Support A Tenant Protection Act In San Jose

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Jan. 5, 2016 - PRLog -- San Jose is experiencing an epidemic of eviction and displacement.  Because we do not have “Just Cause” eviction protection, our community is being torn apart by arbitrary and unfair evictions.  Whole families are often uprooted, and children taken out of schools, when they are evicted for no reason and forced to move out of San Jose or become homeless.

It is unacceptable to allow our housing stock to become so expensive it becomes affordable only to highly paid technology workers, while the people who built this city are forced to relocate. A Tenant Protection Act will help families, seniors, low-wage workers, and people with disabilities be able to stay in their homes.

Together with the Silicon Valley Renters Rights Coalition, the Affordable Housing Network urgently calls on San Jose City Council to pro-actively confront this crisis by implementing a Tenant Protection Act when the rental ordinance returns to their agenda this spring.

•   Tenant protections are indispensable for creating stable, secure neighborhoods, where people get to know each other and build community over time. Community stability should be a higher priority than landlord convenience or profit.

•   Without tenant protections, landlords can get away with illegal retaliatory evictions and code violations with impunity. Tenants live in fear and frequently do not report serious health and safety violations out of fear of receiving a no cause termination notice.

•   Because tenants are unfamiliar with the court process, and usually cannot afford an attorney, they are often pressured to accept unfair evictions. Tenants rarely take cases to court, because if they lose an unlawful detainer suit, they get blackballed and become literally unable to rent another apartment for seven years.

•   Tenant protections are a win-win solution. They provide security to tenants and do nothing to harm good landlords. Landlords are still free to give a three day notice to any tenant who violates a lease, commits a crime, or fails to pay rent, just as they are now.

Join this campaign for stronger and more just communities in San Jose. To be informed about upcoming activities, please call 408-691-6153.

perrysandy@aol.com

Next Meeting: Wed. Jan. 6th 5:30PM

Somos Mayfair
370 B South King Rd.
San Jose CA 95116