Advocating for Stronger Rent Protections

Photo by Ramona Giwargis, Bay Area News Group

Earlier this week, the San Jose City Council voted on whether or not to tie rent increases for rent-controlled units to the cost of living, capped at 5%. The Law Foundation, along with partners at the Silicon Valley Renters' Rights Coalition, packed into City Hall to defend past rent and tenant protection victories and urged City Council to vote "yes" on the measure to help stabilize rents for families in San Jose. 

The vote was close, but unfortunately, the City Council did not move forward with a measure to tie rent increases for rent-controlled apartments to the cost of living. However, tenants and community members successfully organized against landlords' attempts to water down San Jose's Apartment Rent Ordinance and Tenant Protection Ordinance, crucial housing protections for over 400,000 tenants in San Jose.

Many thanks to Council Members Sergio Jimenez, Raul Peralez, Don Rocha, Magdalena Carrasco, Tam Nguyen, and Sylvia Arenas for their support. The fight to preserve renter protections in San Jose continues next Spring 2018, when the Apartment Rent Ordinance returns to Council. See you there!  

Learn more about San Jose City Council's vote from The Mercury News.
 

Major Win for Mountain View Tenants

Photo by Nailah Morgank, KQED

Last November, voters in Mountain View passed Measure V, aimed at stabilizing rents and providing just cause eviction protections for certain rental units.

Following the vote, the California Apartment Association (CAA) moved to sue the City to block the law from going into effect. That’s when the Law Foundation, along with Fenwick & West, the Stanford Community Law Clinic, and the Public Interest Law Project, stepped in to represent a group of Mountain View voters, tenants, and organizations.

In a major win for Mountain View tenants, the CAA dropped the lawsuit earlier this month.

Mountain View tenants will now be protected from unreasonable rent increases and unjust evictions. “This is a complete victory for the City of Mountain View and a critical win for Mountain View residents, including the most marginalized in our community,” said Nadia Aziz, senior attorney at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley. “We were thankful to have Fenwick’s excellent support in ensuring Mountain View tenants do not have to live in fear of unfair rent increases and evictions.”