A report put out by the Alameda Country Health Department in partnership with Causa Justa::Just Cause shows how people undergoing foreclosure are suffering higher rates of stress and other medical problems. This article touches on the importance of protecting families during these times.

AB 2743, which would impose a fine for each instance of declawing or devocalization of animals as a result of a rental agreement, was passed to Governor Schwarzenegger for his signature.

The number of foreclosures in Jacksonville is increasing. April Charney, a foreclosure expert with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, helps tenants understand their options if the landlord is going through a foreclosure proceeding.

The San Francisco Housing Authority failed to collect more than $2 million in rent from tenants and is currently working to reverse that error. Sara Shortt of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco comments on the housing authority's lack of preparation as a computer glitch further complicates the process.

Two brothers have been charged with more than 100 felonies for participating in a real estate fraud ring in California and Nevada. The two men created false deeds and rented out foreclosed homes that they did not own.

Nearly 60 percent of the population of Merced rent their homes, creating a rental market with more demand than supply.

A building in the Bronx was sold to Workforce Housing Advisors, who pledged to address violations and improve conditions. The building, located at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, is known as the birthplace of hip hop. Senator Schumer recently referred to it as the birthplace of predatory equity. The building represents what is happening to hundreds of buildings across the country.

Santa Cruz tenant discovers that some landlords don't want even legal marijuana plants in their buildings.

NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio discusses his latest initiative to expose the city's worst landlords on the Brian Lehrer Show.

A report by the Alameda County Public Health Department and Causa Justa/Just Cause shows how people undergoing foreclosure are suffering higher rates of stress and other medical problems.

Council majority found the move to be an attempt to circumvent the city's rent-control ordinance

The "right to know" measure would offer some protection to renters before moving into a new apartment against the pesky plague.

Tacoma is poised to follow eight California cities that have outlawed smoking in multi-unit apartment buildings.

Author of Nolo's the Foreclosure Survival Guide, Stephen Elias, provides helpful tips about what to do when your landlord fights a foreclosure sale.

Advice for New York renters when their buildings go into foreclosure.

Bill that prevents landlords from insisting that tenants have their pets declawed or devocalized goes to the governor's desk.

A call for more-equitable rent increases in Calistoga mobile home parks.

Fixed-income seniors at Thousand Oaks mobile home park could face 80 percent rent increases.

Property manager Leo Goldberg rented units out without telling future tenants that the property was going through foreclosure. Goldberg requested advance payments and walked away with them once the bank took over the property. Goldberg is one of California's top 250 delinquent taxpayers.

Tenants gathered in Ontario for the presentation of the Golden Cockroach Award to MetCap Living, owner of thousands of apartment units in the Toronto area. The Parkdale Tenants Association presented the award to them with the title Worst Landlord of the Year.

Members of the Sacramento City Council moved the public comment period, where members of the public can comment on matters not on the agenda, from the beginning of the meeting to the end. Members of the public will have to wait until the entire meeting is almost over, which can be anywhere from two to six hours, to participate.

Infamous San Francisco mega-landlord Walter Lembi died of cancer on Tuesday.

A new Massachusetts law protects tenants caught in the foreclosure crisis through no fault of their own. Banks repossessing properties cannot evict tenants except for lease violations or nonpayment of rent.

Approximately 30,000 tenants gathered in East Point, a suburb just outside of Atlanta, to stand in line for a Section 8 housing application. There are 455 newly available Section 8 vouchers, which renters can use anywhere in the country.

Renters can make low-cost home improvements that save the environment.

Government programs have provided renters, who make up one-third of households in the US, with stronger protections when the landlord faces foreclosure. This article quotes Ted Gullicksen of the San Francisco Tenants Union, who believes the government should do more for renters in this economy.

After foreclosing on the owner, banks in Texas agree to renovate apartment complexes that had fallen into terrible disrepair under the previous owner.

Tenants Together member Christine Pierce stands up to the bank and exercises rights as a tenant in a foreclosure situation.

Since 2006, the price of renting has increased by 12%. This increase, when combined with tax breaks on mortgage interest for homeowners, suggests that renters are effectively subsidizing homeownership in the U.S.

Tenant activists rallied outside the offices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to demand that they acknowledge their involvement in the displacement of hundreds of tenants in the Bronx.

SFTU Director Ted Gullicksen is quoted in this article about the illegal rentals of apartments to tourists.

The Santa Rosa Planning Commission voted to protect mobile home residents by rejecting the owner's plan to sell rather than rent spaces. Members of the planning commission believed a goal of the conversion was to avoid rent control, thus eliminating much of the city's low-income housing for seniors.

Landlords in Orange County are still having a difficult time raising rents.

Predatory landlord MetLife, which sold its properties to Tishman Speyer during the 2006 real estate boom, owes millions of dollars to its tenants whose apartments were illegally taken out of the rent regulation program. The apartments were illegally marked up to market rate while the owners were receiving a J-51 tax abatement from the city.

City officials of East Palo Alto are holding a series of meetings in August to hear from community members about how Measure H, which passed in June, should be implemented.

A landlord in North Carolina who is losing her home to foreclosure has a tenant who has not paid rent in two months. The tenant shares that she cannot afford to pay both rent and moving expenses.

In his ruling, Judge Walker cited the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The same clause was also cited fifty years ago when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Proposition 14, a measure passed by California voters to overturn the Rumford Fair Housing Act which banned discrimination against 'colored' property renters or buyers.

The Ukiah City Council voted to create an ordinance for rent control based on a Santa Rosa ordinance. A draft of the ordinance is expected to be ready for the council to review in the fall.

A collection of ten distressed buildings in the Bronx have been purchased by an unidentified party. Tenants and advocates in New York make it known that the new owner should be committed to rehabilitating these homes and preserving them as affordable housing.

Blogger Alison Brennan writes about the state's latest budget proposal and its potential effect on California tenants.

The Santa Cruz City Council passed an ordinance that will require landlords to register units and open doors for inspections.

State Senator Pedro Espada threw money at tenant activists as they chanted for fair housing laws at the capitol on Tuesday.

Mathew Honan, one of many victims of a rental scam in San Francisco, created a Tumblr website to connect with others who had been cheated out of thousands of dollars by Rachael Smith, who was arrested on July 22. So far, Honan has calculated a total loss of approximately $100,000.

Sixteen cities in California have just cause for eviction protections, laws passed at the local level to strengthen tenants' rights. Dean Preston of Tenants Together explains how just cause laws are more than a short term fix to the foreclosure crisis. Click the link for audio clip.

Although more than half of Fresno residents are renters, tenants lack basic protections that many other California cities have. Tenants Together director answers frequently asked questions for Fresno tenants and touches on the opportunity to strengthen tenants' rights in the Central Valley.

The Coalition for Economic Survival is taking steps to demand that a landlord rid a building in Arlington Heights of bedbugs.

Foreclosed properties across Chicago are deteriorating, with banks that have taken over the properties paying them little to no attention. Tenants of a building owned by Chase Bank rallied to demand assistance with relocation after the City ordered them to vacate the building.

Renter Stephanie Williamson is the victim of a series of sudden foreclosures in Nevada. This article addresses the effect of the foreclosure crisis on tenants and quotes Kent Qian of the National Housing Law Project.

A new law requires landlords to enroll in a Crime Free Multi-Housing certification training program. County staff will work with the San Diego County Apartment Association to differentiate owners who have gone through certification trainings voluntarily from those who are required to participate in the process.

The Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill that would increase tenant protections in foreclosure situations Governor Deval Patrick will soon review the bill.

San Luis Obispo County is working to create incentives for owners of mobile home parks to preserve affordable housing.

Berkeley tenants convened to nominate slate for the Rent Board.

Marion Merriouns, president of the Vista Del Monte Tenants Association, reports on tenant harassment occurring at Vista Del Monte, a HUD-subsidized apartment complex local in Diamond Heights, San Francisco.

This blog post discusses the pros and cons of owning a home and renting in today's market.

The Petaluma City Council took steps to protect renters by refusing to make changes to the current ordinance.

This article reports on the rental market in San Francisco, which is largely dominated by real estate brokers and agents. The author interviews Ted Gullicksen, director of the San Francisco Tenants Union, who addresses the contentious relationship between property managers and tenants.

This Santa Monica Daily Press opinion piece addresses the upcoming convention, hosted by Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, and local election endorsements.

