninguna forma de discriminación por la vivienda o un desalojo ilegal”.
A partir del 1 de abril, las protecciones de desalojo por no pago de la renta debido al covid terminaron. A fin de evitar el desalojo, los inquilinos deben pagar su renta completa cada mes.
Santa Barbara County to Hold Special Meeting Thursday on Tenant Protections
SANTA BARBARA, CA - The renoviction of about 1,000 tenants living at CBC & the Sweeps in Isla Vista had their county supervisor, Laura Capps, calling it a Code Red at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday over the “exploitation from out-of-state companies in the biggest mass eviction in California.”
By the end of a long day, Chair Das Williams announced that a meeting to discuss new just cause eviction ordinance language would be held on an urgency basis on Thursday, April 6. The hearing takes place at 9 a.m.
Sacramento considers whether a tenant anti-harassment law could help housing issues
SACRAMENTO, CA - The city of Sacramento is evaluating proposed new rules designed to protect tenants from harassment, but it’s unclear whether the draft plan will receive enough votes to pass in the next few months.
Opponents of the tenant anti-harassment ordinance say it isn’t necessary because state laws cover many of the issues, while supporters argue it’s difficult to hold landlords accountable to existing laws.
Council member Caity Maple proposed the ordinance and said she modeled it after renter laws passed in cities such as Richmond, Oakland and Los Angeles. Despite state and federal landlord-tenant laws, Maple said many low-income and undocumented renters in the Oak Park area are struggling with landlord harassment. Organizers with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment told her a local ordinance could help.
California Landlords Can Evict Renters for Repairs. A New Bill Could Limit That
BAY AREA, CA - After more than a decade in the same Concord apartment with his wife and three kids, Antonio Avila Garcia is getting evicted.
Not because he failed to pay or broke the lease, but because his landlord wants to remodel. But Avila Garcia doesn't want to leave the tight-knit community he's built.
"We all know each other here," he said. "I even have a brother [who lives] here, too."
Major renovations are one of the few reasons outlined in the 2019 Tenant Protection Act that landlords in California can use to evict tenants who haven’t done anything wrong. The landmark legislation was designed to curb the impacts of rising rents and keep tenants in their homes. But housing advocates said the substantial-repairs exception created a loophole property owners are exploiting to kick renters out.
New Los Angeles ‘mansion tax’ has some sellers racing to close
LOS ANGELES, CA - In the rarified air of luxury Los Angeles real estate, 30 days is a common closing timeline and two weeks would be speedy, explained Billy Rose, who’s guided buyers and sellers through high-end home purchases for years.
This week, work for Rose’s brokerage firm, The Agency, included two deals that went to closing in three days. There was one for $8.6 million and another for $14 million, said Rose, the co-founder and vice chairman. Both were cash transactions.
The catalyst is the City of Los Angeles’ “mansion tax,” a transfer tax that takes effect April 1.
‘We are not for sale’: L.A. tenant protestors fight to make housing a human right
LOS ANGELES, CA - “There’s never been a better time to build,” says Blackstone, the largest commercial landlord group in America.
But long-time residents of East Los Angeles neighborhoods say otherwise.
“La vivienda es un derecho humano. Housing is a human right.”
“No community benefit, no investment. Keep families home. Blackstone = Homelessness.”
These were just a few of the signs raised by a crowd of tenant protestors as they gathered in Currie Hall, a student housing building at the USC Health Sciences Campus on Wednesday.
The protest, organized by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment L.A. (ACCE Action), consisted of tenant demands for affordable housing and an outcry against displacement in the neighborhoods surrounding USC, particularly in East L.A., where the HSC campus is located.
Tenants of America's Biggest Landlord Form Union to Fight Evictions, Rent Hikes
SAN DIEGO, CA - The largest landlord in the United States resumed evictions in 2022 after years of upholding a self-imposed eviction ban, and in at least one city that means resetting rents with huge increases, a new report says. And now, tenants in buildings owned by investment firm Blackstone are organizing to do something about it.
VIDEO: Blackstone STEALING Homes From Working Class Americans | Breaking Points
Krystal breaks down how large financial players like Blackstone are hoarding American housing and pricing out millions of Americans.
Tenant rights activists show support for Imperial Beach family facing eviction
SAN DIEGO, CA - Demonstrators gathered in Imperial Beach to stand in solidarity with mother of two Patricia Mendoza, who faces the prospect of losing her home.
Mendoza has lived in the house on Holly Avenue since 2017 and says she always pays her rent on time. She recently received a 60-day notice to vacate so the property can be remodeled.
But the single mom believes it’s because she pays less than her new neighbors, who live in adjacent properties that are owned by the same landlord.
Evictions rise, tenants scramble for help as LA County protections expire
LOS ANGELES, CA - Irma Cervantes could barely afford the $750 monthly rent for the converted garage apartment she lives in with her children in East Los Angeles when she worked full time at a laundromat.
When the pandemic shut down non-essential businesses, Cervantes was out of a job. Then she got sick with long COVID-19.
Now she owes 10 months rent, she said, and is trying to pay it down. Her three children, ages 19 to 23, are helping by working part-time jobs.
Her landlord has increased demands for payment and wants her out, Cervantes said. And on March 31, L.A. County’s tenant eviction protections are set to expire.
“I’m left thinking, what will happen when there aren’t any protections,” Cervantes said. “What will I do with my kids? We can’t pay $1,600 rent.”
