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
I am an Oakland resident and I support this. The last thing Oakland needs is to add to our already ever increasing houseless population. Many life long Oakland residents would be in debt for the rest of their lives if they are forced to both stay at home and continue to pay back rent. Aside from residenta, small business are not permited to open their doors and in turn will lose everything they have worked so hard for. Please pass this ordince. Thank you.
Passing this ordinance is imperative for the health and well-being of more people than we'll probably ever realize. I fully support this and urge the city to seek more ways to provide relief to renters.
As someone whose field of work has been hugely affected by the Corona Virus outbreak, I am urging all Oakland City Council to pass this ordinance.
I work in the childcare field, and since the closure of all OUSD schools, my primary source of income has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Until I can find a solution for my huge loss of income, I am on incredibly shaky ground financially, and am not sure how I will be able to afford rent and utility bills in the coming months.
There are numerous other Oakland tenants who are in a similar situation to mine, and now have the prospect of incurring insurmountable late fees, or worse, facing the threat of eviction in these dire times.
I would urge the city council members who are still on the fence about this ordinance to think about the most vulnerable residents of their district, and what how a mass wave of evictions could further complicate this crisis.
Please pass these much needed protections.
I'm speaking up in support of renters, homeowners and small business owners, who have been hit hard by shelter-in-place. Please do everything you can to assist them during this extremely difficult time. Thanks!
I strongly support this eviction moratorium. Please pass this moratorium as soon as possible, without detracting from the protections it proposes. We need to join together to protect those who were already among the most vulnerable in our community.
This is a no-brainer. Private companies are firing workers en masse as a result of this global crisis. If we want people to abide by shelter-in-place guidelines for the overall public health of the community, *everyone* deserves rent and mortgage relief instead of having individuals worry about whether they can make rent this month and whether they should stay home. How many Oakland residents have at least three month's rent saved up? This is the bare minimum that should be done to support the City of Oakland. We do not have time to waste with the 1st of the month mid-next week.
I strongly support this ordinance and thank Council Members Bas and Kalb for sponsoring it. This essential emergency measure to prevent a tsunami of newly homeless residents and bankruptcies of small businesses will need follow-up measures so that we don’t just postpone the evictions. We can’t expect people without significant savings and without cash-flow cushions to come up with back rent once the shelter in place is over. The same applies to small businesses. Low income landlords also need protection.
Oakland City Councilmembers:
Is Oakland really the only major California City without a moratorium?
Oakland, whose homeless population rose 47% in just two years?
Oakland, whose homeless population is 50% black, 5 times its percentage in the City?
Oakland, where East Oakland rent gouging is driving Latin families out of the City?
Oakland, with an epidemic of condo conversions?
Oakland, with thousands of units kept vacant for speculation by corporate landlords?
You are not going to be able to keep a lid on things forever. You need to act.
TAKE ACTION NOW! and do the following things:
1. Pass An Immediate Moratorium on ALL Residential Evictions
2. Prevent Future Evictions for Nonpayment of Rent
3. Protect Local Businesses from Eviction
4. Limit Rent Increases and Late Fees During the State of Emergency
As a resident of Oakland for 19 years, I support the Eviction Moratorium! For the sake our health and safety and our social contract, please support our renters, small businesses, and houseless neighbors. The moratorium is a logical step in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. Oakland was already facing a displacement and affordability crisis. Let's work together to change that.
I have lived in Oakland for almost 30 years, raised a daughter here and loved this unique city ! I can safely say that many many people who are already trying to hang on here with all the cost of living changes, will be on the streets if nothing is done !
Do the right thing, rent freeze!
My name is Haleema and I am an Oakland resident. I support this agenda item and would like to add that this ordinance should include - ensuring that landlords cannot sell a property that has residents during the emergency or take other actions that may force residents to move during this time.
The City Council should always consider providing housing stability as an important part of their job. In order for that to happen at this moment, we need you all to pass this eviction moratorium. I do not want my neighbors, fellow Oaklanders, and friends to have to worry about their housing during a global pandemic. And unfortunately the potential loss of housing is a big concern at this moment.
