The San Francisco Association of Realtors, which has a long history of actively opposing the protection of tenants and rental housing, now wants tenants to believe it is on their side. The Realtors even recently formed and funded the Committee to Preserve Rental Housing to alert tenants about a ballot measure that they say favors dreaded rich people.

The only problem: It's complete bullshit.

“Wealthy tenants will benefit most if Proposition F passes,” warns a mailer that landed this week in the mailboxes of San Francisco apartment dwellers, referring a local ballot measure that would allow renters to delay rent increases if they lose their job or their salaries dip by 20 percent or more.

But the mailer warns that the measure would somehow favor rich renters, citing this example: “Take a tenant whose annual income has dropped, for any reason, from $250,000 to $200,000. Under Proposition F, that tenant would be able to apply for financial hardship status and, at the discretion of a public official, qualify for financial relief.”

Yet the measure doesn't really allow that scenario. Ted Gullicksen, director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, which helped draft the measure, points out that it only applies to renters who pay 33 percent or more of their incomes in rent, which in the Realtors' example, would be a $5,500 per month home.

“Which, even in San Francisco, is pretty high,” he said. Plus, the Rent Board (that “public official” the mailer darkly warns of) could still tell that poor rich guy, sorry, you're denied, perhaps it's time to find a slightly cheaper place to live. But Gullicksen said he's not surprised at such a deceptive attack from the Realtors (which formed the group on April 30 using campaign attorney Jim Sutton, downtown's usual dirty trickster, according to an Ethics Commission filing).

“The Realtors over the years have increasingly taken the lead in fighting rent control measures, so they are now even more active than groups like San Francisco Apartment Association,” Gullicksen said, noting the Realtors have also pushed hard on ending condo conversion limits and other efforts to protect rental housing. “The individual Realtors are also landlords and speculators to a great degree.”

I called the Association of Realtors for comment and am waiting for a return call, but I'll add their response as a comment if and when I hear back.

Gullicksen was confident renters would see through the mailer, particularly because it was required by law to include the line “major funding by San Francisco Association of Realtors.” He's more worried about voter turnout, which could be low for the June 8 election. And even though two-thirds of San Franciscans are renters, they aren't the most reliable voters and could constitute as low as 40 percent of voters in this election.

So if you rent, don't be fooled and don't forget to vote.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Tenants Together is making this article available on our website in an effort to advance the understanding of tenant rights issues in California. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Here's a scary number: Over 200,000 California tenants are directly affected by the rise in foreclosures. A report released yesterday -- "California Tenants in the Foreclosure Crisis" -- says that at least 37% of residential units in foreclosure in California were rentals, while the largest percentage of foreclosures were single-family homes.

The unfair and unnecessary displacement of tenants at the hands of banks is affecting communities across the state on a devastating scale.These tenants are the hidden victims of the foreclosure crisis which they did not have a hand in creating. Most of the blame goes to bad home loans from shady financial institutions.
Like putting a Band-Aid on an amputation, a new federal law increases the eviction notice period to 90 days. While this is a step in the right direction, it does nothing to provide longterm security for tenants during the housing crisis.

One bright side is the organization called Tenants Together. The group not only reports on the human impact of the foreclosure crisis but also operates California's only hotline for tenants in foreclosure situations. Californians caught in this bind can call the Tenant Foreclosure Hotline toll free at 1-888-495-8020 or start the query process online at www.tenantstogether.org/hotlineintake.

FAIR USE NOTICE. This document may contain copyrighted material the use of which may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Tenants Together is making this article available on our website in an effort to advance the understanding of tenant rights issues in California. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

More than 200,000 tenants were displaced last year as a result of residential foreclosures in California, according to a report released by Tenants Together, a statewide organization for renters' rights.

The group, which works to protect and expand tenant rights, found that 77,145 of the 211,154 residential units in foreclosure in California last year, or 37%, were rentals. That includes single-family homes, condominiums and multifamily buildings.

"Tenants are innocent and hidden victims of a foreclosure crisis they did nothing to create," said Gabe Treves, program coordinator and author of the report.

The 2010 report discusses recent developments facing tenants of foreclosed properties and analyzes data from 2009.

In Fresno County, 5,562 renters were affected by rental-unit foreclosures. Another 6,700 renters were affected in Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties.

The report also found that there was a 3% decrease in the rate of foreclosures of single-family homes between 2008 and 2009, while there was a 70% increase in the rate of foreclosures for multifamily buildings.