HOUSING
Every day those struggling due to the regional housing affordability crisis receive free help and advocacy. Low-income families and individuals receive caring and competent representation when navigating issues like unfair evictions, housing discrimination, or applying for rental subsidies and assistance.
Amid the Silicon Valley Housing Crisis, Stable RV Living in Mountain View Remains
Throughout Silicon Valley, many local governments penalize unhoused people or families and individuals with non-traditional homes, such as those living in RVs. We successfully fought against one of these measures in the city of Mountain View.
The Law Foundation, along with the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, Disability Rights Advocates, and pro bono counsel King & Spalding and Hewlett Packard Enterprise settled a class action lawsuit against the City of Mountain View. The lawsuit filed by unhoused residents alleged that the City passed parking ordinances that would prohibit residents from living in RVs and would unfairly impact people with disabilities, Spanish-speaking families, and people of color, all of whom already experience homelessness at disproportionate rates.
These kinds of parking ordinances effectively punish residents for not having traditional homes or the financial ability to afford permanent housing. These low-income residents are subject to the constant threat of excessive fees, seizure of their homes and belongings, and banishment from their community.
The settlement requires the City to set aside at least three miles of streets for oversized vehicle parking without overnight restrictions and requires specific notice and ticketing protocols to take place before an RV parked illegally can be towed.
Celerina Navarro, Plaintiff and Mountain View resident living in her RV, was pleased with the results of settlement negotiations and said, “The outcome of the case is good because, without this settlement, we would be facing the threat of displacement. Now people can feel more at ease knowing that they can remain in Mountain View without being displaced.”
Preserving Affordable Housing and Keeping Tenants in Homes
The Law Foundation’s Housing Program team took to the streets with other housing justice organizations, tenants, and community members to rally support for the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA). COPA would allow qualified nonprofits the first right to purchase a housing property up for sale, which could ensure tenants are able to stay in their homes while preserving affordable housing for future low-income residents.
The work to bring this anti-displacement policy to fruition began in 2018 when the Law Foundation was selected to be part of the City of San Jose’s team as part of PolicyLink’s nationwide Anti-Displacement Network coalition. As part of this network, we helped draft San Jose’s Anti-Displacement plan, which included specific recommendations to establish a Community or Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act and to support the development of land trusts to bridge the racial wealth gap.
Over the past two years, our work has included providing technical assistance to the City of San Jose and the coalition. We have drafted advocacy letters to the City Council and regularly met with Housing staff and elected Council members. Additionally, we served on the City’s technical advisory committee to provide strategic assistance as the COPA policy moves forward. We have centered a community lawyering practice in our approach, including providing outreach and education in the Vietnamese language to Vietnamese community members about COPA. We remain committed to this effort and hopeful that San Jose will adopt these types of measures in the future.
A Safe, Functional, and Fairly Priced Home is the Foundation for a Family’s Future
Melissa* first reached out to our Housing Program in 2020. On top of losing her job in the middle of a pandemic, she was also dealing with serious habitability issues that included a broken stove and refrigerator, and a leaky roof. As a single mother of two with limited English proficiency, Melissa had grown frustrated with the ongoing issues she and her family had been dealing with in their apartment over the last four years.
Melissa was represented by the Law Foundation through the City of San Jose’s Rent Stabilization Program. The program was created to help tenants living in apartment units built before September 1, 1979, to advocate for repairs, tackle illegal rent increases, and address retaliation issues with their landlord.
Although the entire case took two years to complete, the outcome was a huge win for the client. Melissa was able to receive $38,000 in COVID rent relief for a total of 15 months' rent, and $18,000 in rent credit for the mediation decision that was made in her favor. We kept in contact with Melissa for the entirety of the case and assisted her in enforcing the rent credit that was given to her through the mediation process. Today, Melissa still lives in her apartment and feels empowered to build a stronger future for herself and her two children.