I am a longtime resident who loves Oakland, and my neighbors. Our communities are reeling from the drastic changes to daily life that have been necessary to stem the public health crisis, but will nonetheless result in a deep financial crisis. Government represents what we do together; it is needed more than ever in times like this. I wholeheartedly support bold proposals to keep people in homes, find unhoused people new homes, and shore up the local businesses that make this place home. I know I'm lucky that I can pay my bills right now; others are struggling through no fault of their own. This is the time to set an example and show how rad Oakland can be.
I strongly support this ordinance and urge City Council to pass it. Housing is a human right. And it is also critical to our individual and collective health. As this crisis is showing us, we desperately need housing for everyone in order to have healthy residents and visitors. I support this now and further action to ensure that people have housing after this passes.
I am an Oakland resident and worker. Since the COVID-19 Shelter In Place the local business I help manage, Farley’s East, has been closed. Ownership did everything possible to keep our doors open, but for the health and well-being of our staff and community they made the difficult decision to close up shop and layoff our entire staff. After such a significant financial loss I personally will have little to no funds left and fear an eviction should things not return to normal soon. Oakland is the lone major city in California that has not enacted an Eviction Moratorium, we are failing our community by not doing so. We are failing our local businesses by not doing so. We are actively choosing to fail. Councilmembers, I plead with you the need to vote without delay and with no amendments. Oakland needs this moratorium now, for our future.
I strongly support this ordinance and call on the City Council to pass it. As a city that prides itself on inclusivity and progressive values, it is shameful that Oakland is the largest city in California that does not currently have an eviction moratorium during this time of crisis. The current public health crisis will only be exacerbated if the many Oaklanders currently experiencing loss of employment or income find themselves homeless in coming weeks. The City Council must pass this ordinance. This is not only the moral and just response, but passing this ordinance is absolutely imperative for supporting public health during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
This is a time for all Oaklanders to pull together. I support a pause of evictions during this crisis but portions of the proposed ordinance do not comply with the Governor's Executive Order. They are not permitted to pass legislation that restricts the property owner's ability to collect rent, doing so is in violation of State Law and is in bad faith. This proposed ordinance proposed for Oakland would convert unpaid rent to "consumer debt" which violates the Executive Order. Kalb and Bas are all alone on this one, as other Cities have taken advice from counsel to pass laws that adhere to fairness and the authority given to them by the State.
As a longtime Oakland resident and politically active constituent, I strongly support this measure, and hope to see it go farther. Oakland urgently needs to institute a rent and mortgage suspension before April 1. An injunction on evictions will not be enough to get people through this crisis, as the result will be an explosion of debt, evictions and homelessness as soon as it is lifted. Oakland cannot afford that at any time, let alone on top of a pandemic. We must have a rent and mortgage payment suspension for the duration of shelter in place (as other countries are instituting), while so many have lost their jobs or are on unpaid furlough. Anything else risks actual social collapse. Also, as someone else noted, it will take some time for people to recover economically, so ideally this would continue for 2-3 months after shelter in place ends. With such terrible leadership in DC, we will be counting on state and local government to take the lead and help us weather this crisis.
As a retail/brick & mortar small business owner in Oakland due to the Shelter in Place my business has ground to a halt. We make 99.9% of our sales in person in our store. I am hoping that the city recognizes and passes a moratorium on commercial evictions, as my business is now a giant storage space. I'm not sure how I'll pay rent other than taking on more debt/loans to cover what is looking like an 8-12 week Shelter in Place. We want to continue to be a part of the Oakland Indie Community and we need the city's help to keep stores alive. Thank you.
I’m an Oakland local and serve the public as a teacher.
Is there anyway you can pass some sort of emergency addendum to allow renters to add roommates up to capacity like Berkeley and San Francisco have written into the Rent Board ordinance. This is extremely important so that we can prevent homelessness. I have several friends that want to live together but they are limited by the occupancy in their lease even though they are only one person to one bedroom.
This is a relatively easy solution asking no money from anyone.
