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Organizations Ask Oakland Rent Board to Strengthen Tenant Protection Regulations

Published

5 years ago

November 25, 2020

Kiki

Tenants living in The Vulcan Lofts, an artist live/work building near Fruitvale that has over 200 rental units, say that many who live there are not recognized by their landlord as tenants, which makes needed repairs and maintenance difficult or impossible to secure. New amendments to proposed regulations to the Tenant Protection Ordinance could help them if passed. Photo by Zack Haber.

A coalition of 10 different organizations have asked Oakland’s Rent Adjustment Program (RAP) to amend proposed regulations to the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) in an effort to make replacing vacating roommates and filling extra space in rental units easier for tenants.

“In Oakland, tenants already have one-to-one replacement rights,” said Jackie Zaneri, a tenant attorney with ACCE Action, a grassroots organization that is leading the push to amend current proposed TPO regulations. “So if you have three roommates, and one of them moves out, you already have the right to bring in someone else. In practice, this right was difficult to enforce because there were not very good rules about when your landlord could just reject a new person.” But City Council has amended the TPO recently. On July 14, 2020, they approved additional language in the Just Cause for Eviction Ordinance that made it easier for tenants to accept new housemates or roommates.

The new language states that “a landlord shall not endeavor to recover possession of a rental unit if the landlord has unreasonably refused a written request by the tenant to add such occupant(s) to the unit.”

Other language the Council added specified that landlords cannot reject the written request to add occupants based on “the proposed additional occupant’s lack of creditworthiness, if that person will not be legally obligated to pay some or all of the rent to the landlord.”

The language helps most tenants in their ability to take in new roommates without those roommates having to prove creditworthiness to their landlord. It protects tenants

who want to pool money together and have one tenant pay rent as well as people who want to take in family members or friends who are unemployed.

There are some exceptions, such as units not covered under Just Cause and tenants who have already signed on to lease terms that prevent adding new roommates.

For many Oakland tenants, newly added language also allows them to add tenants beyond just replacing roommates, allowing for adding roommates to the total already living in a rental unit as long as that total does not exceed capacity limits set by the Council. These capacity limits are: “two persons in a studio unit, three persons in a one-bedroom unit, four persons in a two-bedroom unit, six persons in a three-bedroom unit, eight persons in a four-bedroom unit; or, the maximum number permitted under state law and/or local codes.” Oakland’s Rent Adjustment Program has created proposed regulations to determine how the newly added language will be enforced, but ACCE, along with tenant unions and organizations that advocate for tenant rights, are calling for the proposed regulations to be changed to protect tenants more.

“We believe that the current proposed criteria still leave ample legal room for landlords to retaliate against tenants by refusing to accept new roommates,” states a letter written by ACCE wrote, signed by Oakland Tenants Union, SMC Tenants Council, Bay Area Legal Aid and six other organizations and then sent to RAP on November 12. The letter also included proposed changes to RAP’s regulations.

The coalition’s proposed changes call for more specific reasons that a landlord would be barred from denying a tenant space, including inability to pay rent during the local emergency related to the pandemic, refusing to provide information that is outside the reasonable scope of an application process, participation in a lawsuit as plaintiff, past participation in tenant organizing, contesting rent increases or filing complaints against landlords.

In situations where a new tenant would be signing onto a lease and agreeing to pay the landlord directly in a rental unit already being rented by others, a credit check could be allowed. But the coalition has suggested a provision where a new tenant could not be subject to stricter credit requirements than other tenants living in the unit.

The coalition is also requesting that additional language be added to a section that gives landlords the right to deny a unit or evict a tenant if it can be proven they have misrepresented significant facts on a housing application.

Their new language would prevent landlords from denying space to tenants who have used other names in the past or had minor discrepancies on credit reports.

In addition to protecting tenants who unintentionally make mistakes when filling out forms, Zaneri said the additional language protects trans and Latinx tenants.

“Tenant screenings can come back with different last names, but there’s a number of reasons why different names could come up,” she said. “They could be transitioning or gender non-conforming. They could be from a [culture] that uses multiple last names, and maybe only one of them comes up.”

The coalition has also asked RAP to eliminate a petition process in new proposed regulations that they say eases landlords’ ability to raise rents if landlords can prove that an original occupant no longer resides in a rental unit.

“We don’t believe that the Rent Adjustment Program should add a new process to allow landlords to raise rent where not required by state law,” reads the letter the coalition sent to RAP on November 12. “We also object to a new petition process that encourages landlords to spy on tenants. We have seen tenants whose landlords catalogued everyone who went into and out of their units or used security cameras to track their movements.”

If a petition process exists that allows landlords to evict tenants if they can prove original tenants no longer reside in a rental unit, the coalition worries such behavior could become more prevalent among landlords who act in bad faith but claim “that they are only collecting evidence for their petition.”

RAP heard public comments from the coalition and their supporters about the proposed amendments to proposed TPO regulations during their last meeting and is also considering the issue during their next meeting on December 10, at 5:00 p.m., when public comments can again be heard.

No regulations to the TPO have yet been codified and the RAP is still considering proposed amendments. Tenants can contact RAP for free help navigating tenant protections that have already been approved. Please call, (510) 238-3721, or on the web at: www.oaklandca.gov/topics/rent-adjustment-program

Kiki

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Related Topics:Jackie Zaneri Rent Adjustment Program (RAP)Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO)

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Rest in Peace: A.M.E. Pastor and L.A Civil Rights Icon Cecil “Chip” Murray Passes

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94. “Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Published

4 weeks ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

The Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME) in Los Angeles, died of natural causes April 6 at his Windsor Hills Home. He was 94.

