”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.

Buzz: Economic reality has hit California landlords, and their tenants are the winners with four consecutive months of falling rents.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet looked at December’s estimates of lease rates for new tenants in 56 large California cities, compiled by ApartmentList.

Topline

California big-city rents ran $2,110 a month, according to my populated-weighted average of the cities. That’s down 1.1% in a month as 88% of the big cities tracked had falling rents for the month. Rents are off $86 or 4% since August.

And December’s rent was up only 2.4% in a year. That’s the smallest year-over-year increase in 19 months.

But let’s note this recent dip doesn’t wipe away pandemic-era pain for renters. California rents are still up 13% in three years, or $240 a month.

Topline

Let’s look at some extremes among the 56 California cities tracked for December …

Where were the largest rent declines?

1-month drop: Oceanside, off 3.9% to $2,622.

12-month drop: Ventura, off 4.4% to $2,063.

3-year drop: Oakland, off 15% to $1,628.

And which cities had the biggest rent gains?

1-month gain: Ventura, up 1.3% to $2,058.

12-month gain: Escondido, up 11.8% to $2,231.

3-year gain: Escondido, up 40% to $2,231.

And the monthly rent extremes?

Priciest city? Irvine at $3,068.

Cheapest? Fresno at $1,299.

Consider that rents fell in December in nine of California’s 10 most-populated cities. Here are the cities, ranked by one-month rent change …

Santa Ana: $2,111 monthly median new lease rate, down 1.9% in a month, up 0.5% in a year, and up 22% in three years.

San Francisco: $2,196 monthly, down 1.7% in a month, up 2% in a year, and down 13% in three years.

San Diego: $2,345 monthly, down 1.4% in a month, up 4.6% in a year, and up 27% in three years.

San Jose: $2,386 monthly, down 1.3% in a month, up 6.6% in a year, and up 3% in three years.

Los Angeles: $1,873 monthly, down 1% in a month, up 1.7% in a year, and up 6% in three years.

Long Beach: $1,678 monthly, down 0.9% in a month, up 4% in a year, and up 17% in three years.

Sacramento: $1,624 monthly, down 0.8% in a month, down 1.8% in a year, and up 20% in three years.

Oakland: $1,628 monthly, down 0.7% in a month, down 2.8% in a year, down 15% in three years.

Fresno: $1,299 monthly, down 0.2% in a month, up 1.6% in a year, and up 23% in three years.

Anaheim: $2,227 monthly, up 0.2% in a month, up 3.8% in a year, and up 26% in three years.

Bottom line

Ponder 2022’s economic timeline: Reduced coronavirus fears. Workers going back to the office. Students return to classrooms. On top of that, toss in some economic anxieties.

That nudged many renters, or potential renters, to think they no longer needed separate or larger living spaces. This took the steam out of demand for housing, translating to extra empty rentals for many landlords.

So now we’re seeing a sale on rents – discounting that could run throughout much of 2023.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

”Survey says” looks at various rankings and scorecards judging geographic locations while noting these grades are best seen as a mix of artful interpretation and data.

Buzz: Only two states are worse deals for renters than California.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet compared Census Bureau housing data from 2021 through 2016 for 50 states plus the District of Columbia.

To create a value metric for renting, states were scored on five-year changes in rental costs, the 2021 share of financially burdened renters, the burden’s change in 2016-21, the five-year change in rental households, and residents per rental unit in 2021.

Rankings were derived from each state’s average grade.

Topline

My scorecard put California as the third-worst value for renters ahead of only Nevada and Arizona. After California came Georgia and Florida.

The best states were North Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Montana and Ohio.

Details

These five years of housing history included a pandemic push to find larger living spaces and mortgage rates at historic lows, which boosted homeownership by 11% nationwide vs. 1% growth in renter households.

Sadly, folks who didn’t own a home were hit by with soaring rent costs and significant stress on family finances.

But let’s start with the basics. California had the most renting households with 5.73 million or 13.6% of the nation’s 42 million. Those tenants equal 44% of households in the state, the third-largest largest share of renters behind. D.C. at 58% and New York at 45%. After California was Nevada at 41%, and Hawaii and Texas at 37%.

But consider a measure of popularity (or not), the five-year change in the number of renters.

California saw tenant households shrink by 1.5% between 2016 and 2021. That still ranked 34th best.

