1 20-0316 Subject: Eviction Moratorium Emergency Ordinance
From: Councilmember Bas, President Pro Tempore Kalb, And City Attorney Parker
Recommendation: Adopt An Emergency Ordinance (1) Imposing A Moratorium On Residential Evictions, Rent Increase, And Late Fees During The Local Emergency Proclaimed In Response To The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic; (2) Prohibiting Residential And Commercial Evictions Based On Nonpayment Of Rent That Became Due During The Local Emergency When Tenant Suffered A Substantial Loss Of Income Due To COVID-19; (3) Prohibiting Residential Evictions For Non-Payment Of Rent When The Landlord Impeded The Payment Of Rent; And (4) Calling On State And Federal Legislators And On Financial Institutions To Provide Relief To Low-income Homeowners And Landlords
My name is Asia Alman and I am an Organizer with the ACLU of Northern California. The ACLU of Northern California strongly supports the legislation put forth to enact an emergency eviction moratorium in Oakland. Housing insecurity is a public health and public safety concern that impacts all Californians. Allowing individuals and families to lose their housing during this public health crisis will endanger the entire community. People who are unhoused or lack stable housing cannot shelter in place, comply with orders to self-quarantine, or practice social distancing. Allowing evictions during this unprecedented time threatens everyone’s health!
I am a District 2 resident and work at a local non-profit. I strongly support the moratorium on evictions, late fees and rent increases during this crisis. I know first hand the impact of COVID-19 on low income residents. I am especially concerned about the virus' impact on domestic violence survivors, as home is generally unsafe for them even under normal circumstances. This moratorium is absolutely necessary to help stem the spread of the virus. Thank you Council members Bas and Kalb, and City Attorney Parker for taking this important action.
Good morning, councilmembers, I live in District 6 and urge you to pass the eviction moratorium. In East Oakland we have the highest rates of asthma emergency department visits in the County. People are taking measures to protect their family first. Many folks I have spoken with, including my father, have lost their income. Oakland has been through heat waves and wildfire smoke. Evictions still happened. Now, we are at a time where housing as a human right cannot be denied. We need to keep people housed and have a moratorium on evictions. This is a time that calls for bold actions with no exceptions of who this applies to. This is the first step in many to survive this pandemic. Love Life Oakland!
I strongly support this moratorium. So many people have either lost their income entirely or had it drastically reduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's simply unethical to expect people to continue to pay rent when they have no way to make money during this time. I would like to see the city of Oakland go further and suspend rent and mortgage payments, meaning that people would not be required to pay back rent as long as the pandemic is going on. Otherwise, we'll end up in a situation in which huge amounts of people are in debt. Most people live paycheck to paycheck, and expecting people to somehow come up with several months of rent after the pandemic is over when they haven't had any work is completely unrealistic. Stable housing is both a human right and a crucial way to ensure public health. Without this eviction moratorium and without rent suspension, many more people are going to end up houseless.
No one should be getting evicted right now, that would be the opposite of shelter in place. Currently living in a home where 5 of the 6 people have lost their jobs due to corona virus. I understand that not all landlords are giant corporations and they rely on the rent money in order to pay their bills there has to be a way we can take care of those individuals while also ensuring people can stay in their homes and not have to pay rent over these next few months. Now's the time to put people before profit.
Council members- thank you for your hard work to keep our City healthy and safe in these challenging times. I am an Oakland resident, homeowner in East Oakland, and a landlord. I urge you to pass the eviction moratorium. Our neighbors cannot shelter-in-place if they don't have a shelter. Our collective public health depends on everyone staying home and having as much stability as possible right now. This moratorium is just a minimum. I hope you all will consider additional measures to stem potential displacement resulting from this crisis. Thank you, CMs Bas and Kalb for your leadership.
It is essential that, while the majority of the economy has been put on hold, that people be able to have a place to live. This is not only the just and compassionate thing to do, it is also essential for minimizing the spread and mutation of the virus. It is essential at this time that everyone has access to sanitation, which is impossible if people are loosing their homes.
I dont oppose giving tenants time to get back on their feet. My opposition is that as always there is no balance here. Nothing was put in this to support small property owners like myself. The governor's emergency declaration did not remove responsibility of back rent and called for providing proof that loss of income was due to Covid-19. The council illegally converting lost rent to consumer debt pretty much ensures that back rent will never be paid back and owners will have to sue in small claims court while continuing tenancy unabated. We all have been affected not just tenants. The council should consider the 12 million given to Oakland land trust to pay tenants rent this way no one is hurt. As an aside I feel Loren Taylor a landlord and Sheng Tao a renter should recuse themselves as they clearly have a conflict of interest.
I am an Oakland resident, parent of two children who attend an OUSD school, and an involved community member among very low resourced individuals in this community. I cannot tell you the impact that COVID-19 has had on families of children in our school in particular, who will NOT be able to make rent next week. We need the government and landlords to step in and provide relief and support for our vulnerable citizens - low income in particular - who are the hardest hit by this pandemic. Please pass this moratorium ordinance.
You will likely be able to extend the protection to 4 months depending on what happens in the House today. Thanks Nikki and Dan for your leadership on this
Oakland Tenants Union urges a unanimous vote to pass the emergency "moratorium."
Altho, in view of the deadly Coronavirus Pandemic, Oakland is late to act, the time is right and the decision is critical.
We must choose life over increased displacement, homelessness, and economic enrichment.
James E Vann, Cofounder
Oakland Tenants Union
I strongly urge support of this moratorium, it's the only way we can fairly move through this terrible pandemic. We need this for our communities and our lives, so that this pandemic does not wreak havoc well into the future of Oakland.
I’m a 28 y/o born and raised in Oakland and San Francisco. I have 100% lost all work in the theater and entertainment industry because of covid-19 along with thousands of other people. To evict someone in time of disaster because they couldn’t pay rent with zero income coming in is wild. Saving money in the Bay Area when the majority of us live paycheck to paycheck and cost of living is extremely high can be so difficult and we shouldn’t have to rely on those savings for a disaster we didn’t see coming and have no protection against (fire insurance but no virus insurance). To evict people in a time when the absolute safest place for them to be is at home self quarantining is cruel. So many of us have called the town our home for our whole lives and we shouldn’t have to leave home without a fighting chance. Everyone needs help right now in this pandemic, everyone is worried about jobs, don’t make housing the top worry, please and thank you from District 3.
As a property owner and founding member of Neighbors Defending our Homes, I believe it is crucial that small property owners and renters are protected during this most economically vulnerable time in our history. With unemployment filings larger than ever before, it's clear that we cannot have people losing their homes during forced isolation. It's a no brainer and should be enforced as strongly as possible.
The problem is that though the rent forgiveness goes into effect immediately, there is little likelihood that there will be any regulations on financial institutions to suspend mortgage payments during this time. The corporations & rich control our politicians. Therefore, thousands of low-income homeowners may not be able to pay their mortgage. This will accelerate the gentrification in Oakland by forcing more low-income people out of our City. This impact falls most heavily on people of color, as socio-economic status mirrors racial composition everywhere in our society.
UNITE HERE Local 2850 strongly supports an emergency ordinance to establish a moratorium on residential evictions, rent increases, and late fees. Most of our members have been laid off amidst the cancellation of sports games and the collapse of the hospitality industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like thousands of other Oaklanders, they urgently need an evection moratorium in order to get through the crisis and get back on their feet when things improve. We thank Councilmembers Bas and Kalb for their leader ship on this issue and call on the City Council to approve the ordinance unanimously.
The coronavirus crisis is unprecedented and I support an eviction moratorium. The City of Oakland should pass an eviction moratorium like other cities such as San Francisco that does NOT violate state law. The Oakland Eviction Moratorium language needs to be amended to define "substantial" more clearly and remove the illegal rent conversion to "consumer debt" portion. It is absolutely shameful for politicians to take advantage of our crisis situation to push extreme agenda that harms residents helping with the housing crisis and expose Oakland to damaging lawsuits. Devil in the details. Please read the legislation.
Hi, I’m David Lyons, District 6, a member/Supporter of ACCE and a tenant/ homeowner /landlord in Oakland. In light of the shelter-in-place order that went into place March 17, 2020, I’m calling to urge you to support the emergency moratorium on ALL evictions and rent increases immediately.
