At this Thursday's event, advocacy groups including Causa Justa/Just Cause, the Housing Rights Committee, Tenants Together, and others announced a new campaign to stop banks from allowing utility shutoffs and other tenant rights violations yesterday.  The initial target of this campaign will be to stop shutoff of utilities to tenants of properties undergoing foreclosure, Charlene Wedderburn of Justa Causa announced.

Despite state, local and national laws and regulations to the contrary, banks and finance institutions continue to deny that they are responsible for meeting basic landlord responsibilityies after a foreclosure on a rented property, according to Gabe Treves of Tenants Together, a statewide renter’s rights organization.  "Tenants are absolutely the innocent victims of the foreclosure crisis," he stated.


Moises Raymundo, father of three, recently had his electricity and water turned off for 22 days as a result of a foreclosure on his landlord, despite his being current on hi rent and bills. “Its stressful for kids when banks turn their backs on families,” Raymundo said, speaking through an interpreter. “There’s no way to explain it to the kids.”

Statewide, a third of foreclosed housing is renter-occupied, but here in Oakland, the rate is even higher, at 37 percent, Treves stated.  Tenants in properties being foreclosed can get advice on their rights from the Tenants Together website or by calling the group's hot line at (888) 495-8020.


Oakland, CA: Causa Justa/Just Cause Press Conference: 02 Sept 2010 from Oriana Bolden on Vimeo.

California has initiated an investigation of allegations of extensive violation of tenant rights by banks and finance institutions, Joseph Ragazzo stated on behalf of the State Attorney General’s Office.  If anyone knows of instances of banks violating tenants rights laws , the Attorney General’s office would like to hear about it. You can reach the AG’s office via email using this form: http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL