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Oaklands new rent program proposal being questioned

by Lynda Carson (lyndacarson [at] excite.com)
Main stream papers speak glowingly of Oaklands new
Rent Program proposal being set into motion. Others see it fraught with
major flaws that make it unworkable, and very expensive for renters of Oakland.
Oaklands new rent program proposal being questioned
By Lynda Carson-- June 7th, 2001.

Oakland Ca--Oaklands rent program has become more complicated because City Officials refuse to sign off on a Just Cause Evictions Measure or create a rent registration program needed to enhance rent control laws. Making matters worse, Oaklands Tenant Activists presently are poor negotiaters when it comes down to hard boiled negotiations against the landlord lobby and City Officials. Some say that renters took a huge loss recently from recent negotiations that took place at the behest of Councilman (tricky) Dick Spees of the Montclair District. Others wonder why Tenant Activists joined with the
notorius Councilman Spees who is Mr. Anti-Tenant Rights in the City of Oakland, and signed off on proposals that will now cost the majority of renters in Oakland dearly
for years to come.

Recent news articles in the Oakland Tribune, and the SF Chronicle speak glowingly of the new proposals to strengthen Oaklands rent laws that are going into effect. The articles speak of a new rent program that will have a $1.5 million dollar budget for new staff, and in addition a new mediation program meant to speed up the process. This shall be the creation of a 2 tiered system being put into place in the existing rent program, and it\'s (second tier) will have it\'s own budget of $100.000.00 per year to assist those in need. But many feel that Oaklands Tenant Activists were duped by Councilman (Tricky) Dick Spees, into signing off on these proposals that may cost Oakland renters a bundle of money in the long run, speed up rent increases, and do little to protect them from bad landlords who evict for profit. Before the recent agreement, renters had access to the rent program for a mere $15.00 filing fee to challenge rent increases. Renters still have to pay the $15.00 filing fee to file a petition, but now have to contribute to the $1.5 million cost increase through an annual fee of $24.00. The annual $24.00 fee is to be split among landlords and the renters, but experience in Oakland reveals that landlords generaly pass along extra costs to the renters one way or another.

The new $1.5 million budget to be payed for by the new $24.00 annual fees, is meant to cover expenses for 4 new employees, and a new full time attorney. Must be some very
high priced folks to suck up all of that money, for only 5 people. It\'s estimated that more than half of Oaklanders earn less than $35,000.00 per year. The current program has 8
staff on board, and 3 of those positions were funded for a year. All the new proposals are to go into effect on January 1, 2002. Funding for the existing rent program came from several city agencies that chipped in to cover expenses, according to sources.

So, whats going on that the papers have been overlooking in the realm of Oaklands rent control...How much is hype, compared to what is real...

For those who like numbers, heres the deal. Oakland has a population of around 372,242,
and was founded in 1850. Theres around 154,737 families, and around 65% of Oaklanders are renters. Thats well over 200,000 renters. Out of over 200,000 renters in Oakland, only 325 renters filed petitions with the rent program during the first half of this year, making this a very small percentage of renters using the much needed program. Another 325 petitions are expected during the rest of this year to be filed, totaling around 650 filed petitions for the year 2001. With a new $1.5 million dollar budget, and if the number of petitions filed this year remained the same for 2002, it would average around $2,300.00 per person to go through the process at the new rent program. This would not include an extra $100,000.00 to be included for the new mediation program being established. Past budgets for the rent program have not yet been obtained, but for certain it only cost renters $15.00 to file a petition in past years.

