Victory for Miguel! ACCE Los Angeles member Miguel Angel Sorto won back $11,865 his landlord had illegally overcharged him in rent. When Miguel's landlord illegally raised his rent, Miguel fought to enforce his rights under the city's rent stabilization laws. The Los Angeles Housing Department investigated Miguel's complaint and determined his landlord had been illegally overcharging him and ordered the landlord to return the money. Miguel received the check for $11,865 on Aug. 8. Miguel's determination shows when we as tenants know our rights and fight back against unfair treatment, we can win!  

On July 11, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to codify the right to free legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction in unincorporated areas of the county. The motion directs the county counsel to draft an ordinance establishing the right to counsel for eligible tenants by FY 2024-2025. ACCE leaders, as part of the Renter's Right to Counsel coalition, spent weeks attending board meetings and giving public comments to ensure this important right is guaranteed for LA County tenants! LA County joins New York City and San Francisco in establishing a renter's right to counsel.

After months of organizing, on May 2nd, Oakland City Council voted to pass the responsible Oakland Eviction Moratorium phase out plan which includes permanent just cause eviction protections. Despite fierce opposition and a smear campaign from corporate landlords, Oakland tenants were victorious a responsible phase out and stronger eviction protections. 

In a win that will pave the way for expanding tenant protections in San Diego, the City Council approved a resolution on Jan. 24 officially declaring housing is a human right in San Diego. San Diego becomes the second city in the U.S., after Madison, Wis., to pass a housing is a human right resolution. Congratulations to the tenant leaders and organizers of ACCE-San Diego for your work toward making this victory possible!

In a huge victory for tenants across the city of Los Angeles, the City Council voted to dramatically expand permanent renter protections just in time before the city's eviction moratorium expired. The Keep LA Housed Coalition, which includes ACCE and dozens of housing justice allies, organized for months to finally win near-universal just cause protections and relocation assistance for LA tenants displaced by large rent increases. Thanks to this expansion, 600,000 more LA renters are now protected against eviction for no reason. Thirty-five ACCE-Los Angeles tenant leaders attended the City Council meeting and 20 leaders spoke at public comment in favor of expanding protections. In another win, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors extended the countywide eviction moratorium by two months to March 31, 2023. This now gives other incorporated cities in LA County more time to implement permanent protections.

ACCE tenant leaders in Chula Vista claimed victory in October after the Chula Vista City Council approved stronger protections against no-fault evictions. The new law goes beyond state law by making it harder for landlords in the city to pursue no-fault evictions, and by requiring tenants who do get evicted receive relocation assistance. The law also strengthens anti-harassment protections, by including prohibitions on verbal harassment, threats, coercion and refusal to take rent payments. The ordinance is slated to go into effect in March 2023.

After a months long campaign, the residents of the Siesta RV Park in Imperial Beach and ACCE San Diego leaders finally won strong city-wide renter protections- including an eviction ban, anti-harassment protections and a prohibition on rent increases of more than 5% annually. The Imperial Beach City Council ended a rule the park's owner, Miramar Imperial Beach LLC, was enforcing that required residents of mobile home and RV parks to sign six-month leases and vacate their spaces for 48 hours after those leases expired.

Los Angeles County tenants made new gains this month at both the county and city level, thanks to amazing organizing work by ACCE Los Angeles tenant leaders and our allies in the Keep LA Housed coalition. The Los Angeles City Council agreed to implement permanent just cause protections for all LA City tenants, and the County Board of Supervisors voted to strengthen renter protections and expand eviction defense services for all tenants in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles. The housing justice movement in Los Angeles is growing stronger and more powerful every day! 

After months of organizing and actions demanding stronger protections for Antioch tenants, the Antioch City Council passed a  rent control ordinance that would cap annual rent increases to 3% or 60% of CPI, whichever is lower. The vote reflects a shift in housing policy across the state with dozens of cities across CA working to pass stronger tenant protections!

Struggling tenants in the City of Pomona will see their rents capped for the next year, thanks to the City Council's passage of a rent stabilization ordinance in August 2022. The one-year rent stabilization ordinance caps rent increases at 4%, or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. This huge victory was made possible thanks to a five-year campaign led by local community groups like Pomona United for Stable Housing (PUSH) and tenant leaders like Los Angeles-ACCE member Yesenia Miranda Meza who organized outside of City Hall.