Housing conditions/habitability

Landlord and Tenant Shirk Responsibility in Fatal West Oakland Fire

Both the landlord and main tenant of 2551 San Pablo Avenue are deflecting responsibility of who was in charge of keeping the building safe before March’s deadly West Oakland fire.

Keith Kim is the owner of the building. Kim and his family hired spokesman Sam Singer to speak on their behalf. In an interview with 2 Investigates, Singer said the family is heartbroken about what happened.

Boyle Heights Tenants Protest Massive Rent Hike at Apartment Complex

The cost to rent an apartment in Southern California continues to rise and tenants at one apartment complex in Boyle Heights fought back on Wednesday.

More than 20 tenants said they received a letter from Crescent Canyon Management informing them that their rent would be increasing effective April 1.

"We're trying to understand how someone can go and deliver a notice for an $800 rent increase and then run away and hide and not talk about it," Elizabeth Blaney with the Los Angeles Tenants Union said.

Landlord of West Oakland Building Destroyed by Fire Was Working to Evict Tenants

Tenants of the San Pablo Avenue apartment building destroyed by a fire early this morning were resisting a controversial eviction, according to court records and interviews.

The residents even obtained a restraining order against the building's landlord. And, now, their lawyer is calling for an arson investigation.

Records also show that the West Oakland building's dangerous conditions were known to the landlord, master tenant, the City of Oakland, and other authorities.

Richmond Rent Program

The Richmond Rent Program is a city program that enforces the Richmond Fair Rent, Just Cause for Evictions and Homeowner's Protection Ordinance. The program provides information and assistance to tenants and landlords who are covered by the Ordinance, which went into effect December 30, 2016. Tenants can call with questions about rent increases, repair and habitability issues, evictions, and other tenant-landlord issues. The City of Richmond also puts on regular Know-Your-Rights trainings. Upcoming trainings: 

'No More Slum Conditions': Concord Apartment Residents Crowd Landlord's Doorstep, Demand Repairs

Residents from a Concord apartment building on Saturday traveled to Hillsborough demanding that their landlord fix their homes allegedly riddled with mold and cockroaches.

Folks claim the landlord has continued to raise rent prices by $300 on a monthly basis but failed to pay any attention to the laundry list of alleged transgressions, which also includes claims of water damage and mildew.

We Need REAL Solutions to the Housing Crisis

Californians are living in overcrowded, uninhabitable conditions and are paying more than half their income in rent. Meanwhile cities primarily produce luxury market-rate housing (if they produce any at all), lack basic anti-displacement policies, and code enforcement departments don't prioritize the needs of tenants.

We need to change our priorities to protect people first, not profits. Instead of housing policy for the few, we propose these guiding principles to inform state and local legislative solutions:

Help build power for renters' rights: