Meanwhile, solutions to the state’s housing crisis remain elusive. A $20 billion Bay Area affordable housing bond bill designed to expand and accelerate the production pipeline was abruptly removed from the November ballot last week.
Additionally, eviction cases have spiked again since COVID-19 pandemic restrictions expired. In 2019, Sonoma County saw 503 sheriff’s lockouts, the final step in the eviction process. That number dropped to a low of 183 in 2020 before rising to 292 in 2022 and 441 in 2023.
“We need to do everything we can to house people in the meantime,” said Margaret DeMatteo, a former housing policy attorney at Legal Aid of Sonoma County and a board member of the Sonoma County Tenants Union. The North Bay Organizing Project and Legal Aid of Sonoma County recently launched a tool to map evictions. to track local trends.
Tenants have also told horror stories in public meetings. In May, Shardae Phillips, a Sonoma County tenant, described how the security company she worked for shut down during the pandemic, leaving her unable to pay her rent and facing eviction.
“I already didn’t know where to go, had to pay for a hotel, was trying to work and had a teenager. It was overwhelming,” Phillips said.
With the help of Sonoma County Legal Aid, Phillips worked out a payment plan with the company that managed her rental and paid off the rent she owed. She asked the board to think of people like her.
Just cause protections “play a very important role,” said Tim Thomas, research director of the Urban Displacement Project at UC Berkeley. In effect, they are a “baseline” – more of a “pace block” – to manage expected “housing insecurity for the foreseeable future,” he said. Essentially, “it’s just about providing a just cause for eviction.”
As the housing crisis has worsened, “just cause” policies have gained popularity across the country. “There’s really been an uptick since the pandemic,” Thomas said. “It used to be a tough sell, but now it’s a lot easier, even in areas where you wouldn’t expect these policies to come through.”
A number of California cities and counties have passed just cause protections through legislatures or referendums, building on loopholes in state law passed in 2019, housing activists say. Petaluma became the first county in Sonoma County to do so in 2023.
Looking at government regulations
DeMatteo argued that much of the opposition from landlords in Sonoma County was misguided, pointing out that the proposed changes would not affect rent setting, which undermines the argument that the new rules would hamper development.
There are no local rent control measures in any of the county’s districts. However, state laws apply to some rental properties.
The proposed county ordinance also does not prevent landlords from evicting a tenant who fails to pay rent or otherwise seriously violates the lease.
Liscum said landlords have fallen behind during the pandemic years due to caps on rent increases and other restrictions. Previous state caps on rent increases were also in place in the years following the 2017 North Bay fires.
Many property owners have still not recovered, Liscum said.
Even now that pandemic-related eviction bans have been lifted, litigation would be costly, he said.
“You have to hire a lawyer. That goes for everyone,” DeMatteo said. “You’re in a business, and the business is regulated.”
Still, DeMatteo said Sonoma County’s ordinance is “much weaker” than those passed elsewhere, citing in particular the single-family rental exemption, which is also provided in state law and has been interpreted as a concession to small landlords.
But these apartments make up just over half of the rental stock in Sonoma County, “the majority of our tenants are not protected from eviction for any reason,” she said. “You’re not automatically a good landlord just because you only own one or two or three homes. Every tenant deserves the same treatment.”
Coursey also expressed regret at the proposed exemption. “Whether you’re renting a single-family home or an apartment, it doesn’t make much difference if there’s an eviction notice on your door,” Coursey said. “If you lose your home, you lose your home.”
But for Gore, who says he will only support the regulation without further changes, the exemption is non-negotiable. “To me, this is an overstep of existing state law,” he said.
Given the long road and the determined stance, DeMatteo considers the consensus package a success, especially elements such as civil protection, which she described as groundbreaking.
“Progress is happening in small steps, but I’m still very proud of the campaign, the tenants’ association, legal aid and all the people who came out. I’m just very excited that we’re having a first reading. It’s not going to be put off anymore. For better or for worse, on Tuesday something will either be passed or rejected.”
If the regulation is passed on Tuesday, it will be returned to the body for a second formal reading in September and will come into force in January 2025.
In Your Corner is a column that uses watchdog reporting for the community. If you have a concern, tip or idea, reach In Your Corner columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or [email protected]. On X (formerly Twitter) @InYourCornerTPD and on Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.
Reach staff writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or [email protected]. On X (formerly Twitter) @MurphReports.
