SF Tenants Suffering From Foreclosure Effects

Wednesday, December 17, 2008
KCBS

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Tenants in San Francisco are starting to suffer the effects of foreclosures as property owners are unable to make ends meet to pay mortgages, leaving renters without utilities, or sometimes out in the cold.

City officials and housing advocates are hearing from frequently from tenants who are up to date on their rent but are at odds with their landlords and have become victims of foreclosure. Some examples include renters coming home to find their building's padlocked or their power turned off with no explanation.

San Francisco City Assessor Phil Ting says he is now working with housing groups to advise tenant of their rights and get their utilities turned back on. Sara Short, Executive Director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, says her group has received about 75 complaints from tenants.

"Many are receiving messages that they need to be out, that they don't have the right to be there because of foreclosure…. Foreclosure is not a just cause for eviction under San Francisco rent control laws."

Unfortunately, the problem is not an easily fixable. Ting says there have been cases where renters have been without gas, electricity or water for months because the new owner is either "missing" or will not assume responsibility for their actions.

For more information on tenant's rights, visit the Housing Rights Committee's website at www.hrcsf.org.

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