U.S. Marshals Poised to Evict Oakland Tenants in Potentially Illegal Action

“I know of no authority that gives the U.S. government the ability to circumvent and ignore the application of Oakland’s Just Cause for Eviction ordinance as it attempts to remove these lawful occupants,” said Meghan Gordon, an attorney who is the director of the East Bay Community Law Center’s housing practice.

Oakland’s plan to battle homelessness: Stop it before it starts

In the view of Frank Martin, deputy director of the East Bay Community Law Center, the legal services offered by Keep Oakland Housed will give pause to property managers looking to evict tenants as a ploy to boost rent.“Generally speaking, 90 percent of landlords have lawyers and 90 percent of tenants do not,” he says. “That makes for an imbalance and leads to people losing their cases even when they have legitimate reasons for why they couldn’t pay their rent. Having lawyers who will negotiate settlements with landlords or who show up in court with tenants levels the playing field.”

‘The Oakland we knew is not going to remain’

“I go from a block where there are tents lining the sidewalk, to a block where there are Teslas and Mercedes lining the sidewalk,” said Osha Neumann, a staff attorney with the East Bay Community Law Center. “It’s almost like we’re dividing into two species. And it’s increasingly difficult for people to move from the streets, from the bottom, anywhere up away from there.”

Eviction Protections Could Be Extended to Thousands More Oakland Homes Through Proposed Ballot Measure

Shallyn Wells, an attorney with the East Bay Community Law Center, shared the story of her client, Samantha Lao, at today’s committee hearing. Lao lives in the upper unit of a duplex. Her downstairs neighbor left after a new owner purchased the building and evicted them. The new owner now claims to be living in the bottom unit, but Wells claims that this isn’t true, and that instead the landlord is simply using the exemption to get rid of Lao and increase the rent.

East Bay Immigrant Tenants Feel Threatened by Landlords

One East Bay agency said they have seen an increase in the number of calls from immigrant tenants whose landlords have threatened to report them to immigration authorities after they made complaints about their living conditions.

At the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, staff attorney Ubaldo Fernandez said the agency has seen an uptick.

Interview: A look at tenant’s rights

With the recent rain we have had multiple reports of flooding, trees down and damage to homes.

We checked in with Meghan Gordon, housing attorney for the East Bay Community Law Center who says tenants have been dealing with mold as well as leaking from roofs and windows.