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by Martha Beetley, Clara Jaeckel and Linda Goldman
Redwood City, like much of the Bay Area, is at a precipice. We have watched our neighbors be forced out of their homes, endure harassment by large corporate landlords, or have to work three or more jobs to make the rent. We have seen these issues get worse amid a pandemic and high inflation. If we don’t take action now, we fear we face a future in which many of the people who power our city and make it a vibrant community — teachers, paramedics, restaurant workers, artists — cannot stay here. We believe it is past time our local government acts to ensure residents have the opportunity to thrive in a healthy, safe home. Passing reasonable rent control that is fair and just for both landlords and tenants is an important step so that people working in our community can afford to live in our community.
Our campaign
During the past year, we launched a campaign to qualify a ballot measure that
would enact rent control and renters’ protections in Redwood City. We spent over 500 hours collecting signatures in local parks, in shopping areas, and through our faith community groups. The response of over 4,000 valid signatures in just a few months showed us that voters in our town do support a cap on rents and protections for renters.
This is not surprising, as rents have skyrocketed over the last 10 years. Everyone in our community has seen young people and essential workers being pushed out far beyond the city, contributing to stress, fatigue, traffic, and harmful pollution to our environment. Not only were renters eager to sign our petitions – homeowners and long-time residents enthusiastically supported the initiative because many of their own children and grandchildren cannot afford to live in Redwood City. Though we fell short by just 223 valid signatures, we remain committed to our goal of housing stability for all.
This setback is in part due to housing instability itself. Among those who signed our petition, 259 people were registered voters but had their signatures invalidated because their registrations were not updated after moving to a new address. This was more than the number of additional signatures required to put rent control on the ballot, and it’s a galling example of how housing instability hinders participation in our democracy. Being forced out of one’s home—whether by rent raised to an unaffordable level, harassment, or outright eviction—makes one’s previous voter registration invalid. Re-registration often takes a back seat under the stresses of forced moving, and is even more complicated for those who are homeless or don’t have a fixed address. The lack of secure, affordable housing is a problem for voting access and making residents’ voices heard in the democratic process.
The rent is too high
In Redwood City, corporate landlords have contributed disproportionately to the affordability crisis that is pushing lower income families out of the community. According to the Anti-Eviction Mapping Project’s recent report about Redwood City’s rental housing, corporate landlords charge the highest rents and impose bigger yearly increases than mom-and-pop landlords. These local findings are not surprising in light of recent news that corporate landlords all across the country are engaging in illegal rent-fixing through use of A.I.-powered rent-maximizing software. Just a few weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general for eight states, including California, filed suit against the software provider for enabling the landlords to form cartels and illegally set high rents. At least seven corporate landlords and property managers for thousands of rental units here in Redwood City have been named as defendants in federal and state class action suits alleging rent-fixing.
Looking ahead
As we grow our movement to keep Redwood City affordable, we will continue to ask our county supervisors and city council members to stand up for renters — their constituents — who do not have the power and funding that corporate landlords do. Ensuring access to stable, healthy homes is crucial to the sustainability of a diverse, multicultural, multi-generational society in Redwood City. Our neighborhoods need affordable housing to support a thriving workforce and a healthy community. We urge city leaders to pass rent control and to protect our residents against corporate landlords pushing our community members out.
Martha Beetley, Clara Jaeckel and Linda Goldman live in Redwood City and are
members of Faith in Action Bay Area. They were proponents of the Redwood City Fair and Affordable Housing Ordinance ballot measure.
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