The biggest dip was in West Virginia, off 9.9%, then Hawaii, off 6.2%, Michigan, off 6.1%, Rhode Island, off 6% and Louisiana, off 4.8%. In total, 24 states had fewer renters.

Utah had the No. 1 gain with 18% more renters, then D.C. at 10%. Texas was up 9%, New Jersey rose 6% and Washington state increased by 5%.

So why the California decline? Eye the price tag.

Renting in California had a $1,750-a-month median cost in 2021, with only Hawaii higher at $1,774. After California came D.C. at $1,668, Colorado at $1,491 and Massachusetts at $1,487.

But it’s really about how much rent moved upward.

California tenants suffered the sixth-biggest rent-cost inflation in 2016-21 – up 27%. Top increases were found in Idaho, Washington state, and Nevada at 31%, Arizona at 28% and Colorado at 27%.

Those rising rents made balancing a household budget work tricky.

Lofty rent expenses left 3.2 million California tenant households financially “burdened,” which is defined as 30% or more of income going to housing costs.

No state had more. No. 2 was Texas at 2 million, New York at 1.8 million Florida at 1.6 million and Illinois at 745,000.

That financially struggling flock means 56% of California tenants were defined as “burdened” by rent vs. 51% nationally and the third-highest U.S. level of “unaffordability.”

Florida had the largest share of burdened renters at 59%, then Hawaii at 58%. Louisiana and Nevada followed California with 56%.

Perhaps the best news in the Census rental report for California tenants was that the number of burdened renters fell in 2016-21 – down 1%. But that decline is more tied to the drop in renters statewide that any financial progress.

Nationally, financially stressed renters rose by 4% nationally with increases in 34 states. The biggest jump was in Utah, up 26%, then Alaska at 21%, Wyoming at 18%, Texas at 17% and Nevada at 14%.

And tenants jam into California’s pricey rentals.

In 2021, the typical California rental unit had 2.73 people – the highest in the nation. No. 2 was Hawaii at 2.67, then Utah at 2.51, Nevada at 2.49 and Mississippi at 2.45. Florida was No. 7 at 2.43.

Note that “crowded” housing isn’t just about sharing costs. Density is often high in states like California and Utah which have relatively youthful populations with many families with children.

Bottom line

To help explain poor rankings like California’s, I sliced the states into thirds – from worst grades to best. What did it tell me about the 17 lowest-value states for rentals?

They’re pricey: Rent expenses ran $1,382 a month in the low-ranked states in 2021 vs. $957 in the top-value states. That’s a 44% gap.

They’re getting pricier: These costs grew 24% in the bottom 17 between 2016 and 2021 vs. a 16% gain in top-value states.

They’re a bigger burden: 37% of renters in low-ranked states were financially stressed in 2021 by housing costs vs. 31% in top-value states.

They’re crowded: 2.44 people per rental unit in low-ranked states vs. 2.13 in top-value states.

But renters seem to flock to places that might roughly pencil out as a bum deal.

Low-ranked states had 24.3 million renter households in 2021 vs. 8.4 million in top-ranked states. And over five years, the renter group grew by 1.7% in low-ranked states while shrinking 1.3% in top-value states.

Why the popularity of seemingly low-graded states? Real estate’s three-most important words: Jobs. Jobs. Jobs.

The lowest-ranked states created 3 million jobs in 2016-2021 vs. a loss of 460,000 jobs in the top-value states.

Renters seek opportunity, even if it’s a costlier voyage.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

“Rent Check” takes a snapshot of the financial challenges tenants face in California’s challenging market for rentals.

Buzz: Rents fell for the second-consecutive month in October with apartment pricing down in 89% of big cities statewide.

Source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed ApartmentList’s monthly rent estimates in October for 44 large California cities. To estimate what tenants are paying, this rent tracker looks at its own online listings plus landlord pricing data from government sources.

The big picture

In an era of surging rents, a 1.3% dip from September to a monthly median payment of $2,222 may seem modest, but it’s the largest one-month decline in ApartmentList data going back to 2017.

October rent cuts in 39 of 44 big cities are a broadening of discounting. Rent drops were found in just nine cities a year ago.

Let’s not forget rents do remain high.

California’s big-city apartment rents are up 3.5% in a year after gaining 19% in the previous 12 months. The 2022 pace seems more “normal” as rent increased at a 3.2% average annual pace in 2018-19. (By the way, in 2021’s housing craze, rents rose 2.9% in August alone!)

The bottom line

Apartment rents statewide also fell in September, a 0.4% one-month median decline with dips seen in 33 of the 44 cities.

It’s true that autumn isn’t a big season for renters. Yet this two-month dip aligns with industry buzz suggesting that pandemic changes to living arrangements seem to have halted, at least temporarily.

Frenetic apartment hunting is over. Work-from-home and remote schooling is down, cutting needs for larger living quarters and lowering the desirability of rentals far from job centers. Plus, surging rents combined with 2022’s economic uncertainty made living with family or roommates more popular.

To be fair, we should wait until early 2023 to determine if recent rent cuts are simply seasonal swings or the start of a serious downturn.

The caveat

Rent stats vary not only geographically but also by who is counting what, where and when.

Many studies track pricing by management companies for big apartment complexes. Compare that with the Consumer Price Index’s rent index, which is drawn from a survey of consumers living in a wide range of rental arrangements.

Remember, the CPI also covers small landlords who own a chunk of the rental market and often price far differently than giant property owners.

Look at the CPI’s rent inflation measures from across the state for September and you’ll see rising rates of rent hikes.

Riverside and San Bernardino counties: Up 7.9% in a year vs. a 4.3% gain 12 months earlier.

San Diego: Up 7.6% in a year vs. 3.2% 12 months earlier.

Los Angeles and Orange counties: Up 5.3% in a year vs. 1.1% 12 months earlier.

Bay Area: Up 2.3% in a year vs. 0.1% 12 months earlier.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

The drop signals a return to seasonal trends as the colder months approach and fewer people move. But it’s likely also a reflection of recession fears, tech sector layoffs and the rising cost of goods tamping down demand in the country’s most expensive rental market.

“Folks’ budgets are getting squeezed not just when it comes to housing, but when it comes to their day-to-day expenses,” said Apartment List Senior Economist Chris Salviati.

In both the San Francisco and San Jose metro areas, rents are down around 2% from their most recent high in August, double the nationwide drop during that time, according to data from Apartment List, a rental listing site.

The median monthly cost of a new lease for a one-bedroom rental in the San Jose metro area, which includes the entire South Bay, is $2,240. In the San Francisco metro, which includes the East Bay and the Peninsula, the median rent is currently $1,932 a month.

Still, the two metros remain the priciest of any large U.S. population center. They’re ahead of San Diego at $1,916, New York at $1,897 and Los Angeles at $1,753.

The price declines are the latest lurch in what’s been an unpredictable ride for the Bay Area rental market during the pandemic.

At first, rental prices in the region’s larger cities cratered by as much as 25% as renters fled to the suburbs and less expensive parts of the state and country. Rents began to rebound last year as public health restrictions were lifted and more people returned, but the Bay Area as a whole was spared from the soaring price jumps seen nationwide. Now, rents are declining again.

In some of the region’s hardest-hit urban hubs, rents still haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels, even as prices made a steady climb over most of the past 18 months. Median rents in San Francisco ($2,339) and Oakland ($1,531) are at least 10% lower than in March 2020.

“The Bay Area is still a bit of an anomaly,” said Salviati, noting the popularity of remote work here is likely a factor because people moved out of the Bay Area, reducing demand.

Marika McHugh, 32, recently moved to San Francisco from Hawaii to live with her boyfriend at the Parkmerced apartment complex on 19th Avenue. She said she didn’t have much competition securing an apartment at the high-rise towers, where rents start around $2,800.

“It’s comparable to Hawaii, so it wasn’t surprising for me, but it’s still really expensive,” McHugh said.

Salviati said with inflation remaining high, people are increasingly moving in with roommates or family to save money. That reverses a trend of more renters getting their own apartments, he said, possibly a result of rising incomes during the pandemic.

In turn, apartment vacancy rates across the Bay Area are creeping back up to near or above 5%, not far behind the 5.5% national rate, according to Apartment List data.

At the same time, some renters may be putting off finding a new apartment because of spiking consumer costs or worries about a coming recession. A recent spate of layoffs at big tech companies, including Oracle, Netflix and most recently Twitter — amounting to thousands of local job losses — could also be convincing people to stay put.

“We’ve got more inventory starting to become available, and that’s collided with a decline in demand,” Salviati said.

That dynamic, he said, should continue driving down rental prices at least into next year, barring a severe recession.

That’s because people who can’t afford to buy homes will still need to compete for limited available units, which have only become more scarce as apartment construction has stalled out in recent years, he said. Meanwhile, rising mortgage rates, which topped 7% last month, will likely continue squeezing would-be homebuyers, forcing them to remain in the rental market.

“The bottom line is,” Lane said, “this will remain a very expensive market.”

California apartment rents fell for the second-consecutive month in October with pricing taking its biggest one-month drop since at least 2017.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed ApartmentList’s monthly rent estimates in October for 44 large California cities and found a 1.3% dip from September to a monthly median payment of $2,222. It’s the largest one-month decline in ApartmentList data going back to 2017.

October saw rent cuts in 39 of 44 big cities. Where were the largest declines – and what cities had the biggest increases? And what about one-year trends? Or how have rents moved since pre-coronavirus days?

California apartment rents fall in 89% of big cities in October

Let’s take a peek at renting’s extremes within those 44 cities using ApartmentList’s October data.

Start with the size of the monthly check …

Highest rents: Irvine was No. 1 at $3,200 a month, then came Carlsbad at $3,040, Temecula at $2,784, Santa Clara at $2,723 and Simi Valley at $2,650.

Lowest rents: Fresno at $1,329, Sacramento at $1,656, Oakland at $1,666, Long Beach at $1,711 and Concord at $1,860.

Next, look at one-month rent changes …

Best for tenants: Concord was tops, off 3.3% from September to $1,860; then San Mateo, off 3.1% to $2,632; Sunnyvale, off 2.6% to $2,577; Temecula, off 2.5% to $2,784; and Pomona, off 2.4% to $1,959.

Worst: Irvine was No. 1 with a 0.6% increase from September to $3,200. Next was Carlsbad, up 0.5% to $3,040; then Orange, up 0.4% to $2,367; Vista, up 0.3% to $2,357; and West Covina, up 0.1% to $2,273.

And the 12-month rent change?

Best for tenants: Ventura was tops, off 4% since October 2021 to $2,059. No. 2 was Roseville, off 4% to $2,100; then Oakland, off 3% to $1,666; Ontario, flat at $2,181; and Costa Mesa, flat at $2,542.

Worst: Chula Vista’s 14% jump since October 2021 to $2,447 was the highest. Then Oceanside, up 14% to $2,639; Santa Clara, up 12% to $2,723; Vista, up 11% to $2,357; and Burbank, up 10% to $2,129.

And pricing for tenants from pre-pandemic October 2019?

Best for tenants: Oakland was No. 1, down 14% in three years to $1,666. Next was San Francisco, off 12% to $2,268; San Mateo, off 2% to $2,632; Sunnyvale, up 2% to $2,577; and San Jose, up 5% to $2,477.

Worst: Vista’s 40% hike since October 2019 to $2,357 was the highest. Then came 39% increases in Oceanside to $2,639; Moreno Valley to $2,171; Murrieta to $2,441; and Chula Vista to $2,447.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

SAN FRANCISCO — Liberty McCoy was out Saturday urging voters to pass a Nov. 8 ballot measure to limit rent increases in Pasadena because she’s afraid she’ll be priced out of the city where she grew up and where her aging parents live.

The librarian and her husband, a freelance consultant, received notice of a $100 monthly rent increase last year and another for $150 this year, bringing the rent on their home outside Los Angeles to $2,350 a month. They can absorb the increases for now — but not forever.

“A lot of times people are like, ‘Well, just try and pick up and move to someplace cheaper,’” the 44-year-old said. “But I have a job locally, my family, my friends. It would be a big challenge to uproot my entire life chasing cheaper rent.”

With rental prices skyrocketing and affordable housing in short supply, inflation-weary tenants in cities and counties across the country are turning to the ballot box for relief. Supporters say rent control policies on the Nov. 8 ballot are the best short-term option to dampen rising rents and ensure vulnerable residents remain housed.

Opponents, led by the real-estate industry, say rent control will lead to higher prices for tenants in housing not covered by rent caps, harm mom-and-pop landlords relying on rental income for retirement, and discourage the construction of badly needed affordable housing. They have spent heavily to stop ballot initiatives, even going to court to halt them.

In Orange County, Florida, home to Disney World and other theme parks, voters will consider a ballot initiative to limit rent increases to the annual increase in the consumer price index. But a court ruling last week means that even if it passes, it could be nullified.

Proponents in Orlando and other Orange County cities point to a population that has increased 25% since 2010 and rents that jumped 25% between 2020 and 2021 — and experienced another double-digit increase this year. The housing shortage was magnified by Hurricane Ian, with an estimated 1,140 rental properties suffering $44.5 million in damage.

