KQED aims to tell the story of how California got into a housing affordability crisis by exploring the history and regional policies of the Bay Area. We want to know how marginalized residents are affected.
Menlo Park Could Face Millions in Fines in Housing Fight
SF Has the Fewest Kids. City Leaders Hope These Policies Will Help Families Stick Around
Will Prop. 45 Fix California’s Housing Crisis or Roll Back a Valuable Environmental Law?
This SF Renter Is Trying to Beat the AI-Fueled Housing Boom With an Analog Approach
Displaced Tenants From Oakland Apartment Fire Say They Lost Everything
Cities Often Squabble Over Homelessness. A New California Law Forces One Community to Try Something Different
$1 Million in Homeless Funds for a Nightclub: New LA Fraud Cases Allege Bribery and Theft
A Changing Mission District and Intergenerational Friendship Center Tomas Moniz’s Novel ‘The King of Aloe Vera’
Even in a Hot Rental Market, What Renters Shouldn’t Settle on When Looking for a New Home
San Francisco Housing Group Files Lawsuit Opposing Marina Safeway Project
Desperate Tenants in SF Face Scams, Substandard Rentals
Newsom Signs New Law to Clear Confusion Around Smoke Damage
Funding for KQED housing coverage is provided by the San Francisco Foundation.
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>KQED aims to tell the story of how California got into a housing affordability crisis by exploring the history and regional policies of the Bay Area. We want to know how marginalized residents are affected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-kqed-blocksetter\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-columns bgBlue is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n\u003cp class=\"has-text-align-center\">\u003cstrong>Funding for KQED housing coverage is provided by the San Francisco Foundation.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\">\u003ca href=\"https://sff.org/\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"571\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2019-Visual-Identity-Launch-Post-Images93-2000x571.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-28188\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2019-Visual-Identity-Launch-Post-Images93-2000x571.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2019-Visual-Identity-Launch-Post-Images93-160x46.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2019-Visual-Identity-Launch-Post-Images93-768x219.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2019-Visual-Identity-Launch-Post-Images93-1536x439.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2019-Visual-Identity-Launch-Post-Images93-2048x585.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/figure>\u003c/div>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "menlo-park-could-face-millions-in-fines-in-housing-fight",
"title": "Menlo Park Could Face Millions in Fines in Housing Fight",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>A San Francisco developer is suing Menlo Park, hoping to force the city to approve a proposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101341/congressman-calls-for-investigation-of-russian-owned-silicon-valley-site\">high-rise development\u003c/a> with hundreds of residences, retail and office space and a hotel, on the site of the former Sunset Magazine headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in San Mateo County Superior Court late last week, asks a judge to require the wealthy Peninsula enclave to greenlight the project under the authority of a bevy of state housing laws passed in recent years meant to increase production of homes and limit local officials’ ability to thwart them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The legal battle could expose the city to several million dollars in fines under some of the newest state housing laws, and could also serve as a cautionary tale to other municipalities about the penalties for running afoul of California’s web of housing regulations aimed at combating a decadeslong housing shortage and affordability crisis. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Office has already weighed in on the fight, warning Menlo Park in a July letter that it has mishandled the project application from N17 Development and violated state housing laws in the process, which the city has rebuffed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We regret having to bring this lawsuit, but we had no choice given the city has done nothing but throw roadblocks in our way to delay and deny the project, arrogantly breaking state housing laws,” Oisín Heneghan, the founder of N17, said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102903\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED-1536x960.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An aerial rendering shows what the proposed Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The property, which once served as a physical link to the California suburban lifestyle that was for years depicted in the pages of Sunset, has drawn recent scrutiny from South Bay \u003ca href=\"https://liccardo.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/liccardo.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/quill-letter-l39585-80-willow-road-development-letter-to-treasury-version-1-09-23-2026-08-51-pm.pdf\">Rep. Sam Liccardo\u003c/a>, because he said it is owned by a “Russian oligarch,” and could be used to store ill-gotten wealth or evade sanctions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But even before Liccardo raised those concerns about owner Vitaly Yusufov, son of a former Russian energy minister, the project sparked years of controversy in the small Peninsula city because of its massive size and height, which many residents and elected officials said was inappropriate for the area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heneghan’s company is proposing to demolish the existing buildings to create a mixed-use project with a total of 665 apartments or condos, with roughly 100 of them to be priced below market-rate, along with 332,000 square feet of office space, 17,000 square feet of retail space and a 130-room hotel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The tallest buildings in the plans would range from 301 feet to as high as 458 feet, according to the city. The project, called Willow Park, would be built on a 6.7-acre piece of land at 80 Willow Road that sits at the corner of Middlefield Road and backs up to San Francisquito Creek.