I am an Oakland resident and I support this. The last thing Oakland needs is to add to our already ever increasing houseless population. Many life long Oakland residents would be in debt for the rest of their lives if they are forced to both stay at home and continue to pay back rent. Aside from residenta, small business are not permited to open their doors and in turn will lose everything they have worked so hard for. Please pass this ordince. Thank you.
Passing this ordinance is imperative for the health and well-being of more people than we'll probably ever realize. I fully support this and urge the city to seek more ways to provide relief to renters.
As someone whose field of work has been hugely affected by the Corona Virus outbreak, I am urging all Oakland City Council to pass this ordinance.
I work in the childcare field, and since the closure of all OUSD schools, my primary source of income has been put on hold for the foreseeable future. Until I can find a solution for my huge loss of income, I am on incredibly shaky ground financially, and am not sure how I will be able to afford rent and utility bills in the coming months.
There are numerous other Oakland tenants who are in a similar situation to mine, and now have the prospect of incurring insurmountable late fees, or worse, facing the threat of eviction in these dire times.
I would urge the city council members who are still on the fence about this ordinance to think about the most vulnerable residents of their district, and what how a mass wave of evictions could further complicate this crisis.
Please pass these much needed protections.
I'm speaking up in support of renters, homeowners and small business owners, who have been hit hard by shelter-in-place. Please do everything you can to assist them during this extremely difficult time. Thanks!
I strongly support this eviction moratorium. Please pass this moratorium as soon as possible, without detracting from the protections it proposes. We need to join together to protect those who were already among the most vulnerable in our community.
This is a no-brainer. Private companies are firing workers en masse as a result of this global crisis. If we want people to abide by shelter-in-place guidelines for the overall public health of the community, *everyone* deserves rent and mortgage relief instead of having individuals worry about whether they can make rent this month and whether they should stay home. How many Oakland residents have at least three month's rent saved up? This is the bare minimum that should be done to support the City of Oakland. We do not have time to waste with the 1st of the month mid-next week.
I strongly support this ordinance and thank Council Members Bas and Kalb for sponsoring it. This essential emergency measure to prevent a tsunami of newly homeless residents and bankruptcies of small businesses will need follow-up measures so that we don’t just postpone the evictions. We can’t expect people without significant savings and without cash-flow cushions to come up with back rent once the shelter in place is over. The same applies to small businesses. Low income landlords also need protection.
Oakland City Councilmembers:
Is Oakland really the only major California City without a moratorium?
Oakland, whose homeless population rose 47% in just two years?
Oakland, whose homeless population is 50% black, 5 times its percentage in the City?
Oakland, where East Oakland rent gouging is driving Latin families out of the City?
Oakland, with an epidemic of condo conversions?
Oakland, with thousands of units kept vacant for speculation by corporate landlords?
You are not going to be able to keep a lid on things forever. You need to act.
TAKE ACTION NOW! and do the following things:
1. Pass An Immediate Moratorium on ALL Residential Evictions
2. Prevent Future Evictions for Nonpayment of Rent
3. Protect Local Businesses from Eviction
4. Limit Rent Increases and Late Fees During the State of Emergency
As a resident of Oakland for 19 years, I support the Eviction Moratorium! For the sake our health and safety and our social contract, please support our renters, small businesses, and houseless neighbors. The moratorium is a logical step in the midst of an unprecedented crisis. Oakland was already facing a displacement and affordability crisis. Let's work together to change that.
I have lived in Oakland for almost 30 years, raised a daughter here and loved this unique city ! I can safely say that many many people who are already trying to hang on here with all the cost of living changes, will be on the streets if nothing is done !
Do the right thing, rent freeze!
My name is Haleema and I am an Oakland resident. I support this agenda item and would like to add that this ordinance should include - ensuring that landlords cannot sell a property that has residents during the emergency or take other actions that may force residents to move during this time.
The City Council should always consider providing housing stability as an important part of their job. In order for that to happen at this moment, we need you all to pass this eviction moratorium. I do not want my neighbors, fellow Oaklanders, and friends to have to worry about their housing during a global pandemic. And unfortunately the potential loss of housing is a big concern at this moment.
