Unincorporated Renters Get New Protections
Alameda Couty is giving more than 60,000 renters in unincorporated communities new legal protections, including banning landlords from conducting criminal background checks on applicants.
At its meeting yesterday, Supervisors approved three ordinances that were first reviewed on December 20. The vote comes as the county's COVID eviction moratorium is expected to expire at the end of April.
“It’s exciting. This vote reminds us that justice will be brought to our historically ignored community and to those who were unjustly displaced. We cannot forget about us.”
"It's exciting," said Paulina Jacobo, an Ashland renter. "This vote reminds us that justice will be brought to our historically ignored community and to those who were unjustly displaced. We cannot forget about us."
Unlike their neighbors elsewhere in Alameda County cities, renters in the Eden Area, which includes Ashland, Cherryland, Fairview, San Lorenzo, Hayward Acres, and Castro Valley, have no local tenant protections. Renter-advocate groups have long complained of skyrocketing rents, uninhabitable living conditions, and no-fault evictions.
There are more than 140,000 residents in the unincorporated communities, and renters make up more than half of unincorporated residents in the unincorporated area.
The three ordinances include:
· Just Cause Eviction: This proposal expands California's eviction protections and creates additional restrictions before landlords can evict renters. It will establish a fee on landlords to implement new restrictions such as requiring owners and their family to live in the unit for five years if a tenancy is terminated through owner move-in.
· Rent Registry: This proposal requires housing providers to provide their rent rolls and tenancy information to the county and establish a new county department to monitor, control, and report publicly on the housing market.
· Fair Chance: Limits a landlord's ability to use criminal background checks to screen a prospective tenant. And it allows existing tenants to move in family members without the landlord's permission and bypass screening criteria regardless of their criminal background.
This was the first time newly elected District 3 Supervisor Lena Tam got a chance to vote. Her predecessor, Wilma Chan, was a staunch supporter of renter's rights. In its December 20 vote, District 4 Supervisors Nate Miley abstained from the first reading. Supervisors Richard Valle of District 2, David Brown of District 3, and Keith Carson of District 5 voted for Just Cause.
The Board of Supervisors has previously endorsed rent stabilization, proactive rental inspection, and an anti-harassment ordinance. Staff from Alameda County's Housing and Community Development department has said they are drafting this legislation in three phases.
"To effectively protect tenants from displacement, it is essential that just cause for eviction be implemented in tandem with rent stabilization and anti-harassment policies," said Megan Nguyen, Policy Associate at East Bay Housing Organizations.
"This ensures that landlords cannot evict tenants to increase rents or raise rents so high that tenants are left with no option but to leave," Nguyen said.
Landlord advocates with the California Apartment Association called the vote premature, considering the current eviction moratorium is still underway, and the cost to taxpayers to implement the ordinances still hasn't been formally studied.
"These ordinances suffered from significant legal deficiencies. Adopting them would have rushed through problematic laws with sweeping consequences," said Rhovy Lyn Antonio, CAA's senior vice president of local public affairs.