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project was proposed in late 2023 under a unique provision of state law known as the “Builder’s Remedy,” which allows developers to bypass most local discretionary review and have a project fast-tracked when a city or county hasn’t received certification of its long-term housing plan from the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit claims the project should be considered “by right” and eligible for a streamlined review by city planners, and is also eligible for a series of waivers and concessions that would brush aside local development requirements like height limits, because it provides enough affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102902\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering shows what a pool deck area in a portion of the Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“In other words, the city is not permitted to say no to the project. Yet over the course of nearly three years, the city has repeatedly refused to comply with state housing reform laws with respect to the project, drawing admonishments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Attorney General,” the lawsuit said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“While its elected officials have talked a good game, Menlo Park is actually one of the most hostile cities to building new and affordable housing in the nation,” Heneghan said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, echoing in part Bonta’s July letter, said the city unlawfully changed its reasoning at different points in the review process to deny the project a streamlined approval. It seeks a refund of roughly $300,000 in legal fees the city asked the developer to pay in connection with the review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under AB 712, which went into effect in January, if a city loses a court battle over a housing application debating state housing reform laws, after receiving a notice like the one Menlo Park did from Bonta, the courts must impose fines of $10,000 per housing unit in the project against the city, and potentially more under other provisions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That could mean at least $6.65 million in fines for Menlo Park, a city with a population of only 32,000 and a roughly $90 million annual budget. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chris Elmendorf, a law professor at UC Davis, said if Menlo Park loses the case, it would make the risks of the newest housing laws “much more vivid” for leaders around California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That will be a huge warning shot to all cities,” Elmendorf said. “Once the Attorney General or [the California Housing and Community Development Department] gets that letter in the record, you are at serious risk of big-time fiscal consequences.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heneghan’s company has tried to negotiate with the city over a path forward until recently, but he claims the city has rejected those efforts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Betsy Nash said the city strongly disagrees with Bonta and Heneghan that the project is eligible for streamlined review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are not rejecting the project. We are continuing our review in the standard way,” she said in an interview. Nash noted that the city selected a consultant to do an environmental impact report for the project, costs for which are typically footed by the developer. She said N17 has declined to pay for the EIR, which has contributed to the stalled review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We believe on such a massive project that is on the banks of an environmentally sensitive creek with major impacts to our infrastructure, that we need to go through the regular environmental impact review process,” Nash said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city leaders also believe the project is not considered a housing project under recently updated state laws because it includes hotel space. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a Sept. 29 closed session meeting of the council, the city manager sent an Oct. 1 response letter to Bonta, disagreeing with his office’s interpretation, and taking issue with his office sending a warning notice that “unlocks potentially catastrophic financial penalties against the city” without visiting the site. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The letter also said the city does not believe the project from N17 will help stem the housing crisis. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1230\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/2-v07-scaled-e1791329526834.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103248\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering of what the proposed Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is no doubt that the vast majority of the housing in this project would\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>be affordable only to the very wealthiest residents of the Bay Area,” the letter said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>From 2015-23, the city built or approved 2,349 homes, exceeding its state-mandated housing goals in all income categories except moderate, where it built or approved about three-fourths of what was needed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the current 2023-31 housing cycle, the state tasked the city with building or approving nearly 3,000 homes. Menlo Park had hit about 40% of that overall goal at the end of last year, though for homes in lower-income categories, it had achieved less than 30% of the goal, and less than 20% for very low-income homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the legal wrangling over the details of the Willow Park project and the timing around certain housing laws is very specific to this case, Elmendorf said the issue helps illustrate how far the pendulum has swung in the state for housing production.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The fact that a project that five years ago would have been seen as preposterous is now a project that Menlo Park is very much on its back foot in trying to fend off, and stands to lose a ton of money on in court,” he said, “is a testament to how the legislature and officialdom generally within the state government has come to view the appropriate balance between local control and the state’s interest in the need for more housing.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The property, which once served as a physical link to the California suburban lifestyle that was for years depicted in the pages of Sunset, has drawn recent scrutiny from South Bay \u003ca href=\"https://liccardo.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/liccardo.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/quill-letter-l39585-80-willow-road-development-letter-to-treasury-version-1-09-23-2026-08-51-pm.pdf\">Rep. Sam Liccardo\u003c/a>, because he said it is owned by a “Russian oligarch,” and could be used to store ill-gotten wealth or evade sanctions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But even before Liccardo raised those concerns about owner Vitaly Yusufov, son of a former Russian energy minister, the project sparked years of controversy in the small Peninsula city because of its massive size and height, which many residents and elected officials said was inappropriate for the area.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The tallest buildings in the plans would range from 301 feet to as high as 458 feet, according to the city. The project, called Willow Park, would be built on a 6.7-acre piece of land at 80 Willow Road that sits at the corner of Middlefield Road and backs up to San Francisquito Creek.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The tallest buildings in the plans would range from 301 feet to as high as 458 feet, according to the city. The project, called Willow Park, would be built on a 6.7-acre piece of land at 80 Willow Road that sits at the corner of Middlefield Road and backs up to San Francisquito Creek.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The project was proposed in late 2023 under a unique provision of state law known as the “Builder’s Remedy,” which allows developers to bypass most local discretionary review and have a project fast-tracked when a city or county hasn’t received certification of its long-term housing plan from the state. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The project was proposed in late 2023 under a unique provision of state law known as the “Builder’s Remedy,” which allows developers to bypass most local discretionary review and have a project fast-tracked when a city or county hasn’t received certification of its long-term housing plan from the state. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The lawsuit claims the project should be considered “by right” and eligible for a streamlined review by city planners, and is also eligible for a series of waivers and concessions that would brush aside local development requirements like height limits, because it provides enough affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The lawsuit claims the project should be considered “by right” and eligible for a streamlined review by city planners, and is also eligible for a series of waivers and concessions that would brush aside local development requirements like height limits, because it provides enough affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102902\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering shows what a pool deck area in a portion of the Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102902\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering shows what a pool deck area in a portion of the Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In other words, the city is not permitted to say no to the project. Yet over the course of nearly three years, the city has repeatedly refused to comply with state housing reform laws with respect to the project, drawing admonishments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Attorney General,” the lawsuit said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In other words, the city is not permitted to say no to the project. Yet over the course of nearly three years, the city has repeatedly refused to comply with state housing reform laws with respect to the project, drawing admonishments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Attorney General,” the lawsuit said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“While its elected officials have talked a good game, Menlo Park is actually one of the most hostile cities to building new and affordable housing in the nation,” Heneghan said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“While its elected officials have talked a good game, Menlo Park is actually one of the most hostile cities to building new and affordable housing in the nation,” Heneghan said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, echoing in part Bonta’s July letter, said the city unlawfully changed its reasoning at different points in the review process to deny the project a streamlined approval. It seeks a refund of roughly $300,000 in legal fees the city asked the developer to pay in connection with the review. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, echoing in part Bonta’s July letter, said the city unlawfully changed its reasoning at different points in the review process to deny the project a streamlined approval. It seeks a refund of roughly $300,000 in legal fees the city asked the developer to pay in connection with the review. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Under AB 712, which went into effect in January, if a city loses a court battle over a housing application debating state housing reform laws, after receiving a notice like the one Menlo Park did from Bonta, the courts must impose fines of $10,000 per housing unit in the project against the city, and potentially more under other provisions. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Under AB 712, which went into effect in January, if a city loses a court battle over a housing application debating state housing reform laws, after receiving a notice like the one Menlo Park did from Bonta, the courts must impose fines of $10,000 per housing unit in the project against the city, and potentially more under other provisions. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That could mean at least $6.65 million in fines for Menlo Park, a city with a population of only 32,000 and a roughly $90 million annual budget. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Chris Elmendorf, a law professor at UC Davis, said if Menlo Park loses the case, it would make the risks of the newest housing laws “much more vivid” for leaders around California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Chris Elmendorf, a law professor at UC Davis, said if Menlo Park loses the case, it would make the risks of the newest housing laws “much more vivid” for leaders around California. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“That will be a huge warning shot to all cities,” Elmendorf said. “Once the Attorney General or [the California Housing and Community Development Department] gets that letter in the record, you are at serious risk of big-time fiscal consequences.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“That will be a huge warning shot to all cities,” Elmendorf said. “Once the Attorney General or [the California Housing and Community Development Department] gets that letter in the record, you are at serious risk of big-time fiscal consequences.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Heneghan’s company has tried to negotiate with the city over a path forward until recently, but he claims the city has rejected those efforts. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mayor Betsy Nash said the city strongly disagrees with Bonta and Heneghan that the project is eligible for streamlined review. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We are not rejecting the project. We are continuing our review in the standard way,” she said in an interview. Nash noted that the city selected a consultant to do an environmental impact report for the project, costs for which are typically footed by the developer. She said N17 has declined to pay for the EIR, which has contributed to the stalled review. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We are not rejecting the project. We are continuing our review in the standard way,” she said in an interview. Nash noted that the city selected a consultant to do an environmental impact report for the project, costs for which are typically footed by the developer. She said N17 has declined to pay for the EIR, which has contributed to the stalled review. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We believe on such a massive project that is on the banks of an environmentally sensitive creek with major impacts to our infrastructure, that we need to go through the regular environmental impact review process,” Nash said. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“We believe on such a massive project that is on the banks of an environmentally sensitive creek with major impacts to our infrastructure, that we need to go through the regular environmental impact review process,” Nash said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city leaders also believe the project is not considered a housing project under recently updated state laws because it includes hotel space. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city leaders also believe the project is not considered a housing project under recently updated state laws because it includes hotel space. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After a Sept. 29 closed session meeting of the council, the city manager sent an Oct. 1 response letter to Bonta, disagreeing with his office’s interpretation, and taking issue with his office sending a warning notice that “unlocks potentially catastrophic financial penalties against the city” without visiting the site. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After a Sept. 29 closed session meeting of the council, the city manager sent an Oct. 1 response letter to Bonta, disagreeing with his office’s interpretation, and taking issue with his office sending a warning notice that “unlocks potentially catastrophic financial penalties against the city” without visiting the site. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The letter also said the city does not believe the project from N17 will help stem the housing crisis. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The letter also said the city does not believe the project from N17 will help stem the housing crisis. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/2-v07-scaled-e1791329526834.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103248\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering of what the proposed Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/2-v07-scaled-e1791329526834.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103248\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering of what the proposed Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There is no doubt that the vast majority of the housing in this project would\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There is no doubt that the vast majority of the housing in this project would\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>be affordable only to the very wealthiest residents of the Bay Area,” the letter said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>be affordable only to the very wealthiest residents of the Bay Area,” the letter said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>From 2015-23, the city built or approved 2,349 homes, exceeding its state-mandated housing goals in all income categories except moderate, where it built or approved about three-fourths of what was needed. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>From 2015-23, the city built or approved 2,349 homes, exceeding its state-mandated housing goals in all income categories except moderate, where it built or approved about three-fourths of what was needed. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In the current 2023-31 housing cycle, the state tasked the city with building or approving nearly 3,000 homes. Menlo Park had hit about 40% of that overall goal at the end of last year, though for homes in lower-income categories, it had achieved less than 30% of the goal, and less than 20% for very low-income homes. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In the current 2023-31 housing cycle, the state tasked the city with building or approving nearly 3,000 homes. Menlo Park had hit about 40% of that overall goal at the end of last year, though for homes in lower-income categories, it had achieved less than 30% of the goal, and less than 20% for very low-income homes. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the legal wrangling over the details of the Willow Park project and the timing around certain housing laws is very specific to this case, Elmendorf said the issue helps illustrate how far the pendulum has swung in the state for housing production.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While the legal wrangling over the details of the Willow Park project and the timing around certain housing laws is very specific to this case, Elmendorf said the issue helps illustrate how far the pendulum has swung in the state for housing production.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The fact that a project that five years ago would have been seen as preposterous is now a project that Menlo Park is very much on its back foot in trying to fend off, and stands to lose a ton of money on in court,” he said, “is a testament to how the legislature and officialdom generally within the state government has come to view the appropriate balance between local control and the state’s interest in the need for more housing.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The fact that a project that five years ago would have been seen as preposterous is now a project that Menlo Park is very much on its back foot in trying to fend off, and stands to lose a ton of money on in court,” he said, “is a testament to how the legislature and officialdom generally within the state government has come to view the appropriate balance between local control and the state’s interest in the need for more housing.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "A developer seeking to build high-rises on the former Sunset Magazine headquarters property is suing Menlo Park.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A San Francisco developer is suing Menlo Park, hoping to force the city to approve a proposed \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12101341/congressman-calls-for-investigation-of-russian-owned-silicon-valley-site\">high-rise development\u003c/a> with hundreds of residences, retail and office space and a hotel, on the site of the former Sunset Magazine headquarters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in San Mateo County Superior Court late last week, asks a judge to require the wealthy Peninsula enclave to greenlight the project under the authority of a bevy of state housing laws passed in recent years meant to increase production of homes and limit local officials’ ability to thwart them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The legal battle could expose the city to several million dollars in fines under some of the newest state housing laws, and could also serve as a cautionary tale to other municipalities about the penalties for running afoul of California’s web of housing regulations aimed at combating a decadeslong housing shortage and affordability crisis. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Office has already weighed in on the fight, warning Menlo Park in a July letter that it has mishandled the project application from N17 Development and violated state housing laws in the process, which the city has rebuffed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We regret having to bring this lawsuit, but we had no choice given the city has done nothing but throw roadblocks in our way to delay and deny the project, arrogantly breaking state housing laws,” Oisín Heneghan, the founder of N17, said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1250\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102903\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED-160x100.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-03-KQED-1536x960.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An aerial rendering shows what the proposed Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>The property, which once served as a physical link to the California suburban lifestyle that was for years depicted in the pages of Sunset, has drawn recent scrutiny from South Bay \u003ca href=\"https://liccardo.