Renters in unincorporated Alameda County, dwelling in circumstances {that a} vital report known as “legally uninhabitable,” might lastly see enhancements if the Board of Supervisors approves updates to its tenant ordinances.
The revised laws will broaden “simply trigger” eviction protections to single-family properties of unincorporated county residents and set up obligatory mediation in rental disputes and evictions, creating a brand new stability of energy between tenants and landlords.
Housing advocates have expressed assist for the brand new ordinances.
“We acknowledge the significance of balancing the wants of small landlords with tenants, and we consider the proposal accomplishes simply that,” mentioned Julia Vazquez of the grassroots tenants’ rights group Eden Voice, at a Board of Supervisors assembly on Sept. 17. “We’re prepared to compromise… and consider it is a cheap lodging.”
In 2018, the Board of Supervisors directed county workers to craft updates for the county’s rental ordinances primarily based on conferences with renters and landlords. Renters have cited poor dwelling circumstances in Alameda County’s unincorporated communities for years, in line with surveys by My Eden Voice and East Bay Housing Organizations.
A type of renters, Elena Torres, mentioned she and different tenants the place she lives in Cherryland have needed to take their landlords to court docket to get repairs made on the property. She accused her landlord of threatening to make use of “eviction as retaliation” for these upkeep requests. That’s why she is urging the Board of Supervisors to cross the “simply trigger” eviction protections which stipulate that legitimate causes should be given to evict tenants, resembling violating the phrases of the lease or making a nuisance.
“We’re not getting a free place to stay. We’re paying, and we aren’t taking benefit,” Torres mentioned. “On the finish of the day, they’re those who resolve to be within the enterprise of rental property. And as a enterprise proprietor of rental property, they need to take the duty (to repair the property).”
The proposed ordinance would additionally improve the county’s guidelines on mediation in rental disputes. At present, mediation is a voluntary course of that tenants don’t have to take part in. This usually results in court docket instances the place landlords foot the invoice whereas tenants might refuse to pay hire till the case is resolved, in line with the Alameda Group Growth Company.
The brand new proposal offers “extra tooth” to the county’s ordinances, mentioned deputy director of Alameda County’s Group Growth Company Jennifer Pearce. The revised ordinance would make mediation necessary for tenants and create a brand new program to supervise mediation in rental disputes earlier than involving the authorized system.
“Not solely is mediation cheaper, it’s proven to be pretty efficient,” Pearce mentioned.
“We predict it is a game-changer,” mentioned Eric Barnes from East Bay Rental Housing Affiliation in assist of the mediation ordinance.
The Board of Supervisors made their ultimate edits to the proposals on Sept. 17. The ordinance will obtain its first studying in October, Pearce mentioned. A second studying — and a passing vote — might come earlier than the tip of the yr. Nonetheless, the Board of Supervisors stays divided.
“Quite a lot of the issues from the tenant teams are concerning the livability, the circumstances of the rental items. That’s not going to be solved with simply trigger or the provisions which are being known as for,” Supervisor Lena Tam mentioned earlier than alluding to state regulation overlaying “simply trigger” evictions. “We have now mechanisms in place.”
Supervisor Elisa Márquez disagreed with Tam and pressured the significance of passing the protections for renters. She added that delays from the Board of Supervisors had been detrimental to renters in unincorporated areas who don’t have avenues to redress their issues just like the residents of Oakland, Hayward or Berkeley do.
“It seems like we proceed and proceed to delay this much-needed safety,” Márquez mentioned, as Tam prioritized passage of the mediation ordinance. “There’s been many, many concessions from renters, and our housing ingredient is vulnerable to dropping $55 million in grant funding.”
The tip could also be in sight six years after the Board of Supervisors approved workers to overview Alameda County’s rental ordinance.
However passage can’t occur quickly sufficient for Torres and her 13-year-old daughter who returned to high school this fall. Torres fears how an eviction might upset not solely her household’s housing safety but additionally the way it might trigger stress for her daughter if she is pressured to maneuver colleges.
“What about our households? What concerning the faculty of my daughter?” Torres mentioned. “How unhealthy is that this going to have an effect on my daughter to know that we now have to go away the home solely as a result of I requested (our landlord) to take away the roaches?”