from the DataCenter's Economic Justice Program, Spring 2003

Just Cause Eviction Ordinance Wins in Oakland!

Oakland, California tenants scored a major victory in the November 2002 election, narrowly winning passage of a just cause eviction ordinance that requires landlords to have a valid reason for evicting renters.

Tenant evictions skyrocketed in Oakland during the Bay Area's dot com economic boom, when scarce rental housing in San Francisco caused a renter migration to surrounding communities. Recent changes in California law allow landlords unlimited rent increases on vacant units. The lack of tenant protections in Oakland meant that landlords could evict even longstanding tenants for no reason and raise the rent as high as they wanted - and they did. The number of 30-day "no cause" evictions in Oakland tripled since 1998, remaining high despite the economic downturn. Oakland apartment rental prices increased nearly 100%.

A study produced by East Bay Housing Organization found that seniors, disabled residents, people of color, and families with small children were disproportionately impacted by "no cause" evictions. Oakland is in the 7th most expensive metropolitan region in the U.S. and has a poverty rate of 19%. For low-income and fixed-income tenants, eviction can easily lead to homelessness.

Just Cause Oakland, a community organization formed to win protections and build power for tenants, established a political action committee to place a just cause eviction measure on the Oakland ballot and to win its passage. Numerous community organizations worked with Just Cause Oakland in support of the ordinance. Just Cause Oakland collaborated with local tenant organizations to gather data about the impact of "no cause" evictions in the community, and asked the DataCenter for assistance in uncovering information about the Renters Housing Association of Northern Alameda County (RHANAC), a local landlord's group whose executive director, Steven Edrington, was the lead spokesperson opposing Measure EE, the just cause eviction ordinance.

The DataCenter found out that RHANAC's board was predominantly made up of large landlords and property management corporations. Many of RHANAC's board members had extensive histories of "no cause" evictions, or records of negligent property maintenance. RHANAC, its members and related landlord organizations had made significant campaign contributions to Oakland City Council members and Mayor Jerry Brown. In addition, RHANAC was a chapter of the California Apartment Association, the powerful statewide lobbying group that succeeded in passing state legislation to restrict local rent control ordinances.

Just Cause Oakland used the information to counter RHANAC's claims that it represents small, ethical landlords, and to strengthen the case for the need for tenant protections. Oakland tenants took the information to the streets with colorful signs documenting the abysmal records of RHANAC landlords and held a protest at a RHANAC meeting.

The Just Cause eviction ordinance passed in November 2002 despite RHANAC's $500,000 campaign to defeat it. RHANAC has since filed a suit against the City of Oakland, challenging the ordinance. Just Cause Oakland is filing a legal response and organizing tenants to ensure the ordinance stands. For now, Oakland tenants are protected from unfair evictions.

For further information, see Just Cause Oakland.