Contact: Anya Svanoe
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 27th, 2017
Statewide Day of Action to Repeal Statewide Restriction of Rent Control - Costa Hawkins Act
California statewide—As California stands at the height of the worst housing crisis the state has ever seen, hundreds of tenants across multiple cities are taking matters into their own hands by confronting corporate landlords to demand a moratorium on rent increases. The tenants and organizations leading this statewide day of action are part of a new, broad-based coalition, Housing Now!, which has united to fight for the repeal of the statewide restrictions on rent control - established by the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act.
The Housing Now! coalition has over 50 local and statewide tenant and community groups, labor unions, and housing advocates and includes dozens of allied small landlords and realtors. AB 1506, the Costa Hawkins Repeal bill which was introduced earlier this year would stop the ban on rent control for single family homes, homes built after 1995 and the ban on vacancy control. AB 1506 is now a two-year bill, and because Costa Hawkins repeal will not happen this year, families facing skyrocketing rent increases and unjust evictions are organizing to demand corporate landlords stop the rent increases now.
Celia in Burlingame is in crisis, like many tenants all over the state. In 2016 a corporate landlord, Xchange Solutions, purchased her building from the previous “mom and pop” landlord and proceeded to raise the rents by $1000 and evict current tenants. Celia says, “Renters are not disposable people. These companies’ actions are profoundly, negatively affecting hard working people, families, and our communities.” Celia and her neighbors have formed a tenant association to fight the rent increases and evictions. On this day of action today, hundreds of other tenants are also fighting back.
List of Housing Now! actions today statewide:
LOS ANGELES - 10:00 AM Action on new growing corporate landlord evicting long-time residents - meet up location at the corner of Lorraine Blvd and Wilshire Blvd.
SAN FRANCISCO/OAKLAND - 3:30 PM Action on Wall Street Landlord - meeting at McDonald's 235 N Front St.
RICHMOND - 10:00 AM Action on Corporate Landlord Lobbyist! Meet up at Best Buy parking lot at 3260 Buskirk Ave, Pleasant Hill.
SACRAMENTO - 4:00 PM Action on slumlord doubling rents for hundreds of tenants! Meetup at 7-Eleven Shopping Center 5579 Mack Rd, Sacramento.
SAN DIEGO 10:30 AM - Press conference against Skyrocketing Rents and Displacement in San Diego County - meeting in front of the old H & M Goodies family Auction on 130 E 8th Street, National City 91950.
“Families are being displaced in droves. Communities are being uprooted entirely. The racial, cultural and economic fabric that makes California beautiful is on the brink of nonexistence and we can’t wait for market to ‘just build’ and ‘trickle down’ our way out of it,” says Aimee Inglis, Associate Director at Tenants Together.
Today families, workers, and allied small landlords are taking direct action by occupying corporate offices and confronting rent-gouging mega-landlords to demand a rent freeze and the repeal of Costa Hawkins.
For more information about the Housing Now! campaign go to www.housingnowca.org