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/liccardo.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/quill-letter-l39585-80-willow-road-development-letter-to-treasury-version-1-09-23-2026-08-51-pm.pdf\">Rep. Sam Liccardo\u003c/a>, because he said it is owned by a “Russian oligarch,” and could be used to store ill-gotten wealth or evade sanctions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But even before Liccardo raised those concerns about owner Vitaly Yusufov, son of a former Russian energy minister, the project sparked years of controversy in the small Peninsula city because of its massive size and height, which many residents and elected officials said was inappropriate for the area.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heneghan’s company is proposing to demolish the existing buildings to create a mixed-use project with a total of 665 apartments or condos, with roughly 100 of them to be priced below market-rate, along with 332,000 square feet of office space, 17,000 square feet of retail space and a 130-room hotel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The tallest buildings in the plans would range from 301 feet to as high as 458 feet, according to the city. The project, called Willow Park, would be built on a 6.7-acre piece of land at 80 Willow Road that sits at the corner of Middlefield Road and backs up to San Francisquito Creek.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project was proposed in late 2023 under a unique provision of state law known as the “Builder’s Remedy,” which allows developers to bypass most local discretionary review and have a project fast-tracked when a city or county hasn’t received certification of its long-term housing plan from the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit claims the project should be considered “by right” and eligible for a streamlined review by city planners, and is also eligible for a series of waivers and concessions that would brush aside local development requirements like height limits, because it provides enough affordable housing. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1126\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102902\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/261005-Menlo-Park-lawsuit-02-KQED-1200x675.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering shows what a pool deck area in a portion of the Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“In other words, the city is not permitted to say no to the project. Yet over the course of nearly three years, the city has repeatedly refused to comply with state housing reform laws with respect to the project, drawing admonishments from the California Department of Housing and Community Development and the California Attorney General,” the lawsuit said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“While its elected officials have talked a good game, Menlo Park is actually one of the most hostile cities to building new and affordable housing in the nation,” Heneghan said in the statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, echoing in part Bonta’s July letter, said the city unlawfully changed its reasoning at different points in the review process to deny the project a streamlined approval. It seeks a refund of roughly $300,000 in legal fees the city asked the developer to pay in connection with the review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under AB 712, which went into effect in January, if a city loses a court battle over a housing application debating state housing reform laws, after receiving a notice like the one Menlo Park did from Bonta, the courts must impose fines of $10,000 per housing unit in the project against the city, and potentially more under other provisions. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That could mean at least $6.65 million in fines for Menlo Park, a city with a population of only 32,000 and a roughly $90 million annual budget. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Chris Elmendorf, a law professor at UC Davis, said if Menlo Park loses the case, it would make the risks of the newest housing laws “much more vivid” for leaders around California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“That will be a huge warning shot to all cities,” Elmendorf said. “Once the Attorney General or [the California Housing and Community Development Department] gets that letter in the record, you are at serious risk of big-time fiscal consequences.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Heneghan’s company has tried to negotiate with the city over a path forward until recently, but he claims the city has rejected those efforts. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Betsy Nash said the city strongly disagrees with Bonta and Heneghan that the project is eligible for streamlined review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We are not rejecting the project. We are continuing our review in the standard way,” she said in an interview. Nash noted that the city selected a consultant to do an environmental impact report for the project, costs for which are typically footed by the developer. She said N17 has declined to pay for the EIR, which has contributed to the stalled review. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We believe on such a massive project that is on the banks of an environmentally sensitive creek with major impacts to our infrastructure, that we need to go through the regular environmental impact review process,” Nash said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city leaders also believe the project is not considered a housing project under recently updated state laws because it includes hotel space. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a Sept. 29 closed session meeting of the council, the city manager sent an Oct. 1 response letter to Bonta, disagreeing with his office’s interpretation, and taking issue with his office sending a warning notice that “unlocks potentially catastrophic financial penalties against the city” without visiting the site. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The letter also said the city does not believe the project from N17 will help stem the housing crisis. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"aligncenter size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1230\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/2-v07-scaled-e1791329526834.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12103248\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A digital rendering of what the proposed Willow Park development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park could look like. (Courtesy of N17 Development)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>“There is no doubt that the vast majority of the housing in this project would\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>be affordable only to the very wealthiest residents of the Bay Area,” the letter said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>From 2015-23, the city built or approved 2,349 homes, exceeding its state-mandated housing goals in all income categories except moderate, where it built or approved about three-fourths of what was needed. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In the current 2023-31 housing cycle, the state tasked the city with building or approving nearly 3,000 homes. Menlo Park had hit about 40% of that overall goal at the end of last year, though for homes in lower-income categories, it had achieved less than 30% of the goal, and less than 20% for very low-income homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While the legal wrangling over the details of the Willow Park project and the timing around certain housing laws is very specific to this case, Elmendorf said the issue helps illustrate how far the pendulum has swung in the state for housing production.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The fact that a project that five years ago would have been seen as preposterous is now a project that Menlo Park is very much on its back foot in trying to fend off, and stands to lose a ton of money on in court,” he said, “is a testament to how the legislature and officialdom generally within the state government has come to view the appropriate balance between local control and the state’s interest in the need for more housing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sf-has-the-fewest-kids-city-leaders-hope-these-policies-will-help-families-stick-around",
"title": "SF Has the Fewest Kids. City Leaders Hope These Policies Will Help Families Stick Around",
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"headTitle": "SF Has the Fewest Kids. City Leaders Hope These Policies Will Help Families Stick Around | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After giving birth to her second child this Spring, Angelica Torres was able to take four months off work to care for herself and her baby.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a luxury not all working parents can afford, but Torres was able to take advantage of a San Francisco law, which offers parents full paychecks while they miss work to bond with a new child. That benefit, plus another city program that offers free childcare for her 3-year-old daughter, gave her welcome financial relief as she navigated the additional cost of growing her family, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“With everything getting so expensive, I feel that San Francisco does a lot to support families,” she said. “This is why we’re still here.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For at least a decade, San Francisco has had the fewest children of any major American city, with about 13% of residents under the age of 18 in 2025, according to U.S. Census data. The cost of raising a family has long been cited as one reason. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the artificial intelligence boom fuels economic growth and stirs anxiety about the costs of living rising even higher, local leaders are trying to help families stay in San Francisco by making life a little more affordable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096525\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres and her children Valentina and Angel stand for a portrait in Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres and her family stay with her mother for childcare assistance. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a joke about San Francisco having more dogs than kids, and that’s a little funny, but a little sad,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter, who pushed to expand the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--paid-parental-leave-ordinance\">paid parental leave ordinance\u003c/a> to make it easier for workers to qualify. “It’s our responsibility at City Hall to look to see if we can remove barriers, if we could lend a hand.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the beginning of this year, the city has focused on alleviating some of the largest expenses families face. In January, Mayor Daniel Lurie rolled out his “Family Opportunity Agenda,” which included \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094257/san-francisco-child-care-free-elfa-discount-subsidies-how-to-apply-who-qualifies\">expanding the city’s subsidized childcare\u003c/a> to include higher-income earners — a family of four making up to $324,000 a year can now qualify — as well as growing the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-expands-access-to-affordable-after-school-care-for-san-francisco-families-following-major-expansion-of-early-childcare\">after-school programs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lurie is among a handful of mayors and state governors who’ve championed similar policies aimed at families, joining Delaware, Maine, Minnesota and Colorado in \u003ca href=\"https://www.parentoleave.com/blog/whats-changing-in-paid-family-leave-in-2026-your-complete-guide\">enacting or expanding paid parental leave\u003c/a> and New York City in rolling out \u003ca href=\"https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/09/10/mamdani-2-k-program-launches-with-cost-savings-payment-delays/\">free childcare for 2-year-olds\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those efforts come as the child population is trending down nationwide due to falling birth and fertility rates, and major cities \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/vintage-2025-pop-estimates.html\">saw the biggest decline\u003c/a> in the past five years, according to Census data. Between 2010 and 2025, San Francisco’s under-18 population decreased numerically but \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-fewest-kids-data-21044908.php\">stayed relatively flat as a percentage of the overall population\u003c/a>. The portion of children under 5 had hovered around 4.5% between 2010 and 2020, but since the pandemic, it’s dropped to just under 4%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr />\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"San Francisco's Under 18 and Under 5 Population\" aria-label=\"Area Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-nMwbh\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/nMwbh/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" 0=\"style="width:\" 1=\"0;\" 2=\"min-width:\" 3=\"100%\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In speeches, Lurie and other city leaders echoed concerns about people delaying having children, if at all, or moving out of San Francisco after they have kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the greatest city in the world, but it can’t be great if the people that are living here today can’t afford to stay here tomorrow,” Lurie told KQED in a recent interview. “We know how expensive this city is to raise a family, and so we’re doing everything in our power to build more affordable housing, to make early childhood care and education accessible to every family.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City leaders are focusing on the early years because Census surveys show that’s when families are most likely to leave. It’s also the most expensive phase of life, when childcare prices can consume a big chunk of a family’s income.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One of the things that’s been true in San Francisco is that if you have a child [under] 5, you’re more likely to leave,” said Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist. “But if you have a child who’s over 5, you’re not — which basically means once people are settled in school, they’re less mobile.