Tuesday the City Council will vote on a proposed ballot measure updating the rent laws to prepare Berkeley for a world without Costa-Hawkins. One of the major changes is that buildings build after 1980 could be rent controlled! Right now,…
Tag: tenants
Berkeley Housing Policy Update
Measure U1 Debate Continued The Berkeley City Council carried items about spending Measure U1 money to their July 25 meeting. See Items 48, 50 and 51 on that agenda. http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/Clerk/City_Council/City_Council__Agenda_Index.aspx The State of Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin is a renter…
Tagged with: affordable housing, AirBnB, antidisplacement, BCA, Berkeley, Berkeley Citizens Action, Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, Berkeley Tenants, Berkeley Tenants Union, Costa-Hawkins, developers, development, displacement, East Palo Alto, empty housing, evictions, France, Fremont, Garden Village Apartments, gentrification, good cause, growth, Homeless, homelessness prevention, housing crisis, housing emergency, housing policy, Jesse Arreguin, just cause, Justine Marcus, landlord tax, landlords, Los Angeles, Mayor Arreguin, Measure U1, Mirian Zuk, Mother Jones, New Sequoia Apartments, New York Times, Oakland, Oakland Warehouse Coalition, owner move-in, Panoramic Residences, Paris, Patrick Kennedy, postwar housing, preventing homelessness, Progressive Town Hall, public policy, Puerto Rico, rent, Rent Board, Rent Control, rent registration, Renters, San Francisco, San Mateo County, short-term rentals, smart growth, state of the city, student housing, students, tenant protections, tenants, UC Berkeley, vacancy tax
News and Updates
BTU Calls For Landlords to Be Fined for Campaign Violations, Again On Thursday, May 18, 2017, Berkeley’s Fair Campaign Practices Commission (FCPC) would not decide to enforce the Berkeley Election Reform Act. Commissioner Dean Metzger asked that the staff report…
Tagged with: affordable housing, Berkeley, Berkeley City Council, Berkeley Election Reform Act, berkeley rent control board, Berkeley Tenants Union, California Apartment Association, California Association of Realtors, California Democratic Party, City Council, Dean Metzger, Developer Fees, Elections, evictions, Fair Campaign Practices Comission, Greg Harper, housing, housing crisis, housing emergency, housing policy, housing shortage, inclusionary housing, just cause, landlord move in, Maria Poblet, Measure AA, mitigation fee, neighborhood preservation, neighborhood stabilization, owner move-in, relocation assistance, relocation benefits, Relocation Ordinance, Rent Board, Rent Control, Renters, rents, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sophie Hahn, tenants, tenants union
Tenants Meeting Sunday
Berkeley Tenants Union joins with Friends of Adeline on Sunday to organize South Berkeley renters for a meeting about common problems like repairs.
April News and Updates
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…
Tagged with: 2057 University, 3028 Deakin, bed bugs, bedbugs, Berkeley, Berkeley Rent Board, carbon monoxide, carbon monoxide poisoning, Cindy Kwong, Costa-Hawkins, detectors, eviction protections, evictions, Gadson, good cause, habitability, just cause, Kwong/Wong Family Trust, Lakireddy, landlord, lawsuit, Nash Hotel, PG&E, Raj Properties, red-tagged, Rent Board, Rent Control, Renters, Roger Hanna Morash, San Jose, Sean Barry, Susan Hanna, tenant, tenants, Tony Kwong, Tony M. Wong, Vacancy control, vacancy decontrol, Valerie Morash
Action: Repeal Costa Hawkins
Repealing Costa Hawkins would solve a lot of problems for Berkeley. This state law gives landlords the right to jack the rent upon vacancy, bans local laws to regulate rents on any post-1996 construction, and exempts single-family homes and condos…
Tagged with: AB 1506, affordable housing, Assembly Bill 1506, Berkeley, Berkeley Property Owners Association, Berkeley Rental Housing Coalition, Berkeley Tenants, Berkeley Tenants Union, Bloom, Bonta, BPOA, Chiu, Costa-Hawkins, Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, developers, housing policy, KALW, Krista Gulbransen, land use, rent, Rent Board, Rent Control, Renters, state assembly, state law, tenants, Tenants Together, Vacancy control, vacancy decontrol
Measure U1 Landlord Tax Update
BPOA employee says U1 funds being misdirected. “Tuesday night, they approved an “emergency” ordinance to buy the old Premier Cru building complex on University Avenue for $6.65 million. They want to use the site for future City Council chambers and…
Tagged with: 1001 University, 1310 Haskell, 2016 ballot measures, 2551 San Pablo, affordable housing, artist warehouses, BARF, Bay Area Renters Federation, Berkeley, Berkeley Property Owners Association, Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, Berkeley Rental Housing Coalition, Berkeley Tenants Union, BPOA, business license tax, Christina Murphy, Christine Schwartz, City Council, Commissioner Harr, Commissioner Murphy, Council Chambers, development, eviction, financialization, fire, Ghost Ship, Housing Accountability Act, housing policy, Katherine Harr, Keith Kim, landlord tax, Leilani Farha, Measure U1, neighborhood preservation, Oakland, People’s Park, Planning, Premier Cru, rent, Rent Board, Rent Control, Renters, Stefan Elgstrand, Tenant Convention, tenants, Tim Kingston, U1, UC Berkeley, UN, United Nations, university of California, Urojas Community Services, Warehouses, Zoning
It’s All Happening!
Updates Rent Board Tonight the Berkeley Rent Board will vote to narrow down the candidates who are applying to fill Commissioner Harr’s seat on the Board. There were over 16 applicants including many BTU members, several folks who serve on…
Tagged with: Air BnB, AirBnB, Arreguin, Berkeley, Berkeley Rent Board, Commissioner Harr, harassment, Home Away, Judy Hunt, Rent Board, Rent Control, Renters, short-term rentals, STRs, tenants, tourist rentals, TPO, Vacation Rentals
Check Your Batteries!
Two Berkeley renters died last week in a case of carbon monoxide poisoning. News reports did not say if the building’s owner was required to have installed a carbon monoxide detector, but BTU thought this would be a good time…
Tagged with: Berkeley, carbon monoxide, Deakin, detectors, habitability, poison gas, Renters, Roger Morash, safety, smoke detectors, state law, tenants, Valerie Morash
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Measure U1: Renters Deserve A Share
BTU Needs You to Push for Rental Assistance! The City Council is beginning to discuss how to spend money from the 2016 landlord tax, Measure U1. You may have seen emails from our allies asking you to comment on Measure…