Housing disputes fuel debate over government’s response in Sonoma County
When Ruth Lopez-Contreras and her family were evicted in May from their west Santa Rosa apartment, she immediately sought legal help.
The 41-year-old farmworker and hairdresser turned to a Sonoma County legal nonprofit for assistance because she lacked the money to hire a private attorney. She alleged that she and her boyfriend, the leaseholder, were not given proper notice to leave and were forced out with threats of deportation.
“I said ‘This is not right, I know we have rights. You have to give us more time,’?” Lopez-Contreras said.
The apartment’s property manager, Elena Baechtel, denied such claims and said she evicted the couple and their two children because they violated the lease agreement. Lopez-Contreras was not listed on the lease, and therefore she was not allowed to live in the Blair Place apartment complex, Baechtel said.
“Ruth was not on the lease, so they broke the rules,” Baechtel said. “They left peacefully.”
The dispute is one example of a diverse and complicated range of conflicts faced by landlords and tenants across Sonoma County. Such clashes are fueling a debate over how government should respond, with the Santa Rosa City Council and the county Board of Supervisors taking different approaches to address substandard housing complaints, unlawful eviction allegations and bogus claims by tenants.
Tenants rights’ advocates are calling for tighter limits on eviction proceedings, rent control and other regulations, while real estate representatives are pushing for a more hands-off approach that could include a campaign to notify tenants and landlords of their responsibilities.
“If people don’t understand what’s required under the law, then that’s where some of these things become an issue,” said Daniel Sanchez, director of government affairs for the North Bay Association of Realtors, an industry group that has been involved in discussions over tenant protection proposals at the county and in Santa Rosa.
County versus city
In Santa Rosa, the city imposed a 45-day moratorium in June on rent increases larger than 3 percent a year. The city is also staking out new government policies that could lead to a mandatory rental inspection program, landlord-tenant mediation services and a beefed-up code enforcement division to respond to complaints over substandard housing.
The county, on the other hand, has endorsed an alternative approach that relies heavily on the civil court system to intervene in cases where substandard housing complaints are ignored, as well as assist tenants with eviction-related cases. Such services could help people like Lopez-Contreras before they are forced out, said Ronit Rubinoff, executive director of Sonoma County Legal Aid, a Santa Rosa-based nonprofit that assists tenants in housing-related cases.
Disputes are increasing as the rental market across the county continues to tighten, Rubinoff said.
“We are seeing landlords bribe tenants trying to get them to waive their rights, we’ve had clients thrown out of their residences unlawfully without due process, we’re seeing what we consider to be predatory rent increases countywide and we have some landlords who don’t maintain their rental housing,” said Rubinoff, who is representing Lopez-Contreras. “This has reached a level I haven’t seen in 25 years.”
In June, supervisors increased county funding by nearly 500 percent for Legal Aid to more aggressively investigate tenant claims involving wrongful eviction and substandard housing. Supervisors last month also approved $226,000 in funding to hire two new county employees to focus on enforcing the county’s ordinance on vacation rentals, arguing that it will help free up code enforcement resources to more aggressively pursue substandard housing violations.
Last year, the county allocated $32,000 for Legal Aid programs that assist tenants. A $183,000 boost this year will allow the nonprofit to hire a full-time attorney and bilingual caseworker, expand its tenant services in rural communities and set up a free hotline offering advice for people facing eviction, Rubinoff said.
“If you think about it, getting a civil summons is more effective than the code enforcement route. I think we’ll get results quicker this way,” said Supervisor David Rabbitt, who pushed for the additional funding last month.
Rabbitt said the move was prompted by recent high-profile evictions of tenants in Petaluma.
“I think the majority of landlords are good folks, but it’s the few bad ones who are making this housing situation even more problematic,” he added. “We are seeing a need for this right now, with the housing crunch, so we need to make sure the safety net is as tight as possible.”
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