Allegations are that the Tenant Activists did not know what they were doing when invited in to join the Taskforce created by Councilman Spees who is known as a shill for the landlord lobby. Questions arise as to what was actualy on the table being negotiated away. Further allegations are that there was no number crunching being done before the activists signed off on the proposals. As an example, the $24.00 fee is based upon how many rental units and renters will fund the $1.5 million budget for the new proposed rent program. Since rent registration is not in place, no one really knows how many units are affected by Oaklands rent control laws, and therefore the question arises as to who pays or does not pay. Why sign off on something affecting hundreds of thousands of renters if you do not know what the numbers are? What we do know is that Oakland has around 85,000 units, and if you multiply that times $24.00 the figure amounts to $2,040,000.00. Without rent registration, Tenant Activists lacked some solid numbers to base their decision upon when signing off on the proposals, which means that these negotiations were flawed from the word go, and not negotiated in good faith by the City of Oakland or the landlords controling this town. A lot of guess work was going on. In addition, many units have more than one renter, and at times numerous contracts. Some already wonder if some units will be charged double or triple due to multiple contracts. The devil may be in the details. Many questions are being asked, about this and the new proposed CPI formula of setting allowable annual rent increases, which are currently set by the council each year. Currently the annual rate of rent increases are set at 3%, but may jump to 6% or more once the new formula is set and locked into place. During the past 2 years Tenant Activists did well to keep the annual rent increases at 3%. With the new formula to be put in place renters will not be allowed to challenge future annual rent increases based upon the CPI less housing. Due to the lack of number crunching by Tenant Activists, renters do not know what the new CPI formula means for rent increases down the road, or if it\'s to be increases or decreases in their rents. This was all rushed through very fast, and Tenant Activist James Vann claims that the changes are a step in the right direction, according to a Chronicle article published on June 27, 2001. Regardless, as to what occured or wether or not it\'s good for Oakland renters, the new CPI formula was something the landlord lobby wanted real bad, and now they have it after Tenant Activists signed off on all of this recently. For low-income renters already reeling from extreme rent hikes during the last few years, and exorbitant utility rate hikes during the past 6 months, these new proposals add another burden on top of the existing ones. For so many to pay for so few that use the rent program, it\'s a wonder as to what the Tenant Activists actualy expect from this new $1.5 million dollar rent program.

The recent proposals were a win, win, win situation for the landlords, and this will cost
renters plenty during the next few years and beyond. One can only wonder why Tenant
Activists of Oakland signed off on so many give aways to the landlords. As renters face the future rent increases, City Officials and landlords now can blame this on the Activists for signing off on it, and deflect the heat from their selves during upcoming elections.
What do renters get out of this? Their being told that under the new program, landlords who evict must file the new rent level with the city within 30 days of renting the unit. If a landlord is found to have violated the law, he or she must pay $1,000 plus two months of the market-rate rent for the unit to the displaced (evicted) tenant as relocation assistance. This may sound good on paper, but some sound figures paint a very different picture, and theres no plan as to how to find the evicted renters. Unless the new renter who replaced the evicted renter files a petition with the rent board claiming their rents were unlawfuly high, no one will ever know if the landlord raised the rents beyond the lawful limits. Considering that last year out of over 200,000 renters in Oakland, only 458 of them filed petitions at the rent program, landlords have little to fear when breaking the rent control laws of Oakland. The odds of finding any or all of the evicted renters scattered to the 4 corners of the earth, make this all a very daunting quest indeed. Oaklands 2 Year Moratorium on rent increases after certain types of evictions has yet to snag even one landlord for prosecution during nearly one year of it\'s existance, and an example of how this system works. It did\'nt! Renters are now being asked to give up a huge amount of money, for a system that avoided rent registration which is needed to make these new proposals become effective. The rent program is still effective to fight rent increases, but as for tracking down renters tossed out into the streets because landlords evict for profit, it appears that Tenant Activists were taken by Councilman (Tricky) Dick Spees on this one all of the way to the cleaners.


