CRR Casework Victory

Corrine James is a tenant who has lived in her house in Oakland for four years. She has been active around issues of tenants’ rights and collected signatures to get Measure EE—the “just cause” eviction ordinance—on the ballot. On November 5th of this year, the day of the election in which “just cause” passed, she received a 30-day eviction notice from her landlady.

This was the fourth time that Corrine’s landlady had attempted to evict her. Twice she dropped the attempts before they even got to court, and once the eviction attempt was overturned in court. In addition she had directed a campaign of harassment against Corrine, spying on her, claiming that she wasn’t paying rent, and driving away potential housemates. This time, the landlady’s tactic was to claim that she was going to move into the house herself. This was obviously just an excuse. The landlady wanted to raise the rent in Corrine’s apartment, which was less than that of the downstairs apartment. In a previous eviction attempt, she had told Corrine in person that she was being evicted “because of gentrification”. The displacement of poor and working people by yuppies and landlords—gentrification—has been a plague in recent years, leading to higher rents and more homelessness across the Bay Area.

Corrine brought her case to the Campaign for Renters Rights. A delegation of CRR activists went to the landlady’s house and delivered her a notice that if she didn’t stop the eviction within seven days we would flyer her neighbors, telling them how she was evicting a woman right before Christmas in order to raise the rent. When the seven days were up, we did just that. CRR activists went door-to-door in Corrine’s neighborhood, as well as her landlady’s. We also picketed the property management company that the landlady had hired to manage the house, and encouraged supportive tenants and neighbors to call them to complain about the eviction. In addition, we let the landlady know, that we would keep track, to see if she actually moved into the house herself, as she was claiming.

The actions were successful. The 30 day notice ended on December 5th and Corrine was never served with the “unlawful detainer” which would have given her 3 days notice before she was thrown into the street. Then, a few days before Christmas, the landlady cashed Corrine’s check for December rent, thereby recognizing Corrine as her tenant and ending the eviction attempt.

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The Campaign for Renters Rights is an Oakland-based group of tenants, activists and radicals who work to defend tenants against theft, eviction and every kind of mistreatment and attack by their landlords. We use grassroots organizing and disruptive direct actions to put pressure on the enemies of poor and working people, and to win concrete demands. If you are a tenant having problems with your landlord, or if you are interested in getting involved in the CRR, leave a message at 510-595-5545 or come to one of our regular meetings, held the first Monday of every month at 6:30 at the Temescal Library in Oakland (5205 Telegraph Ave… around back).

SOLIDARITY IN STRUGGLE