| January 23, 2024 |
| Thank you to everyone who wrote to Councilmembers ahead of their meeting on Tuesday, January 23rd! We’re happy to report that Councilmembers voted to formally adopt the ordinance EXPANDING renter protections. Your emails and individual stories about the need for robust renter protections had a big impact! The new renter protections will: – mandate permanent relocation financial assistance for tenants in rent controlled or non-rent controlled units who are facing constructive evictions and are forced to vacate involuntarily; – ensure tenants who receive a bad faith excessive rent increase (i.e. a rent increase imposed with the intent of influencing the tenant to vacate and to get around a just cause eviction requirement) have a defense to any eviction based on a failure to pay that bad faith rent increase; – prevent housing discrimination based on housing status; – provide additional examples of prohibited coercion and intimidation in the Tenant Harassment Ordinance and increase the maximum potential penalty; – increase oversight of, and requirements for, tenant buyout agreements. You can read the City’s recap of the Council action here. Thank you for your support! The SMRR Team www.smrr.org |