Berkeley Tenant Deaths Unexplained
“But three months, one lawsuit and a procession of experts later, the source of the carbon monoxide remains a mystery. Toxicology professionals say that’s not just bizarre, but a possible danger to public health. With the question of origin unanswered, the city has red-tagged the apartment where they died but allowed tenants to stay in the building’s other three units…. In the Deakin Street unit, according to neighbors and authorities, a detector was located only on the ground floor, but not upstairs where the couple slept.”
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-couple-s-mysterious-deaths-raise-11077092.php

Deaths Preventable, Says Lawsuit
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/04/18/berkeley-landlords-sued-over-deaths-by-carbon-monoxide-poisoning/

 Still Collecting Rent Next Door to Unexplained Deaths
“Experts are calling the case “rare and odd,” noting it’s typically easy to pinpoint the origin of carbon monoxide in a case like this, and they add that the lack of answers is potentially a public health concern. Neighbors agree—though the unit where the Morashes lived has been red-tagged, the other three units in the building have been deemed safe…”
http://www.newser.com/story/241431/deaths-of-couple-and-their-cats-baffle-cops-worry-neighbors.html

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!
Since 2013 all rental units with gas heat, appliances or garages have been required to have carbon monoxide detectors.
Check your smoke and CO detectors today!
STAY SAFE!

Bedbugs on University Avenue
Gadson alleged that although Raj Properties promised to exterminate the bedbugs by January, his room was not sprayed by RidX Pest Control until Feb. 17.”
http://www.dailycal.org/2017/04/11/uc-berkeley-extension-alumnus-allegedly-living-bedbug-infested-building-owned-raj-properties/

Raj Properties map, rent, and photo
Room $1000 – Bedbugs Free

State Costa Hawkins Law Changes Delayed by Politics
Former candidate for City Council Sean Barry wrote this anti-rent control article last week. Isn’t it a good thing Kriss Worthington kept his seat? In the article, Barry cites “research” from sources like Michael St. John, who works for Berkeley’s largest property owners! He also seems to think the Rent Board could change what is covered by Berkeley rent control – really, only the voters can do that, and we hope someday they will!
http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/04/13/opinion-costa-hawkins-repeal-shelved-lets-find-ways-lower-housing-costs/

San Jose Renters on Hunger Strike
“Hernandez and two other renters’ rights advocates decided to go without food until the City Council meeting on Tuesday, when an item will be heard that would implement “just cause” provisions. Currently, landlords can kick a tenant out of their unit without giving any reason.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/04/15/san-jose-renter-advocates-on-hunger-strike-until-vote/

 

 

1280px-Bed_bug,_Cimex_lectularius

The Berkeley Rent Board awarded two tenants 100% of their rent back after a young couple moved into a room on University Avenue that already had a serious bed bug infestation.

One tenant testified that the very first morning after he slept in his new home he counted more than 80 bites. The couple said they slept in 4-hour shifts, with one staying on guard to fend off the bed bugs, for several weeks. Commissioners described the photos as “horrifying” and voted unanimously to uphold the hearing examiner’s award of a 100% reduction in rent for the time that the bugs were present.

According to documents in the Appeal heard by the Board on Monday night, a Vector Control inspection made just nine days after the renters moved into the living room suggested that the blood-sucking pests were in the unit well before the new renters arrived. According to the Rent Board staff’s legal recommendation in the appeal, the landlord should have known about the bugs. Not only would the owner have seen the “100’s to thousands” of bugs in the living room curtain had he checked the unit before renting it, but he should also have been aware of the pests since other tenants had moved because of bed bugs.

These tenants did everything right: they contacted the owner immediately, made their expectation that he hire a professional clear, contacted the Berkeley Rent Board, and arranged an Environmental Health inspection within days of the first bites. It seems they followed all the difficult steps in cooperation with the exterminator as well, because they got rid of the notoriously challenging bugs within weeks.

Unfortunately the owner initially made the situation worse by spraying some bug spray himself. There is no known over-the-counter treatment for bed bugs, and these bugs are known for spreading to other rooms and other units if disturbed by an ineffectual poison. Someone also said the landlord brought a blow torch into the unit to treat the furniture and dragged an infested mattress onto the roof to lay in the sun.

It is not known why the renters in the other two rooms in the unit did not join in the complaint. The landlord rents each room separately.

Got Bed Bugs?

  1. Contact the Rent Board Agency: rent@cityofberkeley.info
  2. Contact the Health Inspector: envhealth@ci.berkeley.ca.us
  3. Drop us a line at info at berkeley tenants dot org