Homeowners across the state are trying to figure out how to save their properties from foreclosure. One landlord in San Jose who had been wronged by the bank sued with the help of an attorney. He was able to stay in his triplex and keep his tenants there, too.

Since being elected in 1987, Philadelphia Sheriff John Green has taken some controversial steps to allow more time for owners to save their homes from foreclosure. The 'foreclosure intervention' model, which aims to facilitate a dialogue between homeowners, lenders, and housing activists, has received a lot of attention this year as a result of the foreclosure crisis.

A WSJ blog post addresses the effect that the housing crash has had on a development in Kern County.

The federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act (PTFA) allows tenants living in foreclosed properties the right to remain in their home for 90 days or through the term of their lease. The PTFA was set to sunset in 2012. This morning, President Obama signed an extension of the PTFA through 2014.

A letter to the editor in response to Tenants Together director Dean Preston's Op-Ed on the impact of a massive Cargill development on nearby mobilehome residents in Redwood City.

The Santa Cruz City Council is taking steps to adopt a rental inspection ordinance. The ordinance would require owners to register properties and submit to city inspections. Previous version of the ordinance only affected owners of buildings with three or more units. Now, the ordinance would apply to all owners of rental properties.

Contra Costa Time article profiles tenants in foreclosure situations and includes information about tenants' rights from an interview with Tenants Together Program Coordinator, Gabe Treves.

Santa Monica City Hall lawyers will ask the California Supreme Court to review the Embassy Hotel Apartments case in an attempt to overturn a ruling that has hurt affordable housing in Santa Monica.

"The First Amendment Coalition has sued CalPERS to obtain records on why the pension fund invested $100 million in Page Mill Properties, the biggest residential landlord in East Palo Alto."

Earlier this month, the New York State Legislature passed a bill that would ban rentals of less than 30 days in New York apartment buildings. The legislation is directed at larger multifamily dwellings where landlords evict tenants to develop illegal hotels and addresses concerns of unregulated rentals. Airbnb, a company that facilitates and promotes short-term vacation rentals across the world, is against the legislation. As illustrated by this article, homeowners facing foreclosure find relief through short-term vacation rentals that help them meet mortgage payments.

This NYT article takes a look at the future of debt-ridden buildings located in central Brooklyn, the South Bronx, and Harlem. The author notes that the city is taking steps to foreclose on properties, but tenants are protected during any transfer of ownership.

The author of this article addresses the potential conversion of public housing units in Berkeley and the Obama administration's PETRA (Preservation, Enhancement, and Transformation of Rental Assistance) proposal.

Tenants Together director wrote this Op-Ed on the impact of a massive Cargill development on nearby mobilehome residents in Redwood City.

This article in the San Francisco Chronicle addresses evictions over back rent at SF public housing. The article quotes Sara Shortt, director of Housing Rights Committee of SF.

The Santa Monica City Council takes steps towards strengthening protections for renters by increasing the amount of time a tenant has to respond to minor violations before being served with a three-day notice to vacate. The Council will look at a draft ballot measure next week.

San Francisco Supervisors Chris Daly, Eric Mar, and John Avalos were the only ones to vote against certifying the environmental impact report on the plans for the old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The report was approved 8-3 after a 10 hour hearing. The developer, Lennar, plans to build 10,000 homes on the contaminated superfund site.

Tenant activists in NYC have been advocating for the passage of stronger rent laws since the Democrats regained control of the state senate in the November 2008 election. None of the bills have been passed. With the legislative session coming to a close and an election coming up in November, tenants have grown impatient. Thirteen activists were arrested Monday on charges of civil disobedience.

Gabe Treves, Program Coordinator at Tenants Together, reports on California Attorney General Jerry Brown's investigation to ensure compliance with tenant-protection laws by banks and private investors acquiring tenant-occupied, foreclosed properties.

The New York State Senate has yet to take action on a package of bills that would protect and advance the rights of tenants in the state of New York. Tenants, advocates, and allies are growing increasingly impatient as the Senate, which currently holds a Democratic majority for the first time in nearly forty years, fails to take action. After decades of weakening tenant laws, tenants are growing increasingly impatient. Thirteen tenant activists of the Real Rent Reform Campaign and Housing Here and Now were arrested after a rally on charges of civil disobedience.

The San Francisco Tenants Union recently announced that it has endorsed Rafael Mandelman for District 8 Supervisor.