I am a longtime resident who loves Oakland, and my neighbors. Our communities are reeling from the drastic changes to daily life that have been necessary to stem the public health crisis, but will nonetheless result in a deep financial crisis. Government represents what we do together; it is needed more than ever in times like this. I wholeheartedly support bold proposals to keep people in homes, find unhoused people new homes, and shore up the local businesses that make this place home. I know I'm lucky that I can pay my bills right now; others are struggling through no fault of their own. This is the time to set an example and show how rad Oakland can be.
I strongly support this ordinance and urge City Council to pass it. Housing is a human right. And it is also critical to our individual and collective health. As this crisis is showing us, we desperately need housing for everyone in order to have healthy residents and visitors. I support this now and further action to ensure that people have housing after this passes.
I am an Oakland resident and worker. Since the COVID-19 Shelter In Place the local business I help manage, Farley’s East, has been closed. Ownership did everything possible to keep our doors open, but for the health and well-being of our staff and community they made the difficult decision to close up shop and layoff our entire staff. After such a significant financial loss I personally will have little to no funds left and fear an eviction should things not return to normal soon. Oakland is the lone major city in California that has not enacted an Eviction Moratorium, we are failing our community by not doing so. We are failing our local businesses by not doing so. We are actively choosing to fail. Councilmembers, I plead with you the need to vote without delay and with no amendments. Oakland needs this moratorium now, for our future.
I strongly support this ordinance and call on the City Council to pass it. As a city that prides itself on inclusivity and progressive values, it is shameful that Oakland is the largest city in California that does not currently have an eviction moratorium during this time of crisis. The current public health crisis will only be exacerbated if the many Oaklanders currently experiencing loss of employment or income find themselves homeless in coming weeks. The City Council must pass this ordinance. This is not only the moral and just response, but passing this ordinance is absolutely imperative for supporting public health during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
This is a time for all Oaklanders to pull together. I support a pause of evictions during this crisis but portions of the proposed ordinance do not comply with the Governor's Executive Order. They are not permitted to pass legislation that restricts the property owner's ability to collect rent, doing so is in violation of State Law and is in bad faith. This proposed ordinance proposed for Oakland would convert unpaid rent to "consumer debt" which violates the Executive Order. Kalb and Bas are all alone on this one, as other Cities have taken advice from counsel to pass laws that adhere to fairness and the authority given to them by the State.
As a longtime Oakland resident and politically active constituent, I strongly support this measure, and hope to see it go farther. Oakland urgently needs to institute a rent and mortgage suspension before April 1. An injunction on evictions will not be enough to get people through this crisis, as the result will be an explosion of debt, evictions and homelessness as soon as it is lifted. Oakland cannot afford that at any time, let alone on top of a pandemic. We must have a rent and mortgage payment suspension for the duration of shelter in place (as other countries are instituting), while so many have lost their jobs or are on unpaid furlough. Anything else risks actual social collapse. Also, as someone else noted, it will take some time for people to recover economically, so ideally this would continue for 2-3 months after shelter in place ends. With such terrible leadership in DC, we will be counting on state and local government to take the lead and help us weather this crisis.
As a retail/brick & mortar small business owner in Oakland due to the Shelter in Place my business has ground to a halt. We make 99.9% of our sales in person in our store. I am hoping that the city recognizes and passes a moratorium on commercial evictions, as my business is now a giant storage space. I'm not sure how I'll pay rent other than taking on more debt/loans to cover what is looking like an 8-12 week Shelter in Place. We want to continue to be a part of the Oakland Indie Community and we need the city's help to keep stores alive. Thank you.
I’m an Oakland local and serve the public as a teacher.
Is there anyway you can pass some sort of emergency addendum to allow renters to add roommates up to capacity like Berkeley and San Francisco have written into the Rent Board ordinance. This is extremely important so that we can prevent homelessness. I have several friends that want to live together but they are limited by the occupancy in their lease even though they are only one person to one bedroom.
This is a relatively easy solution asking no money from anyone.