Oakland rents are skyrocketing, with increases up to 120% in the past year. Oakland had the 2nd highest San Francisco/Bay Area and 3rd highest national rent increases in 2014.

The last 32 years of rental development is not protected by Oakland rent control. This leaves thousands of existing tenants vulnerable to new fees and unreasonable rent increases up to 120%.

We the people of Oakland, California are asking Mayor Schaaf and the Oakland City Council to:

(1) Encourage landlords to refrain from reducing non-optional services and forcing tenants to buy them back in the form of added fees.

(2) Encourage landlords to be reasonable and fair when proposing rent increases. Increasing existing tenant rents by 50% to 120% is essentially a forced eviction for many.

(3) Require landlords to provide relocation fees in situations where rent increases in short time frames are displacing tenants with little time to save money and move.

(4) Expand protections for tenants not covered by rent control. There are a variety of different ways that the city can advocate for unprotected tenants.

(5) Take a strong stand as a city to reform or overturn Costa-Hawkins at the state-level, so that Oakland (and other California cities) can freely pursue rent control relief without the interference of the state.

We are proud to support growth in our community, and believe pro-growth does not have to be anti-tenant. Mayor Schaaf, please honor your campaign promise to preserve affordability so Oakland residents don’t get displaced.