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
Support the moratorium! I've lost all income until the emergency has passed. I have served the people of Oakland for years and now I need Oakland to protect me and the place I call home. Protect the single working mothers in my buildings. Protect the teachers, the service workers, the elderly in my building. Protect Oakland renters! Vote YES to the Eviction Moratorium!
This needs to go further! Rent relief to ALL RENTERS who have lost work and income as part of their own gracious sacrifice to slow the spread of covid19.
Yes to cover costs for those who qualify as "low-income," but please note that these numbers are dated and don't apply to the current fiscal reality.
Please cover rent costs for those earning less than $75k/year. Or up to $1200/month for every room rented?
Please no loans. Even a simple loan (that someone not earning cannot pay back), or mere moratorium will only postpone or delay a deluge of evictions.
Please greenlight and fast track affordable housing units. Please cap the market rental rate to be in reasonable ratio to whatever minimum wage is. Keeping those two linked will allow Oakland to have a vibrant and diverse workforce.
Also full commercial rental/mortgage coverage for small businesses during the crisis because they make our city so amazing!!
This is critical at this time, obviously. However, it doesn't go far enough: we need direct rent RELIEF immediately. Simply protecting renters from eviction now (which is completely necessary) will not protect us in the long run. If everyone loses wages for multiple months and subsequently carries many month's rent-debt once this is all over, we'll be in a very bad condition as a city.
Why should working people suffer more than landowners? We already funnel inordinate percentages of our earnings directly to them. We need protection at this time! The next step is massive social housing, but direct rent relief now is absolutely possible.
I strongly support an eviction moratorium. Someone I know is facing eviction in April by his landlord who is not local. This is not only unethical but it is a danger to public health to expect multiple residents to move from a building during a global pandemic. Please stand with Oakland renters and small businesses and help our community survive this pandemic.
I've ran a small business in the Bay Area since 2008. Despite launching during the 2008 recession, my business has allowed me to live and provide work for other artists for the past 12 years. Because we work events such as trade shows, weddings, corporate events, etc... my income dropped to zero in a short week of time at the beginning of the virus. The dozen or so artists I work with all lost all income as well. We went from being able to live in the Bay Area to owing many thousands of dollars of rent each month with no ability to work. Please help myself and other event services workers to remain in the Bay Area during this time we are not allowed to make a living.
I support because tenants are workers, and I know many who are being laid off or have less hours and thus less income to pay their rent. They need to know they won't be evicted now and even after this crisis is over because of the stay-in-home order. People will need a recovery period to recover from this crisis, that means tenants too. Please pass this ordinance immediately! Housing is a human right for ALL of us. Prevent more homelessness than we already have in Oakland.
Many Oakland small businesses were suffering before this crisis due to unfettered construction, greedy landlords, etc... and it would seem a simple eviction moratorium is not enough. There needs to be suspension of rent, not simply delay of payment. Landlords who can prove there is need can receive state relief for mortgage payment, etc... but simply delaying payment just puts off brick and mortar closure. Likewise, biz owners who can not afford to keep their businesses open any longer must not be penalized by landlords for violating terms of their lease under these circumstances.
We need to address the vast amount of renters that live in Oakland. It’s estimated that %40 of homes in Oakland are owned by corporations that are renting. There are thousands of additional homes being rented that are not affiliated with a corporation. A million people were recently laid off in CA, or have lost hours due to Covid19 we need an emergency moratorium on rental payments, as well as mortgage payments to ensure the people of Oakland do not risk losing their housing and stability of life while trying to pay landlords. Please address this immediately!
I support this bill, and want it to go further to support everyone without vague gatekeeping language. Many Oakland residents juggle multiple jobs and still live paycheck-to-paycheck. Almost everyone I know has lost their jobs and, even if they are eligible for Unemployment Insurance, those benefits take weeks to kick in and often are not enough to cover rent, food, gas, and other regular necessities - forcing people to choose between bills and credit card debt, and possibly risk losing their housing or other means of survival. Small business owners are also faced with tough decisions when they aren't making any sales and are responsible for employees' livelihoods as well. Expecting renters and small business owners to pay rent right now, rents which are some of the highest in the country, presents an impossible task for many and might also encourage people to break the shelter-in-place, putting themselves at further risk. Please do the right thing and support Oakland residents.
