The Eviction Tsunami for Tenants is Coming

During the recent storms last month, an Ashland resident called members of Eden Renters United that her entire apartment was flooded with sewage water, destroying her entire home. Her landlord had refused to fix their plumbing and now her entire family had to be relocated with no assurance they will have a home to return to. Under current state law, a landlord does not have an obligation to keep a tenancy if major repairs are needed. Unincorporated residents need a local just cause law so they have a right to return under no fault of theirs, our families need assurance they will be housed. Note, the current state law leaves out renters who rent from a private single family home, this makes 6,000 local rental homes and 10,000 people vulnerable to being kicked out without a reason in the unincorporated area. Poverty for Black and Asian American communities in areas like Castro Valley have dramatically increased since 2010 and face housing instability.

For over three years, we have been asking the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to adopt a local Just Cause law for residents of the unincorporated area. A surge of evictions or a tsunami has been documented to happen locally and nationally after moratorium lifts. When neighboring Bay Area counties lifted their moratorium, eviction rates were on track to surpass pre-pandemic levels. There is an impending disaster upon Eden area residents who have the least protections in Alameda County and the Supervisors can take action now to prevent further harm. Without a local Just Cause ordinance and enforcement of it, many residents in the unincorporated area will be vulnerable to being homeless and we will all suffer as we lose more working families in the Eden area.

– Leo Esclamado, Ashland