I am born and raised in the bay area and see the people of this city as my community. Shelter and place has allowed me to do my part to keep my community safe. It’s terrifying to have lost my job as a server—I have no other source of income. Savings can only get me so far, and moreover I want to prioritize that money for food. I want to continue to do my part by staying home and distancing from the community I love. We are mandated to. The current moment is enormously scary. Stopping evictions, having rent forgiveness, and preventing rent increases would erode some the fear we are collectively experiencing. It would strengthen our ability to stay healthy. If a “global government mandated shutdown” is not good enough reason for why people cannot afford to pay rent, than with all due respect council members, you are being short-sighted, and woefully irresponsible. Oakland should be in unison with what bay area cities San Francisco and San Jose, not trail behind in shame.

The one item for discussion I oppose is unilaterally suspending rent. I am a single mom who had to leave the Bay for lower cost of living. I rent out my single family home in Oakland. All of my tenants work from home and are capable of paying. Calling to suspend rent will now place me in financial danger. I won’t be able to maintain the home, pay insurance or taxes, and depend on that income. You will be hurting more people by enacting a rent suspension across the board.

Thanks you for your leadership. Please, to all who haven't voted yet, Please support this critical bill

I'm a 25 year resident of Oakland who was born here, and I write in strong support of this ordinance. No one should lose their home due to nonpayment of rent during this pandemic. Removing the coercive pressure of eviction will allow tenants to come to reasonable terms with landlords to ensure our mutual survival.

this needs to happen immediately before more Oakland residents become unhoused due to the economic blow caused by this pandemic. we need the elected officials in Oakland to be bold visionaries who will protect & defend the lives & well being of Oakland residents & small businesses. workers who hold up the back bone of this country & this city, & small family businesses that have been a mainstay in Oakland for decades are being hit the hardest by the economic crisis this shelter in place has created. it is a responsibility of elected officials to step in & ensure we are not further harmed. It is absurd & obscene to think the landed class (who already have gut out the heart & soul of Oakland thru ridiculous rents) should be protected & allowed to seek profits at this time when the vast majority of the city you are responsible for are finding themselves in economic hardship beyond their control. we have never been in a crisis like this. this moment requires unusual & bold action.

I strongly support this moratorium on evictions in Oakland. As an elementary school teacher, these past two weeks I have been reaching out to families and parents and have heard from so many that they are afraid of losing their homes due to loss of income, or being completely laid off. Some families do not have access to EDD or other supports due to their immigration status. Oakland is a sanctuary city. To me that means unending support for newcomers, refugees, immigrants, and any other vulnerable population - the underpaid, those without shelter, and those who live paycheck to paycheck to pay rent to house their children. Please pass this moratorium immediately.

I support this ordinance. I would ask for clarification on the definition of "suspend" or "suspension" of rent and/or mortgage payments.

As a larger community we are currently sheltering in place as a way of protecting ourselves and one another from the spread of COVID-19. How can anyone shelter in place when they don’t have shelter? How can anyone protect themselves and their community from infection without access to clean water, sanitation, a place to safely prepare food for their family, a safe place to rest? It is impossible to take care of ourselves and one another by staying home, without a home to stay in. So many Oakland residents have already been devastated by evictions amidst rising rents even before this pandemic. I urge you to prevent this unprecedented public health crisis from becoming catastrophic, which it will be if the massive numbers of Oakland residents who have lost income due to COVID-19 also lose their housing.

We must do this now. We are not in any position to continue the inflow of vulnerable residents of Oakland into homelessness.

Loren Taylor is a council member and a landlord. This seems like a conflict of interest. Will Mr. Taylor and other landlords on council recuse themselves from the vote.

I strongly support this ordinance. I believe that housing is a human right. I especially believe that housing should be accessible to everyone during a deadly global pandemic. In an unprecedented time such as this, our community members deserve strong protections to their tenancies, as many fight hard to stabilize life after losing jobs, access to health care and other essential needs. I urge our council members to be accountable to Oakland residents by acting swiftly to pass a moratorium on all evictions, free of delays or weakened amendments. Show up for Oakland tenants and use your power to prevent mass displacement and evictions

My name is Titus Im a student ambassador for oak town proud and I support this ordinance because it helps people in our time of struggle and keeps people safe

I oppose the ordinance as written. Vague references to "substantial" and non verifiable hardship invites abuse.

Conversion of the rental debt to consumer debt is not legal and exceeds the powers of this city council as the city attorneys must be aware.
This is an abuse of the Governors emergency decree and will result in additional friction and hardship for owners and tenants alike.

