Tenants Hit With Unjust Evictions Move Closer to Critical Protections

With a population of 100,000, homeowners in Richmond are not the only victim's of the foreclosure crisis. Overlooked and abandoned in this crisis are renters. Upstanding renters who pay their bills on time and who, by no fault of their own, face eviction, ruined credit and no where to go. One-half of Richmond’s residents are renters and in a city with 2,000 current foreclosures and a 30% increase predicted over the next year, a quiet crisis is unfolding.

In March of this year, The Richmond Equitable Development Initiative (REDI) held a community town hall meeting at St. Mark's Church where over 500 community members, council members and city staff came to hear testimony and proposed solutions from community leaders. Since the town hall, REDI leaders have been meeting with council members and city staff to implement policies to keep residents in their homes, revitalize Richmond neighborhoods, create long-term affordable housing and put Richmond residents back to work rebuilding Richmond.

On June 2, REDI and Richmond residents celebrated our first victory when the city council passed a Just Cause Ordinance for tenants impacted by foreclosure. Introduced by councilmember Dr. Jeff Ritterman, the ordinance passed with near unanimous support. The ordinance requires that tenants receive 60-days notice when the property where they reside goes into foreclosure and ownership transfers to a bank. This provides families time to search for a new home and avoid having their credit marred by an eviction.