“I’ve had a lot of constituents reach out to me, and they are fearful of becoming homeless. They don’t know what to do,” said Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who authored the ballot initiative ordinance after hearing from tenants facing rent increases upwards of 100%.

Last year, voters in St. Paul, Minnesota, passed a ballot measure capping rents at 3% a year while residents across the river in Minneapolis backed a measure allowing the city council to enact a rent control ordinance.

This summer, Kingston, New York, became the first upstate city to enact rent control. The measure means around 1,200 units — buildings built before 1974 with six or more units — must limit rents to a percentage set by a rent guidelines board.

Boston’s Mayor Michelle Wu was elected last year and made bringing back rent control to the city part of her campaign. The biggest hurdle to that proposal is that Massachusetts voters narrowly approved a 1994 ballot question banning rent control statewide.

“Rent stabilization can provide protections for everyone, but do so in a way that really targets benefits to low-income renters, renters of color, renters who are most desperately impacted by housing instability,” said Tram Hoang, a housing policy expert who was involved in the St. Paul campaign.

The fight over rent control has been most intense out West, where in 2019, lawmakers in California and Oregon approved statewide caps on annual rent increases. California’s annual cap cannot exceed 10% and Oregon’s is set at 7%, plus the consumer price index.

Both laws exempt new construction for 15 years, a compromise to encourage developers to keep building, and apply only to certain units.

But that hasn’t quelled tenant activism in California, where nearly half the state’s 40 million residents are renters. Advocates say the statewide law — which expires in 2030 — does not go far enough.

Voters in the San Francisco suburb of Richmond and Southern California beachside city of Santa Monica will consider measures to further tighten existing rent caps to a maximum of 3%.

In the city of Pasadena — home to the annual Rose Parade and Rose Bowl college football game — voters will consider a measure to create a rent oversight board and limit rent increases to 75% of the consumer price index, which supporters say translates to 2% to 3% a year.

Rent stabilization advocates failed to collect enough signatures to qualify for the 2018 ballot, and they thought it would be hard this time around because the state had enacted protections. But campaign field director Bee Rooney said tenants financially wrecked by the pandemic were eager to back the initiative.

“Any amount when you’re not expecting it is a lot,” Rooney said. “Some people, their rent doubled or went up by 50%.”

Pasadena retiree Paulette Brown received the state-allowed increase of 10% in July, bringing the rent on her two-bedroom apartment to $1,175 a month. Budgeting will be tighter.

“I really can’t afford any mishaps, because I’m not able to save anything,” said the 64-year-old Brown, who lives with her daughter and grandson.

Opponents of the measure, which include the national and state realtors associations, say curtailing rent increases to a fraction of inflation will result in property owners taking rentals off the market and doing minimal maintenance.

“What’s being proposed here is draconian and for the most part landlords who have good tenants aren’t trying to get rid of them,” said Paul Little, president and CEO of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.

Michael Wilkerson, senior economist at Portland, Oregon-based ECONorthwest, describes both the California and Oregon state laws as “anti-price gouging” measures aimed at protecting the most vulnerable tenants from exorbitant increases, while encouraging new housing development.

Rent-control policies have been around for decades, put in place after World War II in New York City and elsewhere to combat rising housing prices and again in the 1970s in the Northeast and California. However, the real-estate industry has since succeeded in passing state laws that made it difficult, if not impossible, for many local municipalities to cap rents.

The data on rent control has been mixed. The policy, according to an Urban Institute report, was found to have reduced rent on covered units in Cambridge, Massachusetts, San Francisco and New York but resulted in no significant decreases in New Jersey cities.

Some studies, however, have shown that rent control can reduce the number of housing units available and discourage landlords from maintaining them.

Opponents also say rent regulation can scare off developers. St. Paul’s original ordinance, for example, applied to almost all housing and mandated landlords stick to the 3% cap even with new tenants.

Within weeks, council members were hearing from developers who blamed the new law for scuttling housing projects because they lost funding. Building permits issued for new housing through August plummeted 31% from the four-year average.

In response, the city council approved amendments in September to exempt low-income housing as well as new construction for 20 years. It also allows landlords to raise rents 8% plus the consumer price index after a tenant moves out.

Orange County’s ballot measure is up in the air after an appeals court rejected the proposal last week and suggested it won’t be certified even if voters approve it.

