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Stop Condo Conversion Initiative

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Since 1981, Oakland's condo conversion laws have protected renters from landlords who seek to convert their apartment buildings into market rate condos.  Three Oakland City Councilmembers, led by Ignacio De La Fuente, are seeking to undo the legal protections before Mayor Dellums takes office.  Utilizing the misleading title of the "Affordable Homeownership Initiative" their proposal seeks to create an extreme cap of 800 to 1,500 units a year with programs that, according to City staff, benefit only the top 10% of Oakland renters.  If this policy passes, rent control protections will disappear once the unit converts and is sold.  Oakland&'s affordable housing crisis will be exacerbated, as well as increasing community problems of declining public school enrollment.  In addition, in order to accommodate Oakland&'s workforce development needs, more rental housing must be developed, rather than passing policies that convert scarce affordable rental housing into market-rate condos.  Key housing rights organizations and ally groups are working to defeat the proposed policy including ACORN, EBHO, East Bay Community Law Center, the Green Party, Oakland Tenants Union, and SEIU 790.

With only two months of public hearings, the Oakland City Council will vote on the condo conversion policy changes on Tuesday, December 5th, 6pm at City Hall.  This is a critical public hearing and we need the social justice community to come out in support of maintaining housing for working class families in Oakland.  For more information, contact Anthony, ACORN at 434-3117

What You Can Do:
Contact Your City Councilmember and Ask Them to Vote NO on repealing the existing condo conversion laws OR at the very least study the impacts before passing the policy.

Dist. 1:  Jane Brunner, 238-7001, jbrunner@oaklandnet.com
Dist. 2:  Pat Kernighan, 238-7002, pkernighan@oaklandnet.com
Dist. 3:  Nancy Nadel, 238-7003, nnadel@oaklandnet.com
Dist. 4:  Jean Quan, 238-7004, jquan@oaklandnet.com
Dist. 5:  Ignacio De la Fuente, 238-7005, idelafuente@oaklandnet.com
Dist. 6:  Desley Brooks, 238-7006, dbrooks@oaklandnet.com
Dist. 7:  Larry Reid, 238-7007, lreid@oaklandnet.com

At large:  Henry Chang, 238-7008, cityochang@aol.com

Contact ACORN at 510-434-3117 for more information


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