Attorney General Brown recently began investigating the illegal actions of banks, brokers, and lawyers towards innocent tenants who have become victims of the foreclosure crisis.

Tenants Together featured in San Diego Union Tribune piece on the rights of tenants in foreclosure situations.

"CITY HALL — Santa Monica officials are challenging an appellate court decision issued last month that could mean the loss of 19 rent-controlled apartment units at the Embassy Hotel Apartments, a residential building in the Wilmont neighborhood near Downtown."

"After her apartment was repeatedly broken into, Georgina Jenkins thought she had found a ticket out of Alemany, the public housing project known to residents as the Black Hole. The San Francisco Housing Authority had placed her on its priority transfer list, reserved for tenants facing immediate danger or urgent medical need, according to Jenkins and her attorney."

"Local animal rights activists may soon gain traction in banning cat declawing and animal devocalization as the California State Senate reviews a new bill this month that would prohibit landlords from requiring their tenants to declaw or devocalize their animals or from preferring the application of a tenant with a declawed animal. Assembly Bill 2743, authored by Assemblymember Pedro Nava (D-Ventura, Santa Barbara), introduces a civil fine of as much as $2,500 for any instance of declawing or devocalization that occurs because of a landlord-tenant agreement."

Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. yesterday launched an investigation aimed at protecting the rights of the "forgotten victims" of the housing market collapse -- the tens of thousands of tenants facing eviction from buildings that have been foreclosed by banks.

"California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced on Monday that he will be opening an investigation into foreclosed properties and the state’s possible infringement of tenants’ rights. As part of his investigation, he sent letters to 24 banks, law firms, loan servicers, and private investors requesting information on their policies and procedures to see if they are forcefully evicting tenants from buildings that have been foreclosed by banks."

"The Legislature has killed a bill that would have banned California's two public pension funds from investing in real estate deals that rely on freeing up rent-controlled housing."

"Tenants Together, a California Renters’ Rights Organization today said California State Senator Lou Correa’s committee stopped the nation’s first anti “Predatory Equity” bill at the request of the California Association of Realtors and landlord groups."

"Lou Correa, a Democratic State Senator from Orange County, has killed the nation’s first bill to stop predatory investments that displace renters from their homes. The bill, AB 2337, authored by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), sought to ban the state’s public employee pension funds from investing in “predatory equity” schemes."

"La Procuraduría estatal dio a conocer ayer que emprenderá acciones para proteger a los miles de arrendatarios que podrían ser desahuciados cuando los inmuebles en que residen son ejecutados por el banco."

"When the California Supreme Court ruled in 1996 that a landlady had to rent an apartment to an unwed couple despite her religious objections to non-marital sex, civil rights groups and gay-rights advocates applauded the court's commitment to anti-discriminaiton laws. But a number of religious organizations, mostly conservative, saw the ruling as a threat to individual freedom and backed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court."

"Rents for New York City’s one million rent-stabilized apartments will rise less than in the past several years under increases set Thursday evening at a typically raucous public meeting."

"A bill passed by both houses of the State Legislature on Thursday would require New York City landlords to tell prospective tenants about a building’s recent bedbug history."

"Goleta’s rent-control ordinance got another day in court on Tuesday, this time with the full panel of 11 judges."

"An editorial by El Diario yesterday on predatory equity features the work of El Barrio/East Harlem group Community Voices Heard (CVH) in trying to bring in a non-profit entity to preserve the troubled Dawnay Day properties as affordable for current residents."

"A group of renters and community activists have established a Montgomery County Renters Alliance, saying it will be the first countywide organization to advocate for renters’ rights."

"The foreclosure crisis has not spared tenants. And many will remain vulnerable to real estate speculators unless government, community groups, tenants and local leaders collaborate to preserve affordable housing."

"Minimum rent hikes for 300,000 rent-stabilized New Yorkers are illegal, an appeals court ruled Tuesday, raising the prospect of $100 million in refunds."

"(Reuters) - The purchase of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village in New York City by its tenants or outside investors was advanced by a federal judge's ruling giving the green light to a sale."

"Montgomery County officials are resisting extensive changes to housing policies -- primarily rent control -- presented in a report Tuesday that outlines ways to keep renters from being priced out of the wealthy suburb."