I am a 62 year old senior living with AIDS. After living in the heart of the Castro district in SF for four decades and in my apartment for over 18 years, I am going through the eviction process brought on by the new owners (real estate speculators)through the use of the Ellis Act and through no fault of my own. It is the owner's intention to renovate the building and resell it at a large profit. In California the Ellis Act allows a landlord to "go out of the rental business" which allows them to evict all the tenants even if the building has been under rent control and even tenants like me who are seniors and/or disabled. Rents in San Francisco are going through the roof these days. Under rent control I am paying $943/mo. w/all utilities included for my one-bedroom apartment. One-bedroom apartments in the Castro neighborhood now rent for $3,000/mo. or more. As a disabled senior living on a fixed income, I can not possibly afford to pay such high rents and there is no subsidized housing in my area or even close that doesn't have a 3-5 year waiting list. As a result if I lose my case in court, I will be forced to move out of the neighborhood I have lived in most of my life and out of San Francisco altogether. The worst part is I doubt I will be able to find the great medical care I have with such extensive knowledge dealing with HIV/AIDS if I have to leave the city for a place with more reasonable rents. For further information, I started a website, www.ellishurtsseniors.org.