“Today, we lost a giant. Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray dedicated his life to service, community, and putting God first in all things. I had the absolute honor of working with him, worshiping with him, and seeking his counsel,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of the dynamic religious leader whose ministry inspired and attracted millionaires as well as former gang bangers and people dealing with substance use disorder (SUD).

Murray oversaw the growth of FAME’s congregation from 250 members to 18,000.

“My heart is with the First AME congregation and community today as we reflect on a legacy that changed this city forever,” Bass continued.

Murray served as Senior Minister at FAME, the oldest Black congregation in the city, for 27 years. During that time, various dignitaries visited and he built strong relationships with political and civic leaders in the city and across the state, as well as a number of Hollywood figures. Several national political leaders also visited with Murray and his congregation at FAME, including Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Murray, a Florida native and U.S. Air Force vet, attended Florida A&M University, where he majored in history, worked on the school newspaper and pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He later attended Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles County, where he earned his doctorate in Divinity.

Murray is survived by his son Drew. His wife Bernadine, who was a committed member of the A.M.E. church and the daughter of his childhood pastor, died in 2013.

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Court Throws Out Law That Allowed Californians to Build Duplexes, Triplexes and RDUs on Their Properties

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional. Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

Charter cities in California won a lawsuit last week against the state that declared Senate Bill (SB) 9, a pro-housing bill, unconstitutional.

Passed in 2021, SB 9 is also known as the California Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME). That law permits up to four residential units — counting individual units of duplexes, triplexes and residential dwelling units (RDUs) – to be built on properties in neighborhoods that were previously zoned for only single-family homes.

A Los Angeles Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the cities, pointing out that SB 9 discredited charter cities that were granted jurisdiction to create new governance systems and enact policy reforms. The court ruling affects 121 charter cities that have local constitutions.

Attorney Pam Lee represented five Southern California cities in the lawsuit against the state and Attorney General Rob Bonta.

“This is a monumental victory for all charter cities in California,” Lee said.

However, general law cities are excluded from the court ruling as state housing laws still apply in residential areas.

Attorney General Bonta and his team are working to review the decision and consider all options that will protect SB 9 as a state law. Bonta said the law has helped provide affordable housing for residents in California.

“Our statewide housing shortage and affordability crisis requires collaboration, innovation, and a good faith effort by local governments to increase the housing supply,” Bonta said.

“SB9 is an important tool in this effort, and we’re going to make sure homeowners have the opportunity to utilize it,” he said.

Charter cities remain adamant that the state should refrain from making land-use decisions on their behalf. In the lawsuit, city representatives argued that SB 9 eliminates local authority to create single-family zoning districts and approve housing developments.

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Funds for Down Payments and Credit Repair Given to Black First Time Homebuyers

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) won a $10,000 fair housing settlement last November against a property management company, CIM Group LP, a global real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles, and property owner, RACR Sora, LLC, for implementing a blanket ban on renting to tenants with criminal histories at Sora Apartments in Inglewood. Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

Published

4 weeks ago

February 3, 2026

Oakland Post

By McKenzie Jackson, California Black Media

Three months earlier, the department, which enforces California’s civil rights laws, won another $20,000 civil rights settlement against a Lemon Grove property manager, who had targeted a Black tenant with a series of racist actions and threats of violence.

CRD Director Kevin Kish said the department investigates cases of apparent racial bias in housing and sometimes more subtle acts of prejudice like nuisance-free or crime-free housing policies or holding tenants to different standards based on their race.

Kish said, “People will get evicted if they call the police. This can negatively impact victims of domestic violence. We also see these no-crime ordinances, or no-crime policies, used in racially discriminatory ways. If there is some kind of incident, and the police are called and it involves a Black family, then they get evicted, but other folks aren’t necessarily evicted.”

On April 11,1968, a week after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, and nationality.

Kish noted that William Byron Rumford, the first Black California State Assemblymember, who represented Berkley and Oakland, spearheaded the passing of the Rumford Act in 1963. That law sought to end discriminatory housing practices in the Golden State, five years before the Fair Housing Act became law.
Real estate agent and housing advocate Ashley Garner is the director of the CLTRE Keeper Home Ownership program. That organization gave 25 Black, indigenous, and people of color $17,500 each in down payment and credit repair support to purchase a home in Oak Park, a traditionally Black neighborhood in Sacramento, last fall. CLTRE obtained a $500,000 grant from the city of Sacramento to award the funds to the residents after they completed an eight-week homeownership program.

In 2021, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) noted that around four in 10 Black California families owned homes, which trails that of White, Asian-American and Latinos.
According to Forbes, the median price for a home in California is over $500,000, which is double the cost of a home in the rest of the country.

Black lawmakers recently introduced their Reparations Priority Bill Package that includes support for Black first-time homebuyers, homeowners’ mortgage assistance and property tax relief for neighborhoods restricted by historic redlining.

California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) spokesperson Eric Johnson said CalHFA helps prospective low-income and moderate-income Californians purchase homes by offering down payment and closing cost aid. “There are lots of people who have steady jobs, good credit scores, constant income, but they haven’t been able to save up the money that traditional banks need or want to see for a down payment,” Johnson stated. “We help those folks out. We give a loan for the down payment to get them over that hurdle.”
CRD and the Department of Real Estate hosted “Fair Housing Protections for People with Criminal Histories” Zoom call on April 10.

On April 25, CRD will also hold Zoom seminars focused on advocating for fair housing for people with disabilities.