Tenant advocates are pushing to put rent control measures on the ballot in at least four Bay Area cities this November, the latest effort to expand such protections across the region as tens of thousands continue struggling with sky-high housing costs. Advocacy groups this month plan to file proposed rent control ordinances with Redwood City, … Read more
BY JEANNE KUANG | CalMatters When California lawmakers passed a rent cap four years ago to protect tenants from large and frequent rent hikes, they exempted hundreds of thousands of units reserved for some of the state’s poorest renters. Low-income housing, after all, is usually built with public subsidies that already impose rent ceilings on … Read more
“Rent Watch” tracks what’s happening at the intersection of landlords and tenants – who is paying what and where. Buzz: California rents are down four straight months – and modestly off all-time highs – as the number of empty units hit a 32-month high. Source: My trusty spreadsheet looked into ApartmentList’s tally of rent and … Read more
Funding from a multi-billion-dollar federal government program to house homeless individuals or those at risk of being homeless has so far been disproportionately distributed in favour of ridings held by New Democrat MPs, while Canadians in ridings represented by Conservative MPs saw significantly fewer funds, fewer new housing units and fewer projects approved, according to … Read more
BY BEN CHRISTOPHER | CalMatters In March 2021, the Los Angeles film industry was just beginning to roar back to life after a prolonged COVID-induced slump, but Michael Addis, a freelance filmmaker, was still deep in the hole. For more than a year he’d been racking up IOUs to his landlord and the tab stood … Read more
Have hordes of investors – from mom and pops to Wall Street giants – gobbled up single-family residences across the state to make them rentals? Well, my trusty spreadsheet looked at state-by-state Census Bureau stats detailing who lives in single-family residences, detached and attached, and whether the occupants were owners or renters. Figures from 2022 … Read more
A $2,000-a-month studio apartment might not be considered a good deal in most parts of the country. But in the Bay, it might be — especially if the landlord throws in a sweetener. At least, that’s how Gwen Wang, 23, felt when she got a discount on a new studio in the Skylyne Apartments in … Read more
Rents have stayed steady for most of the year in the Bay Area — but the trend might not continue for long. As mortgage rates inch closer to 8% — their highest level in 23 years — more would-be homeowners are waiting on the sidelines, continuing to rent, which is driving demand for apartments. “A lot more … Read more
Amid a spike in evictions as cases pile up following the end of a nearly three-year moratorium, a group of progressive elected officials from across Alameda County gathered Wednesday in front of the Hayward Hall of Justice to call on the county’s superior court to slow the flood of people being pushed from their homes. … Read more
Oakland’s Ale Industries, the Fruitvale brewery known for its “tea beer” and collaborations with the Oakland Zoo, is shutting down. Cofounder Morgan Cox said on Monday that the brewery made the decision after being hit by rent increases and rising crime, including five break-ins this past year, as first reported by Berkeleyside. True to its … Read more