3 18-1295 Subject: Elimination Of Exemptions For Owner-Occupied Duplexes And Triplexes
From: President Pro Tem Kalb & Councilmember Gallo
Recommendation: Adopt An Ordinance Amending The Rent Adjustment Ordinance (O.M.C. 8.22.020 Et Seq) And Tenant Protection Ordinance (O.M.C. 8.22.600 Et Seq) To Eliminate Exemptions For Owner-Occupied Duplexes And Triplexes
My wife and I purchased our duplex in 2003. We are both early childhood (ECE) professionals and people of color (wife - Mexican, me - Taiwanese American). As ECE people, we provide an important service to our community, yet we do not make much of a salary. Our combined income when we bought the property was maybe $80,000 so the only way we could afford a decent home in Oakland was to purchase a duplex. We were paying about 40% of our income to live in our duplex and with 3 kids, we've barely been making ends meet, but have been happy there. We have finally gotten to a point where a market rent for our cottage would make it so we wouldn't have to struggle as much. We still have 2 of our children to put through college. I understand the urgent nature of our housing crisis, but do not understand why its people like me and my family who should subsidize others. I urge you to research this issue further and do more outreach to understand the true consequences of this ordinance.
My husband and I purchased a duplex 2 years ago. When we bought the house there was already a tenant in one unit, and we moved into the other. With sympathy for her situation, we told her she would have 2 years before we asked her to leave or raise her rent. As you know, this decision backfired
Our house is over a hundred years old and we have spent over $100,000 on it, going through every cent of our savings.
The only way we can now afford to live in our home is to raise the rent. However, now with this measure, we will continue to struggle to make ends meet. Our only viable financial option may be to sell the house, but no one will buy it now
We understand that some landlords abuse loopholes like these. But by passing this, you will be punishing homeowners like us who are just trying to get by. We will be forced to subsidize someone else’s life indefinitely. I am not the solution to the housing crisis. This is our home, and we would like to be able to control what happens in it.
My wife and I purchased our duplex in 2003. We are both early childhood (ECE) professionals and people of color (wife - Mexican, me - Taiwanese American). As ECE people, we provide an important service to our community, yet we do not make much of a salary. Our combined income when we bought the property was maybe $80,000 so the only way we could afford a decent home in Oakland was to purchase a duplex. We were paying about 40% of our income to live in our duplex and with 3 kids, we've barely been making ends meet, but have been happy there. We have finally gotten to a point where a market rent for our cottage would make it so we wouldn't have to struggle as much. We still have 2 of our children to put through college. I understand the urgent nature of our housing crisis, but do not understand why its people like me and my family who should subsidize others. I urge you to research this issue further and do more outreach to understand the true consequences of this ordinance.
My husband and I purchased a duplex 2 years ago. When we bought the house there was already a tenant in one unit, and we moved into the other. With sympathy for her situation, we told her she would have 2 years before we asked her to leave or raise her rent. As you know, this decision backfired
Our house is over a hundred years old and we have spent over $100,000 on it, going through every cent of our savings.
The only way we can now afford to live in our home is to raise the rent. However, now with this measure, we will continue to struggle to make ends meet. Our only viable financial option may be to sell the house, but no one will buy it now
We understand that some landlords abuse loopholes like these. But by passing this, you will be punishing homeowners like us who are just trying to get by. We will be forced to subsidize someone else’s life indefinitely. I am not the solution to the housing crisis. This is our home, and we would like to be able to control what happens in it.