We were on the streets Saturday, Dec. 3 as we marched from four neighborhoods to target banks, predatory landlords, notorious landlord lawyers and organizations contributing to the displacement of homeowners and tenants in San Francisco.

(photo by Peg Hunter)

OccupySF Housing, a coalition of the city’s leading tenant, social justice, and housing rights
organizations, including Causa Justa :: Just Cause, together with OCCUPYSF, made their voices heard.

Tenant after tenant spoke at the various locations (Bayview, Castro, Mission, and Tenderloin districts) of landlord harassment, loopholes used by building owners in the application of the Ellis Act, and general harassment.

In the Mission, Brenda Medina spoke of how her family had lived in their large flat for 27 years. It is a multi-generational family who range from children to elders. The former owners lost the property and a new owner took over. He is using the Ellis Act to evict them. Every time a family is evicted due to the Ellis Act, that’s another rent-controlled apartment that goes off the market. And it means another family who most likely has to move out of the city since the rents are so exorbitant.

“We grew up here. We all help each other. We shop and support local markets and stores. We are across the street from the school. We’ve all been together 27 years, including our grandparents who live with us as well,” she said. Brenda wonders how the family will be able to stay together and worries that they will split up and have no other option than to leave San Francisco.

Edwin Ortiz, who lives in a 3-unit building on Valencia St. is facing a possible Ellis Act eviction along with the other tenants — who have all lived their since the mid-90s. Says Ortiz, “it would be impossible to find another apartment that I can afford here in San Francisco. I would have to leave this city.” The owner has rented the downstairs area to a trendy restaurant.

(Photo by Peg Hunter)

The Ellis Act is a state law passed in the 70’s but was not heavily invoked to evict mass amounts of rent controlled tenants from properties until the 90’s. What this law states is that if an owner of a building wants to “get out of the renting business” they can do it by taking the property off the market.

This means all the tenants are evicted and the property can be used for any purpose other than renting it to tenants. It could be turned into a store, a restaurant, a home of the owners, or in San Francisco a Tenancy-in-Common for people who can afford it.

These neighborhoods are on the front lines in a pitched battle over displacement, gentrification, and the search for affordable housing.

The focus on tenants dealing with harassment and facing eviction and on homeowners whose homes have been foreclosed brings renewed focus on the Occupy movement and all its energy as it takes on the housing crisis along with well established housing organizations such as Causa Justa :: Just Cause.

For more information on our actions you can also check our website and also go to Foreclose Wall St. at //www.foreclosewallst.org/en/