Bay Area

Pro-Tenant Groups, Landlords Mobilize Over City Eviction Moratorium: Oakland City Council prepares timeline to phase out eviction protections

Landlords held a protest this week at an Oakland City Council meeting calling for an end to the city’s eviction moratorium protection, one of the strongest in the state, which was enacted to protect renters during the pandemic. At the landlord rally Tuesday afternoon in City Hall lobby before the council meeting, led by former mayoral candidate Seneca Scott, landlords and landlord organizations demanded council members end the city’s eviction moratorium. Former City Councilmember Loren Taylor spoke at the rally.

Published

3 years ago

March 27, 2023

Oakland Post

Landlords rally to end Oakland's eviction moratorium, enacted to protect renters during the pandemic, Tuesday, March 21 at Oakland City Hall. Photo by Ken Epstein

By Ken Epstein

At the landlord rally Tuesday afternoon in City Hall lobby before the council meeting, led by former mayoral candidate Seneca Scott, landlords and landlord organizations demanded council members end the city’s eviction moratorium. Former City Councilmember Loren Taylor spoke at the rally.

“There’s a lot of data out there that speaks to the hundreds of millions of dollars that are outstanding in terms of unpaid rent, just in Oakland, not to mention the damage of property…destroying property, and we can’t remove them. It’s time to end this eviction moratorium,” said Derek Barnes of the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA).

Defending the moratorium or calling for its gradual phasing out were several pro-tenant organizations. Oakland Rising put out a call on social media for tenant supporters to attend the council meeting to speak in favor of renter protections.

“It’s time to amplify our voices and urge our council members to retain the local moratorium ordinance that helps protect tenants against unjust evictions … Join us in standing together on behalf of those needing reliable shelter from potential displacement,” according to the Oakland Rising statement.

Meanwhile, as these eviction protections wind down in cities across the Bay Area and the state, the Oakland City Council has prepared a proposal to gradually phase out its moratorium, while seeking to respond to the needs of both landlords and tenants. Almost 60% of Oakland residents are renters.

The problem of how to handle the fallout in the wake of the moratorium is huge and not confined to Oakland. Across the state an estimated 600,000 people owe $2.1 billion in back rent, according to researchers.

In Los Angeles city and county, about 200,000 people owe more than half a billion dollars in unpaid rent, according to the website Cal Matters.

In Alameda County, 32,900 households owe $125 million in unpaid rent, according to the National Equity Atlas. Thousands of Bay Area tenants are facing eviction, according to tenant advocates.

At the same time, small landlords say they are threatened with foreclosure as they are unable to collect rents or recoup unpaid rent owed by tenants over the last two or three years.

At this week’s Rules & Legislation Committee meeting of the Oakland City Council, Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and Councilmember Dan Kalb were expected to schedule legislation to phase out the moratorium.

The legislation would be heard at the April 11 meeting of the Community and Economic Development Committee, which could send it to the full council for a first reading on April 18, and a second and final reading on May 2.

This proposed ordinance would end the moratorium in phases “in order to help avoid a surge of evictions leading to an increase in homelessness, and allowing property owners to proceed with urgent evictions,” according to a press statement.

If approved, the timeline would be:

May 1 – Aug. 31, 2023 – transition period – certain evictions allowed.
Sept. 1, 2023 – eviction moratorium ends.
July 1, 2024 – rent increase moratorium ends.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Season 3, Episode 52

Don't Miss

James Ira Dancy, 65

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.