Despite a global pandemic that’s fueling mass unemployment in California, Big Real Estate has been contributing millions to stop the expansion of rent control through the Rental Affordability Act. Housing activists say rent control is …
California Apartment Association, Once Again, Opposes Renter Protections
The California Apartment Association, one of the most powerful landlord lobbying groups in the state, has a long, sordid history of opposing renter protections. For decades, they’ve shown up anywhere and everywhere in California to …
During Pandemic, Landlords Thomas Coates and Jackie Safier Spend Big to Stop Rent Control
As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, slamming middle- and working-class Californians who struggle to pay already sky-high rents, corporate landlords Thomas Coates and Jackie Safier (pictured above) have shelled out major campaign contributions to a committee …
Californians Stand Up to Big Real Estate and Back Rent Control
California’s grassroots movement that aims to expand rent control through a statewide ballot measure has reached a major milestone: the initiative, known as the Rental Affordability Act (RAA), has received more than 1,200 individual campaign …
Unfair Rents Are Slamming Fresno, Too
If there’s any doubt that middle- and working-class residents all over California need stronger renter protections, one should visit Fresno, and look up Grecia Elenes, the earnest, yet amiable senior policy advocate at the Leadership …
Corporate Landlords Behind Campaigns to Stop Rent Control in California
Corporate landlords are financing two campaigns to stop the Rental Affordability Act, the November 2020 ballot measure that expands rent control in California. Concerned that rent control will impact the outsized profits they’ve gained by …
Corporate Landlords Spend Big Cash to Stop California’s Rent Control Movement
It’s only January, and Big Real Estate is already shelling out major cash to stop California’s rent control movement. According to state filings, corporate landlords such as Essex Property Trust and UDR have so far …
Concord Housing Activists Confront Political Apathy, and Empower Renters
As Brown Berets, Jessica Aguallo-Hurtado and her husband, Jesse Hurtado, travel throughout California to help the underserved in the Latino community. They tackle, for example, police brutality, immigration reform, and education issues. Recently, they added …
In San Diego, Vulnerable Tenants Are Just Numbers on a Spreadsheet
In San Diego, activist Rafael Bautista is fighting a seemingly impossible fight. Landlords do whatever they want. Developers build whatever they want. And city politicians do next to nothing about the troubling practices of landlords …
Big Real Estate Gears Up to Stop Rental Affordability Act
A year away from Election Day, the real estate industry is already gearing up for a pitched battle against the housing justice movement in California. Heavyweights Essex Property Trust, the California Apartment Association, and Equity …