Stable housing is crucial for maintaining social distancing and preventing the further spread of Coronavirus. We must act now to suspend all evictions and rent increases. Evictions are non-essential and counterintuitive to the measures the County has mandated in order to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. It is a simple fact that lives will be saved if people can remain in their homes.
My name is Asia Alman and I am an Organizer with the ACLU of Northern California. The ACLU of Northern California strongly supports the legislation put forth to enact an emergency eviction moratorium in Oakland. Housing insecurity is a public health and public safety concern that impacts all Californians. Allowing individuals and families to lose their housing during this public health crisis will endanger the entire community. People who are unhoused or lack stable housing cannot shelter in place, comply with orders to self-quarantine, or practice social distancing. Allowing evictions during this unprecedented time threatens everyone’s health!
I am a District 2 resident and work at a local non-profit. I strongly support the moratorium on evictions, late fees and rent increases during this crisis. I know first hand the impact of COVID-19 on low income residents. I am especially concerned about the virus' impact on domestic violence survivors, as home is generally unsafe for them even under normal circumstances. This moratorium is absolutely necessary to help stem the spread of the virus. Thank you Council members Bas and Kalb, and City Attorney Parker for taking this important action.
Good morning, councilmembers, I live in District 6 and urge you to pass the eviction moratorium. In East Oakland we have the highest rates of asthma emergency department visits in the County. People are taking measures to protect their family first. Many folks I have spoken with, including my father, have lost their income. Oakland has been through heat waves and wildfire smoke. Evictions still happened. Now, we are at a time where housing as a human right cannot be denied. We need to keep people housed and have a moratorium on evictions. This is a time that calls for bold actions with no exceptions of who this applies to. This is the first step in many to survive this pandemic. Love Life Oakland!
I strongly support this moratorium. So many people have either lost their income entirely or had it drastically reduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it's simply unethical to expect people to continue to pay rent when they have no way to make money during this time. I would like to see the city of Oakland go further and suspend rent and mortgage payments, meaning that people would not be required to pay back rent as long as the pandemic is going on. Otherwise, we'll end up in a situation in which huge amounts of people are in debt. Most people live paycheck to paycheck, and expecting people to somehow come up with several months of rent after the pandemic is over when they haven't had any work is completely unrealistic. Stable housing is both a human right and a crucial way to ensure public health. Without this eviction moratorium and without rent suspension, many more people are going to end up houseless.
No one should be getting evicted right now, that would be the opposite of shelter in place. Currently living in a home where 5 of the 6 people have lost their jobs due to corona virus. I understand that not all landlords are giant corporations and they rely on the rent money in order to pay their bills there has to be a way we can take care of those individuals while also ensuring people can stay in their homes and not have to pay rent over these next few months. Now's the time to put people before profit.
Council members- thank you for your hard work to keep our City healthy and safe in these challenging times. I am an Oakland resident, homeowner in East Oakland, and a landlord. I urge you to pass the eviction moratorium. Our neighbors cannot shelter-in-place if they don't have a shelter. Our collective public health depends on everyone staying home and having as much stability as possible right now. This moratorium is just a minimum. I hope you all will consider additional measures to stem potential displacement resulting from this crisis. Thank you, CMs Bas and Kalb for your leadership.
I strongly support passage of the eviction moratorium.
Sharon Rose, Co-chair, Block by Block Organizing Network (BBBON)
families are very very concerned about rent and getting evicted. this is doable and necessary
It is essential that, while the majority of the economy has been put on hold, that people be able to have a place to live. This is not only the just and compassionate thing to do, it is also essential for minimizing the spread and mutation of the virus. It is essential at this time that everyone has access to sanitation, which is impossible if people are loosing their homes.
I dont oppose giving tenants time to get back on their feet. My opposition is that as always there is no balance here. Nothing was put in this to support small property owners like myself. The governor's emergency declaration did not remove responsibility of back rent and called for providing proof that loss of income was due to Covid-19. The council illegally converting lost rent to consumer debt pretty much ensures that back rent will never be paid back and owners will have to sue in small claims court while continuing tenancy unabated. We all have been affected not just tenants. The council should consider the 12 million given to Oakland land trust to pay tenants rent this way no one is hurt. As an aside I feel Loren Taylor a landlord and Sheng Tao a renter should recuse themselves as they clearly have a conflict of interest.
