My Eden Voice and a county-wide coalition implores the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to finish and pass a tenant protection package in the Eden area to protect Eden families.

There are over 60,000 renters in the Eden area of Alameda County without long-term tenant protections.  During the pandemic, unincorporated renters are more likely to receive an illegal eviction notice, and experience a higher percentage of landlord harassment than residents in nearby cities. Even with an eviction moratorium in place, Eden renters throughout  Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Hayward Acres and San Lorenzo are left vulnerable to sky rocketing increase of rents.

Renters like Zuleny Paiz, a long-time Cherryland resident of 20 years, have had their rent double in five years. “If my rent continues to increase as much as it has, I will no longer be able to keep living in Cherryland and my kids will not have a safe place to grow up”, Zuleny shares. Her rent in 2017 was $950 and today in 2022, she now pays $1,945.  Residents are also worried under current State law AB1482, a 10% yearly increase leaves many households vulnerable to displacement. Stories like Zuleny’s represent many everyday experiences we hear every week from residents worried to keep their children housed. Other common stories are residents who fear to request basic repairs: a resident in Ashland complained about sewage water leaking through her ceiling and County code enforcement was unable to address this issue.  The status quo of renting in the Eden area leaves too many of our families behind.

We need the same protections that nearby cities as Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda have, we believe unincorporated residents deserve the same rights at 3% or 60% of CPI, in order for our families to stay housed.

Since 2019, staff of Supervisor Miley and the late Supervisor Chan have been studying tenant protections for over 3 years and have yet to finish ordinances for a full Board vote.

My Eden Voice is asking for all of the Board of Supervisors to take the urgent responsibility to protect unincorporated families before it is too late.  We are concerned that there will be no protections in place as the eviction moratorium can end.  The incoming disaster of mass evictions will happen unless County Supervisors can show bold leadership to protect our families. On Tuesday, September 27th, the Board of Supervisors will conduct a work session to decide the pathway for rent stabilization, just cause eviction protections, Fair Chance ordinance, rent inspection program, a rent registry, and anti-harassment ordinances.

If you or your organization is interested in protecting Eden families this upcoming Tuesday, please feel free to sign up for a public comment, by clicking here. We are also asking to email all respective Board of Supervisors before Tuesday; you can also sign an email in support of Eden families by clicking here.

Thank you for taking the time to read about this urgent issue. My Eden Voice’s mission is to build community power to win campaigns that advance racial, housing, economic, language, and environmental justice for the urban unincorporated Alameda County communities. We develop leaders and strengthen relationships amongst residents to hold government officials accountable and advocate for policy changes that push for equity.  To become a member, please log onto www.myedenvoice.org, or contact Julio Contreras at julio@myedenvoice.org. For any questions regarding the tenant protections campaign, please contact Leo Esclamado, leo@myedenvoice.org.

¡Sí se puede! / Yes, we can!

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Leo Esclamado is the Co-Director of My Eden Voice – a grassroots organization based in unincorporated Alameda County. He has been active in community organizing, immigrant rights and economic justice for over 17 years.