CONCORD, CA – East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) last week held protests at Concord City Hall, charging efforts by the California Apartment Association (CAA) weaken Concord’s Residential Tenant Protection Program, favoring landlords and leaving tenants at risk.
Passed by the City Council in 2024, the Residential Tenant Protection Program was implemented to cap rent increases, expand the city’s rent registry, and protect renters from evictions without “just cause,” according to EBASE.
The City Council, said EBASE, voted 3-2 in favor of the new draft ordinance, which proposes raising the annual rental increase cap to five percent, exempting “single-family homes and condos from eviction protections—putting up to 43 percent of Concord renters at risk.”
Local renters and supporters gathered outside City Hall prior to the meeting to express their disappointment, denouncing the harm this new ordinance would cause to the Residential Tenant Protection Program and how these local policy measures by councilmembers betray community trust, said EBASE.
Betty Gabaldon, a Concord renter and President of Todos Santos Tenants Union, said, according to EBASE, “We worked for eight years to get these protections in place, only for the City Council to turn its back on their community in favor of corporate real estate. They didn’t even give it a year before they began rolling back their promises.
“Forty percent of the Concord population is renters, more than a third are Latino, and more than half of Latino homes are renters. This decision was made solely in favor of the one percent, and not for the people who work tirelessly just to maintain a home,” Gabaldon asserted during public comments.
The CAA’s political action committee, Golden State Voices, has been working to put pressure on City Council members by urging thousands of voters in order to weaken the new ordinance, reported EBASE, adding, “Residents are still in favor of the original ordinance however, with more than 200 local residents having sent letters of support to the City Council in the last few days.”
Kristi Laughlin, deputy director of campaigns for EBASE, said, “They’re building a system for renters to fail, to constantly revolve in a cycle of fear and uncertainty when it comes to living in Concord…So many residents here are one rent hike away from being put out of their homes.
“The City is following the example of the current Administration. They’re saying it’s ok to choose private interest over public need, and that we can extract more money from struggling families and funnel it to the corporate landlords.”
The new ordinance’s second reading is scheduled for April 22, with the amended ordinance to be in effect on May 22, reported EBASE, noting it would “continue leading the charge for fair rental and housing protection, and protesting lawmakers who cater to private interest instead of public outcry.”
