In early June, a handwritten note appeared on the front door of Bing
Ling Zeng's San Francisco apartment, written in a language she couldn't
understand.
"You will be needing to vacate this property soon," it said.
The following month, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. shut off the
power. The food in the refrigerator spoiled, forcing Zeng to go out
several times a day to buy groceries and milk for her three young
children. Her 62-year-old mother-in-law couldn't recharge her electric
wheelchair.
Zeng and the other Chinese family sharing the space hadn't fallen
behind in their rent or bills. The only thing they did wrong was to
lease an apartment from a landlord who fell into foreclosure, an
unforeseeable mistake that hundreds are grappling with across San
Francisco.
Tenants' groups around the city report a sharp rise in such cases,
as lenders repossess growing numbers of local homes. Renters are being
told to leave, are living in the dark or are receiving little response
to their complaints as their homes fall into disrepair.
State and local laws prohibit landlords from evicting tenants or
shutting off utilities in most circumstances like these, but not all
renters are aware of the rules, and not all of the entities that take
control of properties try to learn them.
"The basic problem is that the people who are acquiring these
properties, they don't understand or want to understand that tenants
have rights in San Francisco," said Tommi Avicolli Mecca, director of
counseling programs at the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco.
"You can't just go in and tell them to leave, you can't shut off
utilities, you can't call the police, you can't do any of that stuff."
He and other tenant advocates and attorneys worry that many renters
who aren't aware of these rules are being pressured into handing over
their keys.
The issue was virtually unheard of a year ago. The San Francisco
Tenants Union had to circulate a memo to its counselors earlier this
year because few had ever encountered it before.
The exact number of tenants dealing with the aftermath of a landlord
foreclosure is difficult to ascertain. Three tenants groups contacted
by The Chronicle reported around 130 cases this year, but most
counselors believe that many more tenants aren't contacting the
organizations. What is known is that lenders foreclosed on 492 homes in
San Francisco during the last year and a half, according to DataQuick
Information Systems.
One of those properties was on London Street, in the Excelsior
district, where Daniela Medrano has lived with her daughter since 2005.
Shortly after the lender repossessed the home in December, an agent
with Manhattan Realty Group of South San Francisco, hired to sell the
building, told Medrano she had to leave within 30 days, Medrano says.
After she refused, the agent threatened to call the police or
sheriff's department, and have them forcibly removed on at least two
occasions, Medrano alleges.
Medrano was "completely frustrated," she said through a translator. "I didn't know where to go or who to go to."
Sunny Bali, the owner of Manhattan Realty, said in a prepared
statement that the company did approach the tenants and offered
relocation expenses if they would leave voluntarily. He denied that any
threats were made or notices of eviction issued. He said the tenants
became uncooperative after they were asked to leave temporarily so that
multiple building code violations, for which the bank was being fined,
could be fixed.
"We are aware that they have approached many organizations and
agencies and have tried to portray Manhattan Realty Group as this evil
company," he said. "Far from true. We have done every thing correctly
and diligently, as we always try to do."
Lenders who take back properties or investors who pick up foreclosed
homes generally prefer the buildings empty, because that makes them
easier to sell. Under San Francisco laws, however, those aren't grounds
for an eviction in a rent-controlled building.
Unless tenants have stopped paying rent or otherwise have
misbehaved, generally they can be forced out only when a new owner
plans to demolish the property, has secured the necessary approvals to
convert into it condominiums or plans to move in family members or him
or herself, according to the city's rent ordinance. Even then, the
owner typically must provide several months' notice and thousands of
dollars in relocation costs.
In addition, new owners - a bank, a trustee or otherwise - generally
become liable for the same obligations of the previous landlord, said
Robert Collins, deputy director of the San Francisco Rent Board. That
means that if the original lease said the landlord pays for
electricity, as Zeng said was the case for her Excelsior apartment, the
company that bought it is responsible now.
Nevertheless, the Zengs' power stayed off for a week. It was
switched back on only after the Housing Rights Committee contacted
PG&E and tracked down New Vista Asset Management, which took
control of the Huron Avenue property, Avicolli Mecca said.
The note left on the door, stating that the families "would be
needing to leave soon," was from a real estate agent representing New
Vista.
"I left that for them because I knew the bank's ultimate wish is for
them to be kicked out," said Frances Medina of Century 22 Real Estate
and Mortgage. She stressed that she was "in no way involved in the
eviction process."
New Vista of San Diego didn't respond to inquires from The Chronicle.
PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said the utility has a policy to help
customers in this situation. Among other things, it posts notices at
homes letting tenants know that they can assume utility payments
without become liable for the landlord's previous bills, and can deduct
that amount from their monthly rent.
"We're more than willing to help our customers who are in difficult situations with their landlords," Molica said.
Even if the law is largely on the tenants' side in these
circumstances, relaying the rights of tenants and responsibilities of
landlords is a challenge, said Ken Greenstein, partner at San Francisco
tenant law firm Greenstein and McDonald.
In an era when mortgages are bundled and sold to investors, just
figuring out who owns a property after a foreclosure - and is
responsible for duties described in a lease signed years ago - can be
difficult. Since investors buying homes often say, in financial
documents, that they will live in the homes, , when in fact they plan
to rent the properties, it can be hard for the city, new owners or
PG&E to know which homes actually are occupied by tenants. And the
neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosures are also areas with large
immigrant populations, where language barriers and issues of legal
status form yet another impediment.
To help bridge the communication gap, the city will soon begin
sending letters in multiple languages to tenants in repossessed homes,
advising the occupants to contact the Rent Board and housing counseling
agencies, Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting said. Similarly, Supervisor Tom
Ammiano has asked PG&E to find ways of ensuring occupied apartments
aren't unplugged after a foreclosure.
In an e-mail, Ammiano said electricity is a basic necessity that all tenants should be able to depend on.
"There has been a lot of talk about the impact of the housing crisis
on property owners, however, tenants are the underreported victims," he
said. "Unlike homeowners, who know that their home is at risk, renters
have no warning before the power is turned off or someone is at the
door telling them they need to pack up and move by the next day."
If a renter is harassed into leaving an apartment, or if he or she
vacates without receiving the proper amount of notice or relocation
money due under local regulations, that person could have a case to
sue, Greenstein said. Likewise, when a new owner doesn't pay for or
shuts off utilities, the tenant could have grounds to sue under the
state civil code, he said.
But tenant protections do have their limits. While Zeng and her
family probably can't be evicted by the current owner, she remains
worried about what will happen when the building is sold again, as
Medina says the company intends to do. The new owners may want to move
in, which probably would allow them to begin legitimate eviction
proceedings.
"It will be very difficult to find a place we can afford in San
Francisco," Zeng said through a translator, adding that rents have
increased and landlords often don't want to lease to families with
children. "We're very scared that we won't be able to find a new place
to live. It makes me very sad."
Help for tenants
If your landlord has been foreclosed on or for more information on tenants' rights in San Francisco, contact:
Housing Rights Committee
427 South Van Ness, S.F. 94103
(415) 703-8634
www.hrcsf.org
San Francisco Tenants Union
558 Capp St., S.F. 94110
(415) 282-6622
www.sftu.org
St. Peter's Housing Committee
474 Valencia St., S.F. 94103
(415) 487-9203
www.comitedevivienda.org
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