Evictions

Voters said no to expanded rent control, but tenants facing evictions will have more time to fight to keep their homes under a new California law.

Tenant advocates say giving renters 10 days to respond to eviction notices, up from 5, will help those who live in rural areas and have trouble finding legal help. Some landlords argue it will increase their costs.

San Francisco provides all tenants facing eviction access to an attorney. Across the Bay, in Contra Costa County, it’s a different story. Two tenants’ stories show the difference a lawyer can make.

María Vela’s family has lived in East L.A. nearly 30 years, but new owners of her duplex asked her family to vacate by Christmas. Most evictions are due to nonpayment of rent, but owner move-ins also cause family displacement.

As groups representing landlords and real estate pour millions of dollars into political coffers to influence housing policy, tenant groups are celebrating recent victories.

Tenants complained about steep rent increases from a Silicon Valley landlord. Now, 20 of them will get a refund under a state rent control law.

A bill would hold security deposits to one month’s rent, not three. The California Apartment Association says it could drive up rents, making it harder to find a home.

L.A. County's tenant pandemic protections expire March 31. But already advocates predict a spike in evictions, as landlords seek financial recovery.

From CalMatters state Capitol reporter Sameea Kamal:  It’s become a key part of the big business playbook: If an industry doesn’t like a California law, it uses the referendum process to try and overturn it.  Already on the November 2024 ballot: the oil industry qualified a ballot measure to kill a law that bans new […]

Failure to file an answer within five days can result in an eviction. Tenant advocates and attorneys built an online tool to buy tenants some time.