When the Alameda County Board of Supervisors failed to pass “just cause” eviction protections at its Dec. 17 meeting, tenant advocates warned that the decision would lead to evictions in the county’s unincorporated areas.
Less than a month later, those fears have become reality for Cherryland resident Elena Torres, who was required by her landlord to vacate her home by Jan. 7 — the same day the supervisors held a first reading of the legislation for the fourth time since 2022.
Last year, Torres accused landlords in Cherryland of targeting her family and others using “eviction as retaliation” tactics after she demanded maintenance work on her property due to pest infestation.
“Will they provide me a place to stay with my family within two days? Will they provide funds to my family to get a new place? Since they think ordinances don’t need it because of their lack of a vote,” Torres told Bay Area News Group on Jan. 4. “I’m homeless.”
Supervisors returned to working out the details of the legislation, such as capping relocation assistance and considering a progress report on the implementation of the measure in 12 months.
But that won’t help renters like Torres.
The Board of Supervisors has recently reviewed updates to its rental ordinances with two proposals: the rental housing dispute ordinance, which is supported by property owners and enforces mandatory mediation in rental disputes to prevent civil courts’ involvement, and the “just cause” eviction ordinance, which would limit lawful evictions for unincorporated county tenants, who say the state’s eviction law does not go far enough to protect them.
When the Board of Supervisors passed the mediation ordinance on Nov. 12, many tenants were hopeful the “just cause” ordinance would pass soon after. But the new protections for tenants living in Cherryland, Ashland, Castro Valley and other unincorporated communities came to an impasse on Dec. 17 in a 2-2 vote, with Supervisor Lena Tam abstaining.
Tam stated she had mistakenly believed that numerous proposals from Supervisor Nate Miley, who voted against the ordinance, had been included to limit the amount of relocation assistance funds for evicted tenants.
“Since then, I became aware that there were a number of problems with the ordinance, and I have been working with county staff to make adjustments to the ordinance so that it can be implemented without confusion,” Tam said in a statement.
Tam’s abstention shocked Supervisor Elisa Marquez, who believed Tam would vote in favor of passing the proposal. Marquez then apologized to the dozens of unincorporated county renters in the Board of Supervisors gallery, saying that tenants had made numerous concessions on the rental dispute resolution in order to see “just cause” protections passed, and their sacrifices were futile.
Leaders of tenant advocacy organization My Eden Voice lampooned the supervisors’ decision with chants of “Shame!” My Eden Voice organizer Kristen Hackett told Bay Area News Group that the failure to pass the “just cause” ordinance was a betrayal of the many at-risk tenants who would be evicted in the coming weeks and months.
“We’re going to continue to see a lot of evictions in this area and a lot of disrepair,” Hackett said. “My Eden Voice is setting up a rapid response team to fill the gap to make up for the lack of policy.”
But the Bay East Association of Realtors praised the Board of Supervisors’ failure to pass the ordinance, claiming it would push small landlords out and drive rental costs up. David Stark, the group’s chief public affairs and communications officer, argued that the “just cause” ordinance would be overly burdensome for small landlords and force them to sell to corporate landlords instead.
“We’re concerned about mom and pops exiting the market,” Stark said. “The ability to charge market rent might be able to subsidize some of the compliance responsibilities of these ordinances.”
The ordinance received another first reading on Tuesday. The update must receive a second reading later in 2025, where the board will vote again on whether to approve it.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Marquez described the newest wording of the proposal as “diluted” from its original version, saying “tenants compromised a lot here, and that’s unfortunate.”
During public comment, Torres spoke to the Board of Supervisors and asked what she needed to do to convince the supervisors to pass the ordinance. She said she would be sleeping in her car that night, waiting for donations to My Eden Voice to afford her temporary shelter.
“It’s shameful that I am in need today after you guys heard my case for almost two years,” Torres said. “And now I have to hand to you this flyer because I need a donation so i don’t have to sleep in my car tonight. I’m separated from my daughter. I need help.”