Aumentan los desalojos y los inquilinos en el condado de Los Ángeles buscan ayuda; protecciones terminan este 31 de Marzo
LOS ANGELES, CA - Irma Cervantes apenas podía pagar el alquiler mensual de $750 del apartamento convertido en garaje en el que vive con sus hijos en el este de Los Ángeles cuando trabajaba a tiempo completo en una lavandería.
Cuando la pandemia cerró negocios no esenciales, Cervantes se quedó sin trabajo. Luego se enfermó de COVID-19 por largo tiempo.
Ahora debe 10 meses de renta, dijo, y está tratando de pagarla. Sus tres hijos, de 19 a 23 años, están ayudando con trabajos de medio tiempo.
Su arrendador ha aumentado las demandas de pago y quiere que se vaya, dijo Cervantes. Y el 31 de marzo, las protecciones de desalojo para inquilinos del condado de Los Ángeles expirarán.
“Me quedo pensando qué pasará cuando no haya protección”, dijo Cervantes. “¿Qué voy a hacer con mis hijos? No podemos pagar $1,600 de renta”.
‘IF THEY STRIKE, WE WON’T CROSS THE PICKET LINE’
LOS ANGELES, CA - Following weeks of uncharacteristically gloomy days, the weather broke late in the afternoon on Wednesday, March 15, seemingly in preparation for the 4:30 PM Unite for Los Angeles Schools rally in Grand Park outside City Hall. The gathered crowd buzzed with excitement and righteous indignation. Drums and horns sounded, signs and t-shirts were given out and street vendors peddled everything from cotton candy to tacos, making the event feel more like a music festival than a rally.
Our headliners? Leaders from two of the largest unions in Los Angeles County.
SF lawmaker seeks state amendment to make housing a human right
Is having a roof over your head a basic human right?
Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, thinks so, and has proposed an amendment to the state constitution to do just that, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
Advocates push for state amendment to make housing a ‘human right’
Should the state guarantee a right to housing for all Californians?
A coalition of anti-poverty advocates led by Matt Haney, a Democratic state assemblymember from San Francisco, is proposing an amendment to the state constitution that seeks to do just that.
Lanza Senadora Estatal proyecto de ley contra falta de vivienda
LOS ANGELES, CA - Con los alquileres por las nubes, la crisis de personas sin hogar en California continúa creciendo.
Este viernes, la Senadora María Elena Durazo, de Los Ángeles, inició su campaña para evitar que más californianos (trabajadores, familias y personas mayores) sean expulsados de sus hogares y salgan a las calles, en Dolores Mission Church en Boyle Heights, junto con todo el estado líderes de coaliciones a través del trabajo, la fe, la organización, los servicios comunitarios y la defensa.
La Senadora, autora de la Ley de Prevención de la Falta de Vivienda (SB 567), busca abordar la crisis de vivienda del estado al fortalecer la Ley de Protección de Inquilinos de California de 2019, para crear protecciones más sólidas para los inquilinos que ayuden a todos los californianos a tener acceso a refugio.
Desperate fight to stay in her home
LOS ANGELES, CA - In her small studio apartment in Westlake, Leticia Graham stared at her tablet as the courtroom on her screen filled with people like her: renters facing eviction. With mounting panic, she realized she was supposed to have been there in person.
She had little saved for a new apartment and knew losing her case would leave her homeless.
But like a majority of renters in eviction court, she did not have a lawyer, and the judge was explaining that she had made crucial mistakes as the clock ticked on her trial, which was scheduled for that day. It was her only shot at staying longer in her home.
Contrary to what she believed,the judge said, a county eviction moratorium did not prevent her from being evicted. That was a mistake being repeated by renter after renter in the county’s eviction courts. And since Graham did not have a car and was appearing remotely, she would not be able to present evidence, other than her word, to win her case.
As Bay Area Eviction Moratoriums Expire, Local Lawmakers Scramble
BAY AREA - Leah Simon-Weisberg, legal director for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Institute, wants local leaders to think bigger. Housing affordability in California was a crisis before the pandemic. And, she said it’s still a crisis for millions of families in the state.
“The real question is, what do we do for the folks who can't pay for their housing on minimum wage, who can't have three jobs now because there aren't three jobs to have?” she said. “We've now returned to our regularly scheduled housing crisis.”
Plea to end eviction moratorium in Alameda County
ALAMEDA COUNTY - The Alameda County Eviction Moratorium Ordinance was adopted in March 2020 to help renters financially affected by the pandemic.
Three years later, some property owners are claiming tenants are taking advantage of the situation. They are calling on the Board of Supervisors to put a stop to it.
Si eres inquilino en LA y estás enfrentando un desalojo, puedes hacer esto
LOS ANGELES, CA - Durante la pandemia, las protecciones para inquilinos temporales contribuyeron a reducir drásticamente el número de desalojos en el condado de Los Ángeles. Según Kyle Nelson, un compañero de posdoctorado de UCLA que hizo un seguimiento de los desalojos durante la pandemia, el número de demandas de desalojo se redujo a más de la mitad durante la etapa más grave de la pandemia, de unas 40,000 a 50,000 demandas a solo 13,000.
A nivel local, algunas de las nuevas protecciones de los inquilinos se han hecho permanentes y el condado de Los Ángeles ha ampliado sus protecciones hasta finales de marzo.
¿Cuáles son tus derechos como inquilino ante daños por tormentas en tu vivienda?
SACRAMENTO, CA - Sin techo y con goteras, es como un televidente ha vivido por casi dos meses, luego de que las tormentas dañaron su casa, esto debido a que no tiene respuesta de los propietarios, por lo que una abogada explica qué hacer en estos casos y qué ayudas existen en el estado.