The Oakland rent board hears petitions from tenants who believe a rent increase is above the allowable amount, and from landlords who may petition for amounts higher than what\'s allowed in the law. About 95 percent of petitions are from tenants complaining they are being charged increases over the allowable rate. Renters that file a petition \"STOP\" rent increases from occuring until a decision is made as to wethor it is legal or not. It may take 6 months or more to get through the process. Oakland has a 3% cap on rent increases annualy, yet, most money hungry landlords claim that the 3 percent cap on rent increases are\'nt realistic and that they can barely generate a profit. Despite these claims, during the last few years rents in Oakland have shot up to the moon, no landlords have been prosecuted for ignoring the 2 Year Moratorium on rent increases after certain types of evictions, and the new recent proposal adds further to the burden of high rents already set in place. The way the system works, is that landlords raise the rents as high as they want, and often intimidate or threaten retaliation to keep renters from filing a petition to challenge the unlawful rent increases. Even the unlawful rent increases go into effect if the renter does not file a petition to challenge it, and the increase gets locked into place after 30 days. Among the few good things in the new proposal\'s agreed upon, is that Tenants would have 75 days to file a complaint after they receive notice of a rent increase. Until all this is sorted out and comes fully into effect on January 1,2002, it would not hurt to stick with the old plan, because the details have not been worked out on most of the recent proposals mentioned in the papers during the past week.

A recent history of rent program petitions follow: Petitions filed to be heard by the rent board amounted to 199 petitions in 1998, 220 petitions in 1999, 458 petitions in 2000, and during the first half of 2001, there were 325 petitions filed. Because of the new agreement pushed for by (Tricky) Dick Spees and signed on by Tenant Activists, renters
that choose to file a petition may be pressured to avoid the normal process when they try to file the petition, and be diverted instead to the mediation program when first filing their petitions. Tenant\'s need beware, and choose very carefully. Rent increases may occur faster in the mediation program, and obviously rent increases may occur slower if you go the traditional route. Let this be your chioce.

Many question why there is to be a mediation program that now may cost Oaklanders an extra $100,000.00? Mediation Forums already exist which are open to the public and available to renters and landlords in Oakland. Placing the mediation program directly in the rent program seems to be an effort to divert renters away from the rent board that already determines what is legal or not. This new program may be in not in the best interests of the renters, may cost an extra $100,000.00, and may produce decisions of mediation that may or may not be legal at all. Go figure....

Because the new mediation program being created by (Tricky) Dick Spees may be quite controversial for those that may be lured into it when making that fateful decision while filing their petitions when fighting rent increases, it would do renters no harm to avoid this new 2 tiered system. The old way works just fine with the rent board members as a resource rather than the new hearing officers awaiting all of those that may be diverted away from the rent board...

Until rent registration is put into effect, most of the above mentioned proposals are highly suspect as being an effective way to stop unlawful rent increases, or getting any restitution to people that may have moved far, far away... Until a Just Cause Ordinance
is born in Oakland, landlords shall continue to evict for profit. Last year Just Cause came so close to becoming a reality in Oakland, but due to clerical errors it failed to pass. A hard lesson to learn for all that worked so hard to get a Just Cause Initiative on the ballot. Perhaps the future holds a path to follow for the renters of Oakland to free theirselves from the bondage of a brutal system that is known as the EVICTION FOR PROFIT SYSTEM.
by Mr. Furleigh
Don't portray landlords as greedy or think them unkind. I am bulidng manager and I love rent control! I know that it limits the amount of housing that gets built and rehabbed, making life much easier for me.
by Lynda Carson (lyndacarson [at] excite.com)
LANDORDS ARE GREEDY
Landlords are greedy, which explains why the rents in the Bay Area are among the highest on the planet.

The only reason they to get want their hands on Oaklands Rent Program with their new Mediation Program/2 tiered system, is to divert as many renters as possible into a the new system that expedites rent increases.

In time, if landlords can strangle the budget for the existing Rent Program, and shift the majority of the budget into the Mediation Program, it will destroy the existing Rent Program which is what they wanted all along.
by eat the rich
Think about it ... you collect money from people who actually work and produce things - you are a lazy parasite who deserves to die.

Same goes for dividend collecting swine - you produce nothing and suck up resources that could be better spent on actual workers ... join the workers or die.

Same goes for bankers ... collecting interest from people that make things of real value. I can't eat your usury feas ... Dividends paid out to lazy hypocrits do very little for me and paying rent to a jerk who hasn't worked in years is starting to tick me off.

The whole idea of collecting feas for doing nothing is wrong and elitists need to die in bloody class revolt - the sooner the better - period.
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