Why not simply offer cash payments to tenants and owners truely in need?
We are in this together, however, the present Oakland city council and mayor appear to have decided to shift the burden of this health crisis onto unsuspecting mom and pop owners in Oakland.

I am a graduate student who works two jobs to make ends meet, and being put on furlough has created significant financial strain on our lives. I am an Oakland native, raised here for the majority of my life, and take a lot of pride in my city. However with the high rent cost we pay our residence here hangs on by a thread. This would help ensure that we can stay in the city we loce so dearly.

I, like so many others in Oakland, have been greatly affected by this pandemic. Many of us now without jobs or job security and unsure how we are going to be paying rent for the next month or potential few months. In addition to a moratorium on evictions we also need a moratorium that suspends rent and mortgage during the shelter in place. Many people do not have the luxury of being able to work from home. We need to think about all the folks affected by this pandemic, especially folks who are already faced with challenges on the day to day. I personally do not know how I will be paying rent over the next few months because the job that was going to help me get more stability is now on pause because they are not sure how to proceed under the shelter in place. I have lost hours and now money that would be going to rent. I have friends who were fired because of the shelter in place and now have no way of paying rent. Please suspend rent and mortgage payments.

Subject: Eviction moratorium is missing best practices from other localities

I am very glad to see Oakland will vote on what largely looks to be one of the strongest ordinances I've seen. However, I've identified multiple deficiencies or loopholes in the draft ordinance compared to other cities' and counties' ordinances. Failing to fix these mistakes - or watering down the ordinance - would literally cost lives. Please strengthen it by doing the following:
* Replace instances of “substantial” with “material” to ensure more affected folks are covered (eg if decreased income is small in raw dollars but large in percentage) (like Berkeley did)
* Explicitly prohibit retaliation and interfering with tenant’s rights (like Santa Clara County's ordinance does)
* Fix that there’s no section on civil penalties for violations (I recommend copying the language of Alameda County’s ordinance)
* Add criminal penalties (like Alameda County did; I recommend copying the language of their ordinance)

Hello, I am one of the thousands of Oakland residents who is being effected by this global pandemic. Like my co workers, roomates and many other working class folks Im having a hard time adjusting as my only income has been haulted for a unknown amount of time. I urge that this moratorium include that all rent and mortgage payments be suspended without occurring any debts during the length of this crisis. It is so important that this happens because it is unjust to ask a bunch of FORCED unemployed people to pay for unnecessary and potentially life altering debts, especially during this time of uncertainty when we should all be focused on staying healthy. Again, I urge that you vote on a moratorium that suspends rent and mortgage payments during this time of crisis. Thank you for your time.

I urge this city council to serve its constituents with respect. I lost my job at a restaurant recently due to covid and as a diabetic, my savings will disappear after paying for my insulin and rent. I’m lucky to have savings. How do you tell unhoused people to shelter in place? How can you say you’re looking out for the health of the city when half the city is overlooked?

Poverty, homelessness, and unemployment are not accidents. They do not occur naturally. They’re results of laws and decisions actively made by this city. Please act now on behalf of the most vulnerable and use your privilege to provide relief!

As a homeowner in District 4, I'm in support of this ordinance. The City of Oakland has proudly touted its designation as a City of Belonging, and Sanctuary City. This is an opportunity to embody that vision for Oakland - to provide emergency relief for residents who are actively doing their part during this pandemic, and many who are also dealing with the economic impact of COVID-19 related closures. If we are being called to Stay-At-Home, then we need to guarantee A-Place-To-Stay. Vote yes on this ordinance without delay or amendment.

My wife and I have lived in Oakland for 14 years. We are renters.

On Mon 3/16, I was laid off from my full time job, after the bay area shelter in place was announced. That date shows that I have lost my income for roughly half of this month.
I'm a massage therapist, so it is impossible/unethical to do private sessions as an alternate way to earn money.
I applied for Unemployment IMMEDIATELY, but have not received any response. I doubt that I will be able to receive a payment from the EDD by April 1st.
It appears that the money from the Federal stimulus package will also not be distributed by April 1st.

How can we make rent payments when I've been prevented from working, but there is no financial relief yet???

My wife is disabled and receives a small monthly amount. She cannot work to earn extra income either.

Without this moratorium, we will be forced to choose between rent and food.
If we are evicted, we add to the homeless population.

We are terrified. Please pass this.