Tenants’ rights activists with Oakland-based Moms 4 Housing halted an Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday and planned to occupy the board chambers for 60 hours while demanding the county approve more safeguards for renters at risk of eviction.
County supervisors had appeared poised to formally adopt new tenant protections Tuesday afternoon, as well as hold a discussion about eventually ending or modifying the county’s ongoing pandemic eviction moratorium.
Before those items came before the board, a group of around four activists with Moms 4 Housing began excoriating supervisors for not doing enough to help renters and chanting “fight fight fight, housing is a human right.” The board then decided to pause the planned vote and discussion until a later meeting.
In a news release, Moms 4 Housing, a group of formerly homeless mothers who made headlines in 2020 for occupying a vacant Oakland home, said activists came to the meeting to ensure supervisors passed the proposed renter protections before deciding to end the eviction moratorium.
The new protections, which the board approved in an initial vote last month, would prevent landlords from screening prospective tenants based on their criminal histories, create a registry of rental properties and phase in new defenses against evictions. The protections would only apply to unincorporated parts of the county.
The discussion about ending the eviction moratorium, which covers the entire county, was scheduled at the request of Supervisor David Haubert. In a letter to the rest of the board, Haubert asked “to have a discussion to review and modify this Ordinance, which has had some unintended consequences on our constituents.”
This story will be updated.
Source: www.mercurynews.com