MOM’S FOR HOUSING MIGHT HAVE INSPIRED
MOM’S FOR HOUSING MIGHT HAVE INSPIRED A SHIFT IN OAKLAND’S REAL ESTATE
A SHIFT IN OAKLAND’S REAL ESTATE
DON DUNBAR
T
he group of women who took over an empty West Oakland property in November may have accidentally created a new wave of revolution in housing. Galvanized by Moms 4 Housing standoff that drew a lot of public eye to the region’s affordability crisis, the county officials will soon have to overhaul the way homes are bought and sold. Oakland councilwoman introduced a new measure that would help the renters in the region keep their home when the building is sold. Other Cities in the Bay Area are also considering the same.
of low-income units, while at the same time controlling the influence of real estate speculators on the overheated housing market that is pricing most long-term residents out. Under the new law, landlords are required to give the tenants notice before listing the property for sale on the open market. If the tenant is interested in the property, the landlord would then be required to negotiate a deal with him or her- however, the owner isn’t required to accept the tenant’s offer. If the landlord gets another better offer for the house, the tenant
would be granted to set a number of days to match that price. “It just creates more opportunities for tenants to stay in their homes permanently,” said Miya Saika Chen, Fortunato Bas’ chief of staff. “Not just as renters, but also as homeowners.” The county’s push for a right of first refusal policy is a novel approach, however, not without precedent. San Francisco is one of the city to adopt such a policy which went into effect in September and Berkeley and East Palo Alto are considering
The policies would give tenants or the affordable housing nonprofits the first bid to buy certain residential properties for market values. This move is intended to beef up the strained local supply 84
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THE POWER IS NOW MAGAZINE | MARCH 2020