I am an Oakland resident, parent of two children who attend an OUSD school, and an involved community member among very low resourced individuals in this community. I cannot tell you the impact that COVID-19 has had on families of children in our school in particular, who will NOT be able to make rent next week. We need the government and landlords to step in and provide relief and support for our vulnerable citizens - low income in particular - who are the hardest hit by this pandemic. Please pass this moratorium ordinance.
You will likely be able to extend the protection to 4 months depending on what happens in the House today. Thanks Nikki and Dan for your leadership on this
Oakland Tenants Union urges a unanimous vote to pass the emergency "moratorium."
Altho, in view of the deadly Coronavirus Pandemic, Oakland is late to act, the time is right and the decision is critical.
We must choose life over increased displacement, homelessness, and economic enrichment.
James E Vann, Cofounder
Oakland Tenants Union
I strongly urge support of this moratorium, it's the only way we can fairly move through this terrible pandemic. We need this for our communities and our lives, so that this pandemic does not wreak havoc well into the future of Oakland.
I support the moratorium for residential and commercial tenants.
I’m a 28 y/o born and raised in Oakland and San Francisco. I have 100% lost all work in the theater and entertainment industry because of covid-19 along with thousands of other people. To evict someone in time of disaster because they couldn’t pay rent with zero income coming in is wild. Saving money in the Bay Area when the majority of us live paycheck to paycheck and cost of living is extremely high can be so difficult and we shouldn’t have to rely on those savings for a disaster we didn’t see coming and have no protection against (fire insurance but no virus insurance). To evict people in a time when the absolute safest place for them to be is at home self quarantining is cruel. So many of us have called the town our home for our whole lives and we shouldn’t have to leave home without a fighting chance. Everyone needs help right now in this pandemic, everyone is worried about jobs, don’t make housing the top worry, please and thank you from District 3.
As a property owner and founding member of Neighbors Defending our Homes, I believe it is crucial that small property owners and renters are protected during this most economically vulnerable time in our history. With unemployment filings larger than ever before, it's clear that we cannot have people losing their homes during forced isolation. It's a no brainer and should be enforced as strongly as possible.
The problem is that though the rent forgiveness goes into effect immediately, there is little likelihood that there will be any regulations on financial institutions to suspend mortgage payments during this time. The corporations & rich control our politicians. Therefore, thousands of low-income homeowners may not be able to pay their mortgage. This will accelerate the gentrification in Oakland by forcing more low-income people out of our City. This impact falls most heavily on people of color, as socio-economic status mirrors racial composition everywhere in our society.
UNITE HERE Local 2850 strongly supports an emergency ordinance to establish a moratorium on residential evictions, rent increases, and late fees. Most of our members have been laid off amidst the cancellation of sports games and the collapse of the hospitality industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like thousands of other Oaklanders, they urgently need an evection moratorium in order to get through the crisis and get back on their feet when things improve. We thank Councilmembers Bas and Kalb for their leader ship on this issue and call on the City Council to approve the ordinance unanimously.
The coronavirus crisis is unprecedented and I support an eviction moratorium. The City of Oakland should pass an eviction moratorium like other cities such as San Francisco that does NOT violate state law. The Oakland Eviction Moratorium language needs to be amended to define "substantial" more clearly and remove the illegal rent conversion to "consumer debt" portion. It is absolutely shameful for politicians to take advantage of our crisis situation to push extreme agenda that harms residents helping with the housing crisis and expose Oakland to damaging lawsuits. Devil in the details. Please read the legislation.
Hi, I’m David Lyons, District 6, a member/Supporter of ACCE and a tenant/ homeowner /landlord in Oakland. In light of the shelter-in-place order that went into place March 17, 2020, I’m calling to urge you to support the emergency moratorium on ALL evictions and rent increases immediately.
Stable housing is crucial for maintaining social distancing and preventing the further spread of Coronavirus. We must act now to suspend all evictions and rent increases. Evictions are non-essential and counterintuitive to the measures the County has mandated in order to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. It is a simple fact that lives will be saved if people can remain in their homes.