News and Views
September 2, 2009
In a major victory for East Palo Alto tenants, the city's biggest landlord suffered a legal setback Tuesday when a San Mateo County judge granted an injunction barring it from raising rents at its properties.
September 1, 2009
A Page Mill Properties spokesman said Monday that the ownership of more than 1,700 units in East Palo Alto is in question after the company, the city's largest landlord, failed to make a $50 million payment to Wells Fargo Bank last month.
September 1, 2009
Father and son landlords in Illinois are filing a federal law suit against Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart claiming "the pace at which tenants are now being evicted is wreaking havoc" on their business.
August 31, 2009
Central coast property managers claim that scam artists are reposting legimate ads for rental properties, only with different contact info and reduced prices, in an attempt to lure unwary renters to provide personal information and send them money.
August 30, 2009
In this second part of a three-part series on affordable housing in Victor Valley, the authors cite data from the California Department of Housing and Community Development which shows no link between violent crime and high density or affordable housing.
August 28, 2009
Christopher Braun, who narrowly lost to landlord Robert Kronovet in the November 2008 election for the Santa Monica Rent Board, was the only person to submit an application by Wednesday evening's deadline to fill a vacancy left by former Chairman Joel Koury, who resigned last month.
August 28, 2009
Nationwide, funding to build low-cost apartments has dropped by more than half in two years to $4 billion, adversely affecting thousands of low-income renters, especially in rural towns and small cities.
The Santa Cruz City Council voted Thursday night to deny an appeal for the coastal permit to close the rent-controlled Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park.
August 28, 2009
In this blog post, Robert Doggett of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid says that banks are often issuing confusing and misleading notices to tenants in foreclosure situations.
August 27, 2009
A Eureka task force, created to solve blight and crime in neighborhoods, announced that it would be dropping the draft ordinance meant to start a complaint-driven program for rental housing inspection and instead will amend the city business licensing program.
August 27, 2009
A San Jose public television station will air a live program to address the problems of tenants and homeowners in the foreclosure crisis. Tenants are invited to attend the show and submit their questions to a panel.
An attorney for a subsidiary of East Palo Alto's largest landlord, Page Mill Properties, filed documents asking the San Mateo Local Agency Formation Commission to remove areas west and south of Highway 101 from the city's "sphere of influence." If approved, the move could be a first step toward unincorporating that part of the city.
August 27, 2009
If the Capitola City Council backs the recommendation of city staff tonight, the owner of the rent-controlled Surf and Sand Mobile Home Park will not get a green light to close the park in November as he had hoped.
August 26, 2009
Almost 200 Oakland residents, including 74 children, were forced from their homes Tuesday after city officials condemned an uninhabitable apartment complex. The owner has filed for bankruptcy while the bank refuses to foreclose and take ownership.
August 25, 2009
The Ridgecrest City Council has approved an ordinance that will strengthen the rights of tenants and protect them from evictions after foreclosure.
August 25, 2009
The Bakersfield Californian covers Ridgecrest's passage of it's just cause eviction law for tenants in bank-owned properties after foreclosure.
August 23, 2009
Columnist Dan Walters explains that if the recent appellate court decision stands in the Palmer/Sixth Street Properties v. City of Los Angeles case, it marks a major set back for low-income housing advocates.
August 22, 2009
Mendocino County hosted a U.S. Census Bureau regional conference Friday. Organizers who cite renters as "hard-to-count" populations, hope residents will "stand up and be counted."
An effort by Escondido city officials to overhaul mobile-home park regulations for the first time since 1965 is opposed by both a group representing the roughly 7,000 residents living in the parks and by the landlords who own Escondido's 23 parks.
A three-judge panel ruled Friday that Sonoma County had overstepped its bounds by imposing additional requirements on converting mobile parks from rentals to resident-ownership and hence eliminate rent control in the parks.