Activism

Attorney General Rob Bonta Takes Action Protecting Renters From Unlawful Evictions

“California’s families are facing a housing affordability crisis at levels we have never seen before,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “About 1 in 7 renters in California are behind on their rent potentially facing eviction. With the state’s last remaining eviction moratorium expiring just a few days ago, the threat of eviction is here.”

Published

2 years ago

July 24, 2022

Oakland Post

California Attorney General Rob Bonta also encouraged individuals with reports of landlord’s attempting an illegal eviction to send a complaint via email to housing@doj.ca.gov

By Edward Henderson, California Black Media

On Wednesday, July 13, Attorney General Rob Bonta hosted a virtual press conference to announce new directives to help protect tenants against unlawful eviction from their landlords.

“California’s families are facing a housing affordability crisis at levels we have never seen before,” said Bonta. “About 1 in 7 renters in California are behind on their rent potentially facing eviction. With the state’s last remaining eviction moratorium expiring just a few days ago, the threat of eviction is here.”

The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Housing Strikeforce has received numerous reports of landlords conducting unlawful lockouts and “self-help evictions.”

These evictions include changing locks without a court order, shutting off water or electricity, or removing a tenant’s personal property to force them to leave their homes. Landlords are resorting to these tactics to avoid having to appear in court.

In response to these reports, Bonta issued the new legal bulletin to law enforcement agencies across the state to prevent and respond to unlawful lockouts and self-help evictions.

“While landlords may be frustrated, they have a responsibility to go through proper proceedings if eviction is the necessary next step.

“Let me be clear: That means filing a case in court. You cannot change the locks, shut off power, or remove personal property in order to force a tenant out of their home. These so-called self-help evictions are unlawful. Full stop. And you may be held civilly or criminally liable.

“Today’s guidance underlines law enforcement’s important role in responding to reports of illegal evictions and their responsibility to intervene to enforce the law and stop self-help evictions when they see them,” Bonta said.

AB 1482 (“the California Tenant Protection Act of 2019”) prohibits landlords from evicting most tenants without “just cause.”

According to the law, there are two kinds of evictions: “at fault” evictions and “no fault” evictions. At fault evictions include failure to pay rent, criminal activity on the premises, and refusal to allow lawful entry. No fault evictions include owner move-in, remodeling that requires permits and will take more than 30 days, and intent to demolish the unit.

Bonta’s new guidance for law enforcement called to a dispute between a landlord and tenant dictates the following:

Law enforcement should never help a landlord evict a tenant by force or by threats.
Only the sheriff or marshal or their deputies may evict a tenant and only with a court order. Other peace officers should not ask the tenant to leave their home.
Law enforcement should advise the landlord or other persons involved that it is a misdemeanor to force tenants out of a rental property and should instruct them to allow the tenant back into the home.
Law enforcement should advise the landlord to seek legal advice if they have an issue with a tenant.
Law enforcement should write a report about the incident even if no arrest is made.

“For our part at DOJ, as long as the housing affordability, availability and equity crisis is here, we’re going to keep on pushing forward,” said Bonta. “Every Californian deserves to have a roof over their head, and I’m committed to using all the tools of my office to advance Californian’s housing rights.”

Jessica Jewell, Deputy Director at California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc (CRLA) also spoke at the virtual press conference to support the DOJ’s efforts and provide helpful information to tenants who have experienced unlawful evictions. The CRLA is a non-profit organization providing legal services with a focus on housing, employment, education and rural income issues.

“Today we applaud the attorney general’s office for the action they have taken and the guidance they have issued today,” said Jewell. “While the unlawful detainer process provides tenants some protection, the process can also be intimidating and inaccessible, especially for low-income tenants who cannot afford to hire a private attorney when often landlords have strong legal representation.”

Tenants looking for representation or more information about their rights and protections when it comes to evictions can visit lawhelpca.org or crla.org.

Bonta also encouraged individuals with reports of landlord’s attempting an illegal eviction to send a complaint via email to housing@doj.ca.gov

A copy of the guidance bulletin can be found at here or at https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/media/2022-dle-05.pdf

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

California Commits $100 Million to Producing Its Own Insulin

Don't Miss

COMMENTARY: New Book Examines Life of George Floyd in Context of Racism, Oppression in U.S.

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of July 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 24 – 30, 2024

Published

8 hours ago

July 26, 2024

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

Oakland Post: Week of July 17 -23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 17 -23, 2024

Published

6 days ago

July 20, 2024

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

Community Celebrates Historic Oakland Billboard Agreements

We, the Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition, which includes Oakland’s six leading community health clinics, all ethnic chambers of commerce, and top community-based economic development organizations – celebrate the historic billboard agreements approved last year by the Oakland City Council. We have fought for this opportunity against the billboard monopoly, against Clear Channel, for five years. The agreements approved by Council set the bar for community benefits – nearly $70 Million over their lifetime, more than 23 times the total paid by all previous Clear Channel relocation agreements in Oakland combined.

Published

2 weeks ago

July 13, 2024

Oakland Post

The Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition.

Grand Jury Report Incorrect – Council & Community Benefit

Unfortunately, a recent flawed Grand Jury report got it wrong, so we feel compelled to correct the record:

Regarding the claim that the decision was made hastily, the report itself belies that claim. The process was five years in the making, with two and a half years from the first City Council hearing to the final vote. Along the way, as the report describes, there were multiple Planning Commission hearings, public stakeholder outreach meetings, a Council Committee meeting, and then a vote by the full Council. Not only was this not hasty, it had far more scrutiny than any of the previous relocation agreements approved by the City with Clear Channel, all of which provide 1/23 of the benefits of the Becker/OFI agreements approved by the Council.
More importantly, the agreements will actually bring millions to the City and community, nearly $70M to be exact, 23 times the previous Clear Channel relocation agreements combined. They certainly will not cost the city money, especially since nothing would have been on the table at all if our Coalition had not been fighting for it. Right before the decisive City Council Committee hearing, in the final weeks before the full Council vote, there was a hastily submitted last-minute “proposal” by Clear Channel that was debunked as based on non-legal and non-economically viable sites, and relying entirely on the endorsement of a consultant that boasts Clear Channel as their biggest client and whose decisions map to Clear Channel’s monopolistic interests all over the country. Some City staff believed these unrealistic numbers based on false premises, and, since they only interviewed City staff, the Grand Jury report reiterated this misinformation, but it was just part of Clear Channel’s tried and true monopolistic practices of seeking to derail agreements that actually set the new standard for billboard community benefits. Furthermore, our proposals are not mutually exclusive – if Clear Channel’s proposal was real, why had they not brought it forward previously? Why have they not brought it forward since? Because it was not a real proposal – it was nothing but smoke and mirrors, as the Clear Channel’s former Vice President stated publicly at Council.

Speaking on behalf of the community health clinics that are the primary beneficiaries of the billboard funding, La Clinica de la Raza CEO Jane Garcia, states: “In this case, the City Council did the right thing – listening to the community that fought for five years to create this opportunity that is offering the City and community more than twenty times what previous billboard relocation agreements have offered.”

Oakland Billboard Economic Development Coalition

Native American Health Center	La Clínica de la Raza	West Oakland Health Center
Asian Health Services	Oakland LGBTQ Center	Roots Community Health Center
The Unity Council	Black Cultural Zone	Visit Oakland
Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce	Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce	Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce
Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce	Building Trades of Alameda County	(partial list)