The court, which acknowledged the state law “set an extremely high bar” for local governments to pass rent control ordinances, said a consultant hired by the county didn’t identify a housing emergency — a requirement under a 1977 state law preempting local rent control.

The county plans to file a motion for a rehearing and with ballots already out, the Orange County Supervisor of Elections said it has no plans to issue new ones. Supporters of the measure said they will keep campaigning.

For tenants like Jessy Correa, the setback means she faces a 20% rent increase on her three-bedroom apartment in Orlando come January. The 44-year-old mother of six is already struggling to afford the current rent of $2,300.

A recruiter at a faith-based nonprofit, she was hoping the ballot initiative would “bring stability, give us a moment to breathe.” Instead, she is now forced to make difficult choices, like getting another job.

“Where is the American dream of being able to live, to enjoy?” she asked tearfully after learning of the court ruling. “What are we doing? It’s frustrating.”

From July 2021 through June 2022, the region saw more than 6,300 eviction filings. The surge began when many emergency tenant protections were rolled back in September 2021, and it has spiked even higher as statewide safeguards were progressively lifted, expiring altogether at the end of June.

During that time, eviction cases skyrocketed across Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties. The exception was Alameda County, where local tenant protections remain in place. Despite the lower numbers there, by this summer, the region saw over 1,000 eviction court filings in both June and July alone.

Multiple landlord groups have sued to end the protections in Alameda County — which still allow evictions under certain circumstances — arguing the moratoriums are no longer necessary since the worst of the pandemic is over and most people have returned to work.

Tenant advocates say they expect evictions to continue to soar as many renters are still recovering from the economic fallout and in some cases, are stuck waiting on backlogged emergency public rent assistance programs.

“We’ve been seeing the eviction tsunami that we as tenants rights advocates had been warning about,” said Nassim Moallem, acting supervising attorney at the nonprofit Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

Gabriela Sanchez is among the thousands of Bay Area residents caught in the wave. After she underwent uterine cancer surgery this summer, she missed a $2,866 rent payment for the two-bedroom apartment she rented near downtown San Jose. A few weeks later, she received an eviction notice.

The single mother and her two sons, ages 7 and 13, are now staying at a friend’s cramped studio apartment. The frantic search for a new home taking its toll.

“The older boy feels very stressed, very anxious,” Sanchez said in Spanish, through a translator. “I have to keep knocking on doors.”

When the pandemic took hold in March 2020, Sanchez and other struggling renters were protected by eviction bans by the state and local governments. The state also launched a $5.2 billion rent relief program, and many cities and counties created their own tenant assistance plans.

Even though some evictions were permitted under the moratoriums and rental aid programs were slow getting money out the door, the efforts proved largely successful in keeping many tenants from losing their homes. But in September 2021, at the urging of landlord groups, the state allowed its eviction ban to expire. Many local bans also ended.

State protections remained in place as long as struggling tenants applied for rent relief. But those safeguards were scaled back in March before expiring altogether on June 30, even though around 16,000 applications for rental aid remained pending in the Bay Area alone.

Despite the recent surge in evictions, the number of court filings last year was roughly half the 11,055 recorded from June 2018 through July 2019, the last full fiscal year before the pandemic shut down the economy. But recent monthly eviction figures indicate all counties except Alameda could now be on pace to match or surpass their pre-pandemic yearly totals.

Moallem with the Law Foundation noted the court data only accounts for a fraction of actual evictions initiated by landlords. That’s because after receiving an eviction notice, many tenants choose to move out rather than face an intimidating legal process and risk having a black mark on their record.

“On a large scale, this is displacement,” Moallem said. “We’re seeing the majority of people who are going to experience an eviction are low-income communities of color. And the rent is so high that they are forced to move out of the area because they can’t afford it.”

At the same time, Derek Barnes, chief executive with the East Bay Rental Housing Association, said two ongoing eviction bans in Alameda County and Oakland — among the last anywhere in the state — are disproportionately hurting small mom-and-pop landlords, who are often immigrants or people of color. Many have been forced to sell their rental properties after tenants were unable or unwilling to pay rent, Barnes said.

“When they get out of the business, those properties are often picked up by larger corporations that are not part of the community,” Barnes said.

Tenant advocates say the protections are needed to protect low-income tenants in areas with a history of displacement.

