Hotline Happy Endings...

Since 2009, Tenants Together has helped over 7,500 tenants in foreclosure situations know and assert their rights. Recently, we have had more and more calls from tenants in Fannie Mae-owned properties getting the runaround. Real estate agents representing Fannie Mae regularly give tenants invalid or confusing notices to quit, pressure tenants to accept cash-for-keys deals, and refuse to give tenants proof of ownership. Tenants who have been dutifully paying their rent have to deal with their whole lives being turned upside-down. This is fundamentally unfair, and through our hotline we help empower tenants to demand better outcomes for them and their families. 

Wendy—Sonoma County: 

Wendy first called our Tenant Foreclosure Hotline in the Fall of 2011 because she discovered her landlord was in default. We advised her on her general rights and what to expect if her rental went into foreclosure. After foreclosure Wendy dealt with a Fannie Mae representative who misled Wendy on their stated policy to continue to rent to tenants. In the Fall of 2012, Fannie Mae issued her an eviction notice. With help from our counselors, she was able to negotiate a cash-for-keys agreement that was on her terms. Wendy said, “I have been relying on Tenants Together for advice as a tenant who was facing foreclosure… Every single person that I spoke with offered helpful information… I simply could not have survived and triumphed without your guidance.” 

Tony—Fresno County: 

Tony called our hotline because he was given a 30, 60, or 90 day notice to move out by a real estate agent representing Fannie Mae (with this kind of confusing notice it is left to the tenant to figure out which time period applies to them). Tony was also confused because there were multiple agents claiming to represent Fannie Mae. After a couple counseling sessions on our hotline, Tony responded in writing to Fannie Mae asking for a clear point of contact. With further help, Tony successfully pushed back against his notice to move and was able to negotiate a year lease with Fannie Mae. He is currently working out the details of the agreement, but we are happy he’s met his goal of being able to stay in his home as long as possible!

If you or someone you know is a tenant in a foreclosure situation please have them call our hotline at 888.495.8020 to speak with one of our trained volunteer counselors.

“It’s Your Money” – Campaign Launches to Protect California Tenants from Security Deposit Theft

Today we're launching “It’s Your Money,” a new campaign to stop security deposit theft by California landlords.  The campaign website, www.YourDeposit.org, features know-your-rights information for tenants, tips on how to protect deposits, tenant stories and policy recommendations.  The site allows tenants to share their security deposit horror stories.

Security deposit theft is one of the most common grievances among California’s 15 million renters.   In a recent survey, over 60% of Tenants Together members reported improper withholding of deposit money.  This is an astonishing figure, but not one that surprises anyone working with California tenants.

“Millions of dollars are being stolen from tenants every year,” commented Dean Preston, Executive Director of Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights.  “It’s gotten so bad that tenants paying their security deposits don’t ever expect to see that money again. Something has got to change.”

Unlike in many other states, California law does not require deposit money to be held in a separate account, does not require a landlord to pay interest on the deposit to tenants, and rarely imposes any penalty on landlords that improperly withhold deposits.

The “It’s Your Money” campaign seeks to change the dynamic and bring about basic fairness when it comes to security deposits.  The campaign coalition is united around three basic principles:
1. Deposit money should not be co-mingled with other landlord assets
2. Tenants deserve interest on security deposits
3. Landlords who improperly withhold deposits must face meaningful penalties

We are encouraging tenants to share their story and individuals and organizations to sign on to support the basic principles of the campaign.

For more information, visit www.YourDeposit.org.

February Tenant News Roundup

Rising rents in California continue to squeeze working families and this month some tenant groups and cities have taken up the issue. From defending rent control in San Francisco to proposing rent protections where there are none, tenants are raising their voice. To put the problem in perspective, a recent graphic using data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition highlights the fact that tenants in California would have to work 130 minimum wage hours per week to afford a two bedroom apartment. For many tenants, this means regularly being forced to make a choice between paying their rent and feeding their family, or living in substandard housing. Tenants Together continues to support measures to ensure families have access to safe & affordable housing.


News across the state:

Concord: Mobile Home Residents Angered by Rent Increase
Concord mobile home residents are angered by an Administrative Law Judge's decision that requires them to pay a retroactive rent increase. Some residents have had to take out loans to make the payment.

San Francisco: TIC Legislation is a Rent Control Issue 
Proposed legislation would allow some 2,000 TIC (tenants-in-common) units to bypass the City's limits on condominium conversions, and thus be removed from rent control protections.

Richmond: Controversy Oven Rent Control, Renters' Rights 
The Richmond City Council is looking at the Housing Element of the General Plan, which includes proposals for rent control and "just cause" eviction. Fifty percent of Richmond residents rent their homes.


Notable news outside California:

Arkansas Law Jails Tenants Who Don't Pay Their Rent
Human Rights Watch has condemned the landlord-tenant laws in Arkansas that allow landlords to have tenants jailed if they do not pay their rent or move within 10 days of receiving notice. HRW notes that, in addition to being fundamentally unfair to tenants, landlords frequently abuse the law, in collusion with corrupt public officials.

Christie Blocks Foreclosed Homes as Affordable Housing
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has again vetoed legislation that would enable municipalities in New Jersey to use affordable housing funds to take over foreclosed properties, rehab them, and keep them as permanent affordable housing. Instead, Governor Christie wants to use foreclosure relief monies to plug holes in New Jersey's state budget.

Housing Voucher Holders Seek Protection in Cook County
In Chicago, people with housing vouchers are protected from discrimination. Not in suburban Cook County. Landlords can refuse to rent to tenants with vouchers -- just because. But housing activists and some politicians are trying to change that by changing an ordinance.

Is City Program Incentivizing Displacement in NY?

In Saturday's New York Times, there was a front page article on a NY landlord who is participating in a program to house homeless New Yorkers. It appears from the article that the featured mega-landlord is converting rentals occupied by long-term tenants into rentals for formerly homeless tenants whose rent is then subsidized by the city, with the subsidized rentals being more lucrative for the landlord. The article fails to address the fundamental problem of displacing one group of tenants in order to house another.

Shouldn't the program have restrictions to prevent subsidies to landlords who engage in this kind of displacement? If not, many of the folks who are displaced will end up homeless, defeating the very purpose of the City's program.