I support a moratorium on evictions, but its doesn't go far enough. Working class people who live paycheck to paycheck and are the backbone of this economy will end up having a massive debt with their landlords that they’ll never be able to get out from under. How will these debts be paid back if they live on such tight margins? Why not creat a charity organization in Oakland and have the landlords “donate” unpaid rents to said charity and have a tax write off that the landlords can take advantage off through their taxes? Working class peoples’ income has frozen, and not being evicted in a start but doesn’t address the fact that they have no money.
This is the right thing to do. We'll either get through this together as a community or not at all. Tenants deserve and require just as much protection and support and dignity as property owners.
I strongly support this measure but believe it should go further. Rent will be impossible for the many who are struggling to cover basic necessities as the state sifts through a massive EDD backlog & federal stimulus checks are weeks or months away. Ideally, the ordinance would be stripped of means-testing language, "low-income" and "substantial loss of income." There should be blanket proscriptions on rent collection for the duration of this crisis, including on the accrual of back rent. The state & federal government should be called upon to provide protections for all, not just those who meet low-income requirements.
Portions of the proposed ordinance do not comply with the Governor's Order authorizing local governments to enact eviction moratoriums. Please read the Governor's Executive Order N-28-20. Local governments are permitted to enact eviction moratoriums but they are not permitted to pass legislation that restricts the property owner's ability to collect rent. The ordinance proposed for Oakland would convert unpaid rent to "consumer debt" which violates the Executive Order. The City Council should enact an eviction moratorium like the one in San Francisco, which protects renters without violating the Governor's Order.
I am in support of passing this ordinance, especially for the sake of my friends and community members who have lost their jobs or now earn less wages because of a reduction in their work hours. Housing in Oakland is already a volatile situation for many poor and marginalized groups. It is only right to pass this ordinance and ease the financial burden for everyone.
Any Council member who votes against this should be voted out of office.
I will enthusiastically support primary challengers running against any member who votes against this measure.
I am a nurse and lifelong Oakland resident. Please help us keep our hospitals running in this pandemic by protecting your neighbors’ ability to isolate. Major mortgage lenders have responded compassionately to our city’s homeowners and landlords with a 90-day grace period on payments. What will the City Council do to protect renters? Please support this legislation.
I support this ordinance because it is in the best interest of all residents, communities, and health of our city. It is both a moral and economic imperative. By expanding protections to renters, during this pandemic and beyond, there will be cascading positive impacts on the economic, social, and public health of the city. When people are secured with a place to live and refuge from further financial burden as a result of COVID-19, we are giving our residents and the city a chance to recover from the economic and social fallout from the pandemic. Continuing to enforce evictions will worsen the effects and reach of COVID-19, as well as perpetuate financial damages that we are seeing already.
This measure is necessary to the economic health of our city. Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary actions. There is already a massive homelessness crisis. Voting against this would only make that problem disastrously bigger.
Any Council member who votes against this should be voted out of office.
I will enthusiastically support primary challengers running against any member who votes against this measure.
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery is strongly in support of this initiative. As a nonprofit providing mental health care and case management services to refugees and asylum seekers, we very much appreciate the importance of having secure housing for all. The majority of our clients live in Oakland, and virtually all of our clients are low-income. Housing was one of the biggest barriers for our clients before the crisis; knowing that housing will not be affected during this time will make a huge difference for our clients. As Alameda County is the county in the country with the second-highest percentage of foreign-born residents, this measure will do a great deal to ensure health, safety, and security for whole communities.