Because of those protections, Alameda County had the lowest eviction rate in the region last year, with one eviction filing for every 682 households, according to court data. Next came Santa Clara with one for every 378 households; San Mateo at one for every 364 households; San Francisco with one for every 262 households; and Contra Costa with one for 228 households.

Sanchez, who is now living in Sunnyvale, said she is struggling to find a new apartment while also managing work at a house cleaning service and driving her sons to and from school in San Jose.

She hopes to move into an affordable housing complex that’s more livable than her last apartment, which had mold, broken appliances and other habitability issues, she said. A San Jose code enforcement spokesperson confirmed the problems in Sanchez’s unit and said most had been resolved in September.

Sanchez’s landlord did not respond to questions about the condition of Sanchez’s apartment or her eviction.

Officials at her son’s school are working with the family to help apply for apartments. When Sanchez sees other mothers there, she hears many are now facing a similar uncertainty.

“There’s a lot of stories about problems with landlords,” she said.

The ordinance caps rent increases at 3% or 60% of the consumer price index, whichever is lower; allows only one rent increase each year; and includes government-funded, low-income housing apartments.

“Today is a good day,” said Rhea Laughlin of First 5 Contra Costa, sponsor of East County Regional Group, which co-hosted the celebration along with Monument Impact and the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy.

“For two years we have rallied, marched and testified so that Antioch children and residents have a safe and affordable place to call home, but today we’re not worried about another corporate landlord giving a $500 or $600 rent increase, and we’re not worried about children losing their homes because the rent is too high,” she said at Tuesday’s celebration.

Laughlin noted that the city’s new rent stabilization laws, which offer protections for tenants, are some of the strongest in the Bay Area.

“Because of this policy, families will have relief, rents will be in line with wages, communities will stay intact and Antioch will stay diverse and strong,” she said.

Advocates with the East County Regional Group, which is sponsored by First 5 Contra Costa, recently surveyed 1,000 residents about the city’s housing challenges. More than four in five renters and homeowners surveyed said they want the city to take action to limit annual rent increases, prevent unjust evictions, create pathways to homeownership and build more affordable housing.

On average, those responding paid 63% of their monthly income on rent, leaving little for food, medicine, child care and other basic necessities, while 51% of renters said they worried about eviction.

Laughlin applauded the tenants, organizers and City Council leaders who worked to pass the strong protections, which will go into effect 30 days after the signing of the ordinance but be retroactive to Aug. 23. The regulations were officially passed by the council on a 3-2 vote after a second reading on Oct. 11.

“When we put children first and people before profits, we can win,” she said.

Rocheall Pierre, an Antioch resident and member of East County Regional Group, also thanked tenants and the City Council members “who listened to the community, listened to our needs.”

“While we celebrate this monumental, historic event, the fight is not over. You know that renters still need just cause for anti-harassment protections,” she said. “All of these policies go hand in hand. We must protect renters from high risks and unfair evictions. We must protect tenants from living in horrible conditions.”

Mayor Lamar Thorpe promised such protections will be part of a future council agenda as the city continues on its path of reforms.

“Today is not a celebration of just rent control,” he said. “Today’s a celebration of the reforms that are changing this city to make it more open and inclusive to all of the people in the Bay Area.”

Councilwoman Monica Wilson, meanwhile, called the signing of the rent stabilization rules a historic moment; however, “there’s so much more we need to do,” she said.

The councilwoman pointed to just cause and anti-harassment protections and said city leaders and allies need to push for more rights and equality throughout Antioch.

“Justice is often deferred and delayed, but it comes when we come together and fight for what we know is right,” Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker said just before the signing ceremony. “It’s time to continue to be bold, to be shameless and to be brazen in our pursuit for justice and equity here in the city of Antioch.”

On Sept. 20, 2022 the City Council passed a resolution to end its local state of emergency as of Dec. 31.

The end date of Dec. 31 allows ample notice of the local state of emergency’s termination, particularly with respect to the eviction moratorium. City staff will develop legislation to bring to the City Council in the next two months that will ensure the eviction moratorium continues through Dec. 31 and to continue the outdoor dining and retail program until such time that permanent legislation can be developed and enacted.

— city of El Cerrito

ALBANY

City awarded $230,000 to remove dying eucalyptus trees

Albany has been awarded a California State Coastal Conservancy grant to support the Albany Hill Eucalyptus Project. City staff provided an update on the project in May to the City Council, which authorized staff to submit an application to the California State Coastal Conservancy’s Wildfire Resilience Program to support project planning and design; fire safety; and education and research.

