SAN JOSE, CA —San Jose, CA has approved historic just-cause eviction and anti-displacement protections for renters after a two-year campaign to improve a decades-long unenforced rental ordinance.
This victory comes at a time when San Jose is pushing ahead with a version of itself that leaves behind the folks who are the backbone of the city.
The win sent a message to residents that the power imbalance that has existed between landlords and tenants could no longer be ignored and must be shifted. The council members who voted in favor of tenant protections sent a message that it is not only an obligation of the city but also well within their power to help assure that families live in a safe environment where they can exercise their rights.
Although San Jose has had a rental ordinance since 1980, landlords had taken advantage of its weak enforcement. This led to the especially fearful environment where tenants not only rarely complained about unsafe conditions, but even less did they fight an eviction in a city where the vacancy rate has hovered near 5% for several years.
Without brave tenants willing to share their stories about the shameful living conditions in one of the wealthiest regions of the nation, this outcome might not have been possible.
Years ago, Ruby Domínguez, 74, spent about five months living in a motel after being unjustly evicted from her home of 27 years and the memory of that experience led her to join the fight to pass just-cause.
Domínguez was evicted without a reason, completely disrupting her life. “I had never missed a rent payment, never bothered anyone,” recalled Domínguez and added that it was painful that her daughter had to stay with a friend because she could only afford to have her son stay with her at the motel.
“When you get people to stick together it works,” Domínguez said of the campaign that escalated with a five-day fast leading up to the City Council vote. The larger community joined in solidarity to demonstrate that it went beyond a political issue, that it is a moral issue about protecting families and vulnerable populations.
“We didn’t know if we were gonna win or not because we had a lot of opposition,” Domínguez said. The landlord lobby had dragged out this process by appealing to a sense of fairness they did not share when it came to tenants getting a fighting chance to stay in their apartments. But the imbalance was undeniable and those who are charged with representing city residents had to move with the will of the people.
“We did something for the people. There is a future now for the kids and the people coming up now,” Domínguez said, “and they will not fear being thrown out for reporting something wrong in their home.”
As more cities around the San Francisco Bay Area take up the fight for tenant protections each victory reminds us that a powerful lobby is not unbeatable when people organize.