With gratitude,
Leah Spelman
Executive Director
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery
Support the moratorium! I've lost all income until the emergency has passed. I have served the people of Oakland for years and now I need Oakland to protect me and the place I call home. Protect the single working mothers in my buildings. Protect the teachers, the service workers, the elderly in my building. Protect Oakland renters! Vote YES to the Eviction Moratorium!
This needs to go further! Rent relief to ALL RENTERS who have lost work and income as part of their own gracious sacrifice to slow the spread of covid19.
Yes to cover costs for those who qualify as "low-income," but please note that these numbers are dated and don't apply to the current fiscal reality.
Please cover rent costs for those earning less than $75k/year. Or up to $1200/month for every room rented?
Please no loans. Even a simple loan (that someone not earning cannot pay back), or mere moratorium will only postpone or delay a deluge of evictions.
Please greenlight and fast track affordable housing units. Please cap the market rental rate to be in reasonable ratio to whatever minimum wage is. Keeping those two linked will allow Oakland to have a vibrant and diverse workforce.
Also full commercial rental/mortgage coverage for small businesses during the crisis because they make our city so amazing!!
This is critical at this time, obviously. However, it doesn't go far enough: we need direct rent RELIEF immediately. Simply protecting renters from eviction now (which is completely necessary) will not protect us in the long run. If everyone loses wages for multiple months and subsequently carries many month's rent-debt once this is all over, we'll be in a very bad condition as a city.
Why should working people suffer more than landowners? We already funnel inordinate percentages of our earnings directly to them. We need protection at this time! The next step is massive social housing, but direct rent relief now is absolutely possible.
I strongly support an eviction moratorium. Someone I know is facing eviction in April by his landlord who is not local. This is not only unethical but it is a danger to public health to expect multiple residents to move from a building during a global pandemic. Please stand with Oakland renters and small businesses and help our community survive this pandemic.
I've ran a small business in the Bay Area since 2008. Despite launching during the 2008 recession, my business has allowed me to live and provide work for other artists for the past 12 years. Because we work events such as trade shows, weddings, corporate events, etc... my income dropped to zero in a short week of time at the beginning of the virus. The dozen or so artists I work with all lost all income as well. We went from being able to live in the Bay Area to owing many thousands of dollars of rent each month with no ability to work. Please help myself and other event services workers to remain in the Bay Area during this time we are not allowed to make a living.
Please help us continue to be able to stay in Oakland
I support because tenants are workers, and I know many who are being laid off or have less hours and thus less income to pay their rent. They need to know they won't be evicted now and even after this crisis is over because of the stay-in-home order. People will need a recovery period to recover from this crisis, that means tenants too. Please pass this ordinance immediately! Housing is a human right for ALL of us. Prevent more homelessness than we already have in Oakland.
Please support renters in this difficult time.
Many Oakland small businesses were suffering before this crisis due to unfettered construction, greedy landlords, etc... and it would seem a simple eviction moratorium is not enough. There needs to be suspension of rent, not simply delay of payment. Landlords who can prove there is need can receive state relief for mortgage payment, etc... but simply delaying payment just puts off brick and mortar closure. Likewise, biz owners who can not afford to keep their businesses open any longer must not be penalized by landlords for violating terms of their lease under these circumstances.
We need to address the vast amount of renters that live in Oakland. It’s estimated that %40 of homes in Oakland are owned by corporations that are renting. There are thousands of additional homes being rented that are not affiliated with a corporation. A million people were recently laid off in CA, or have lost hours due to Covid19 we need an emergency moratorium on rental payments, as well as mortgage payments to ensure the people of Oakland do not risk losing their housing and stability of life while trying to pay landlords. Please address this immediately!
I support this bill, and want it to go further to support everyone without vague gatekeeping language. Many Oakland residents juggle multiple jobs and still live paycheck-to-paycheck. Almost everyone I know has lost their jobs and, even if they are eligible for Unemployment Insurance, those benefits take weeks to kick in and often are not enough to cover rent, food, gas, and other regular necessities - forcing people to choose between bills and credit card debt, and possibly risk losing their housing or other means of survival. Small business owners are also faced with tough decisions when they aren't making any sales and are responsible for employees' livelihoods as well. Expecting renters and small business owners to pay rent right now, rents which are some of the highest in the country, presents an impossible task for many and might also encourage people to break the shelter-in-place, putting themselves at further risk. Please do the right thing and support Oakland residents.
I support a moratorium on evictions, but its doesn't go far enough. Working class people who live paycheck to paycheck and are the backbone of this economy will end up having a massive debt with their landlords that they’ll never be able to get out from under. How will these debts be paid back if they live on such tight margins? Why not creat a charity organization in Oakland and have the landlords “donate” unpaid rents to said charity and have a tax write off that the landlords can take advantage off through their taxes? Working class peoples’ income has frozen, and not being evicted in a start but doesn’t address the fact that they have no money.
This is the right thing to do. We'll either get through this together as a community or not at all. Tenants deserve and require just as much protection and support and dignity as property owners.
I strongly support this measure but believe it should go further. Rent will be impossible for the many who are struggling to cover basic necessities as the state sifts through a massive EDD backlog & federal stimulus checks are weeks or months away. Ideally, the ordinance would be stripped of means-testing language, "low-income" and "substantial loss of income." There should be blanket proscriptions on rent collection for the duration of this crisis, including on the accrual of back rent. The state & federal government should be called upon to provide protections for all, not just those who meet low-income requirements.
Portions of the proposed ordinance do not comply with the Governor's Order authorizing local governments to enact eviction moratoriums. Please read the Governor's Executive Order N-28-20. Local governments are permitted to enact eviction moratoriums but they are not permitted to pass legislation that restricts the property owner's ability to collect rent. The ordinance proposed for Oakland would convert unpaid rent to "consumer debt" which violates the Executive Order. The City Council should enact an eviction moratorium like the one in San Francisco, which protects renters without violating the Governor's Order.
I am in support of passing this ordinance, especially for the sake of my friends and community members who have lost their jobs or now earn less wages because of a reduction in their work hours. Housing in Oakland is already a volatile situation for many poor and marginalized groups. It is only right to pass this ordinance and ease the financial burden for everyone.
Any Council member who votes against this should be voted out of office.
I will enthusiastically support primary challengers running against any member who votes against this measure.
I am a nurse and lifelong Oakland resident. Please help us keep our hospitals running in this pandemic by protecting your neighbors’ ability to isolate. Major mortgage lenders have responded compassionately to our city’s homeowners and landlords with a 90-day grace period on payments. What will the City Council do to protect renters? Please support this legislation.
I support this ordinance because it is in the best interest of all residents, communities, and health of our city. It is both a moral and economic imperative. By expanding protections to renters, during this pandemic and beyond, there will be cascading positive impacts on the economic, social, and public health of the city. When people are secured with a place to live and refuge from further financial burden as a result of COVID-19, we are giving our residents and the city a chance to recover from the economic and social fallout from the pandemic. Continuing to enforce evictions will worsen the effects and reach of COVID-19, as well as perpetuate financial damages that we are seeing already.
This measure is necessary to the economic health of our city. Extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary actions. There is already a massive homelessness crisis. Voting against this would only make that problem disastrously bigger.
Any Council member who votes against this should be voted out of office.
I will enthusiastically support primary challengers running against any member who votes against this measure.
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery is strongly in support of this initiative. As a nonprofit providing mental health care and case management services to refugees and asylum seekers, we very much appreciate the importance of having secure housing for all. The majority of our clients live in Oakland, and virtually all of our clients are low-income. Housing was one of the biggest barriers for our clients before the crisis; knowing that housing will not be affected during this time will make a huge difference for our clients. As Alameda County is the county in the country with the second-highest percentage of foreign-born residents, this measure will do a great deal to ensure health, safety, and security for whole communities.
With gratitude,
Leah Spelman
Executive Director
Partnerships for Trauma Recovery