Developing a nuanced and thoughtful removal and restoration plan is necessary for the drought- and pathogen-stricken eucalyptus forest on Albany Hill. This plan will provide guidance for removing dead and diseased blue gum eucalyptus trees while minimizing impact to local flora and fauna, including the monarch butterflies, which use Albany Hill as an overwintering site.

The plan will also include analysis and preliminary design of replacement trees and native plantings, to avoid hillside erosion and renew the Albany Hill landscape for residents and wildlife to enjoy for generations to come. On Sept. 22, the Coastal Conservancy board authorized $230,000 to fund Albany’s proposal. For more information, visit albanyca.org/departments/public-works/construction-alerts online.

— city of Albany

BERKELEY

Register by Oct. 24 to vote in city’s November elections

Register by Oct. 24 to vote in the Nov. 8 election, which includes the state offices and propositions, as well as local candidates and ballot measures.

If you are already registered, check your registration status before Oct. 24 to confirm that your information is correct. You need to re-register if you have moved, changed your name, or wish to change your political party preference. The following measures and offices are on Berkeley’s Nov. 8 ballot:

• Measures L, M and N;
• City Council Districts 1, 4, 7 and 8;
• school board (three seats);
• rent board (five seats);
• city auditor.

While you can register “provisionally” to vote until election day, the best way to register is to do so by Oct. 24. For more details, visit bayareane.ws/3CgScTO online.

— city of Berkeley

RICHMOND

Celebrate Día de los Muertos at city’s art center on Oct. 15

Fall Family Day at Richmond Art Center (RAC) will be a special celebration of Día de los Muertos from 12 to 3 p.m. Oct. 15.

Kids of all ages and their grown-ups are invited to RAC’s courtyard to celebrate the Day of the Dead with art-making, music and miniature low riders. Admission is free. Artist Daniel Camacho is leading the festivities with a community ofrenda and papier-mâché skull workshop. Camacho’s work is on view now through Nov. 17 at RAC in the exhibition De Fantasías y Realidades. For the ofrenda, Camacho invites community members to contribute items that honor their loves ones.

Other activities at Fall Family Day will include a Día de los Muertos presentation by Ernesto Olmos; live printing and coloring with local art collective Liberación Gráfica; community chalk mural with Rebeca García-González; art demonstrations; a marigold giveaway; search and find; and local art vendors. The RAC is at 2540 Barrett Ave. in Richmond. Visit richmondartcenter.org/events/dia-de-los-muertos-fall-family-day-10-15-22 online for more information.

— RAC

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Existing law states that a client-provider relationship must be established for at least 30 days before a doctor can provide certification for an emotional support dog.

The new bill, Senate Bill 774, removes the 30-day relationship requirement in order to obtain the certification for an emotional support dog for people who are verified to be homeless — removing a barrier to shelter for unhoused people unwilling to choose shelter over keeping their pets.

“Their dog means safety for them. When they’ve been living in public spaces, they develop a bond and a relationship and they become akin to their family,” Jesus Center Executive Director Amber Abney-Bass said. “Asking them to be removed from their pet or choose between their pet and shelter… it’s not surprising they would choose out of shelter in those moments.”

Two shelters in Chico currently accept pets and emotional support dogs; the Torres Community Shelter and Chico’s Pallet shelter.

The Pallet shelters can accommodate people with up to two pets and has a pet yard; and the Torres Community Shelter allows up to one pet.

Abney-Bass said that during a shelter assessment, people with an excessive amount of pets are referred to stay at the city’s alternative campsites.

Having a pet can also be a barrier in renting houses.

Chico Housing Action Team Executive Director Leslie Johnson said people coming to CHAT’s program sometimes have pets and try their best to comply with any laws relating to pets.

Johnson said CHAT rents from property owners and refers to the owner’s requirements regarding pets.

“To the extent that we’re able to, we try to allow pets because we understand how important pets are to people,” Johnson said. “That companionship they rely on is vital to their emotional and mental wellbeing.”

The category of pets, which include emotional support animals, aren’t required for congregate shelters in part because of insurance costs, Abney-Bass said. But service animals — animals that provide a distinct service defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act — are allowed although they must be leashed and meet behavior standards.

While the Jesus Center’s Sabbath House doesn’t take pets, Abney-Bass said the Renewal Center, opening in summer 2023, is designed to take pets as a non-congregate type shelter, which will be the third shelter in Chico to allow pets.