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco first began using city funds to offer free preschool for 4-year-olds in 2004 and two decades later broadened that program by using revenue from a voter-approved tax to offer free or discounted early education and care for families, based on their income. Lurie stops short of calling it universal childcare, but said he wants San Francisco to become the first major city in the country to provide “access to childcare” for every family with a child under 5.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city was also a leader in offering fully paid parental leave, becoming the first in the nation to do so in 2017. The ordinance built on California’s \u003ca href=\"https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/\">paid family leave program\u003c/a>, which offers new parents between 60 and 70 percent of their wages for eight weeks, by requiring employers to cover the rest of workers’ paychecks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres holds her 5-month-old son Angel as her daughter Valentina works on a project for school in the kitchen of Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres’ mother helps out with childcare for her and her family. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11828551/who-benefits-from-san-franciscos-paid-leave-for-new-parents\">Studies have shown\u003c/a> that workers in industries with high turnover, like restaurants and hospitality, were least likely to opt in. A new update to the law makes employees who are starting a new job eligible for the benefit sooner — at 90 days, up from 180.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Torres said this change didn’t directly affect her, but she was glad to see her partner take time off his job as a restaurant cook to take care of their baby after she went back to work as a site supervisor at a preschool. It was a benefit he could have taken after their daughter was born, but didn’t, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘I cannot miss a lot of days of work. What is my boss going to say?’” Torres said. “This time around, I explained to him [he] could take some time off. It’s a law. He would go on walks with the baby and take care of our daughter. I feel like he was more connected to his children.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The subsidized childcare program, Early Learning For All, saves her more than $2,000 per month for her daughter’s full-time care, she said, and helps offset other rising costs. The program also boosts the pay of early childhood educators at its participating programs, including the preschool where Torres works, and that has increased her hourly wage from $28 to $36 per hour in the last few years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While she’s grateful for the help, Torres said her biggest expense is still the rent. The couple shares a four-bedroom apartment with Torres’ parents and brother in the Excelsior District, a working-class neighborhood in the southeastern part of the city. Since the pandemic, the rent stayed at $4,000 until a couple of months ago, when Torres said the landlord bumped it up by 10%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said she hopes that city leaders “can target the bigger issues that people in San Francisco face like the rent.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Rent is really expensive. Super expensive,” she said. “I really love this city. I love the diversity, and I want my children to grow here.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Hard to live here’ \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In several interviews, parents of young children echoed Torres’ concern, praising the family-friendly policies but citing the high cost of housing, limited availability of family-sized apartments and an unpopular school lottery as reasons they may eventually leave.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096523\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres holds her 5-month-old son Angel in her mother’s kitchen in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People who locked in their [mortgage or rental] rates during the pandemic are happy to stay, but those that want to move or want to expand out of their one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartments really do find it hard to live here,” said Vai Sundaresan, a tech worker who was laid off when she was pregnant with her 1-year-old daughter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said one reason she and her husband, who also works in tech, can afford to live in San Francisco is that they bought their house four years ago. “But if we were to move now, it would be hard.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sauter is keenly aware of this trend: In the 15 years he’s lived in San Francisco, he said he’s seen friends leave after they start a family. He became a dad himself more than a year ago and said he’s now getting a closer glimpse into the challenges of parenting in the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It almost feels destined when you have a first child, or certainly a second child, that you just expect someone to move away,” Sauter said. “That’s not healthy for a city.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To encourage developers to build larger, family-sized apartments, Sauter co-authored an incentive to allow developers to add another floor if they build apartments with two or more bedrooms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The incentive is part of a state-mandated effort to address California’s housing shortage. The city’s proposal, which Lurie branded the “Family Zoning Plan,” was approved in December 2025 and allows for the construction of some 36,000 additional homes and apartments, largely in neighborhoods with access to public transit, parks, retail, and community facilities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to championing the rezoning amendment and expanded paid parental leave, Sauter is also looking to add more diaper-changing tables and lactation rooms in public spaces and improve transit access for families with young kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But for some families, a bigger issue is the public school system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hitomi Wada and EJ Macayan, a couple who own a small business in the Tenderloin District, said they’re grateful to save $3,000 per month in infant care under the city’s expanded Early Learning for All program but aren’t sure what they’ll do when their 1-year-old son reaches school age. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wada said she’s heard “nightmare stories” of navigating San Francisco Unified School District’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11641238/how-the-san-francisco-school-lottery-works-and-how-it-doesnt-2\">lottery\u003c/a> — a complicated assignment system intended to desegregate schools but one that has also led to long waitlists and confusion, leaving families anxious about whether they’ll get into their preferred school. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district wants to overhaul the system but has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082156/sfusd-wants-to-fix-its-lottery-system-then-look-again-at-closing-schools\">repeatedly delayed replacing it\u003c/a>, though officials said this year, 65% of families got into their top-ranked school. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He’s only 15 months old, but we’re already thinking, ‘What is our strategy for navigating that portion?’ and trying to figure out what best fits us,” Wada said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lurie’s hands are tied when it comes to resolving this problem: By law, an elected school board governs the district, which is funded by the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said the city does set aside around $100 million annually from its general fund to support public school libraries and the district’s arts, sports and college readiness programs. The city also increased access to free or discounted after-school care “to help bridge the gap between the time that school ends and parents are done with their job,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have more work to do, but we’ve made some progress, especially on this early childhood [initiative],” Lurie said. “We’re going to lean in on transit; we’re going to lean in on building more affordable housing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wada and Macayan said their heart is in San Francisco, but they’re not sure how long they can sustain their life in the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We do want to stay,” Wada said. “We want to make it work for as long as possible.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But as they look into the future, Wada said they’re already bracing themselves for what comes next: “When we do have to leave, where do we want to go?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After giving birth to her second child this Spring, Angelica Torres was able to take four months off work to care for herself and her baby.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After giving birth to her second child this Spring, Angelica Torres was able to take four months off work to care for herself and her baby.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s a luxury not all working parents can afford, but Torres was able to take advantage of a San Francisco law, which offers parents full paychecks while they miss work to bond with a new child. That benefit, plus another city program that offers free childcare for her 3-year-old daughter, gave her welcome financial relief as she navigated the additional cost of growing her family, she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s a luxury not all working parents can afford, but Torres was able to take advantage of a San Francisco law, which offers parents full paychecks while they miss work to bond with a new child. That benefit, plus another city program that offers free childcare for her 3-year-old daughter, gave her welcome financial relief as she navigated the additional cost of growing her family, she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“With everything getting so expensive, I feel that San Francisco does a lot to support families,” she said. “This is why we’re still here.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“With everything getting so expensive, I feel that San Francisco does a lot to support families,” she said. “This is why we’re still here.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For at least a decade, San Francisco has had the fewest children of any major American city, with about 13% of residents under the age of 18 in 2025, according to U.S. Census data. The cost of raising a family has long been cited as one reason. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For at least a decade, San Francisco has had the fewest children of any major American city, with about 13% of residents under the age of 18 in 2025, according to U.S. Census data. The cost of raising a family has long been cited as one reason. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As the artificial intelligence boom fuels economic growth and stirs anxiety about the costs of living rising even higher, local leaders are trying to help families stay in San Francisco by making life a little more affordable.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As the artificial intelligence boom fuels economic growth and stirs anxiety about the costs of living rising even higher, local leaders are trying to help families stay in San Francisco by making life a little more affordable.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096525\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres and her children Valentina and Angel stand for a portrait in Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres and her family stay with her mother for childcare assistance.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096525\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres and her children Valentina and Angel stand for a portrait in Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres and her family stay with her mother for childcare assistance.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There’s a joke about San Francisco having more dogs than kids, and that’s a little funny, but a little sad,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter, who pushed to expand the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--paid-parental-leave-ordinance\">paid parental leave ordinance\u003c/a> to make it easier for workers to qualify. “It’s our responsibility at City Hall to look to see if we can remove barriers, if we could lend a hand.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There’s a joke about San Francisco having more dogs than kids, and that’s a little funny, but a little sad,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter, who pushed to expand the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--paid-parental-leave-ordinance\">paid parental leave ordinance\u003c/a> to make it easier for workers to qualify. “It’s our responsibility at City Hall to look to see if we can remove barriers, if we could lend a hand.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since the beginning of this year, the city has focused on alleviating some of the largest expenses families face. In January, Mayor Daniel Lurie rolled out his “Family Opportunity Agenda,” which included \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094257/san-francisco-child-care-free-elfa-discount-subsidies-how-to-apply-who-qualifies\">expanding the city’s subsidized childcare\u003c/a> to include higher-income earners — a family of four making up to $324,000 a year can now qualify — as well as growing the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-expands-access-to-affordable-after-school-care-for-san-francisco-families-following-major-expansion-of-early-childcare\">after-school programs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Since the beginning of this year, the city has focused on alleviating some of the largest expenses families face. In January, Mayor Daniel Lurie rolled out his “Family Opportunity Agenda,” which included \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094257/san-francisco-child-care-free-elfa-discount-subsidies-how-to-apply-who-qualifies\">expanding the city’s subsidized childcare\u003c/a> to include higher-income earners — a family of four making up to $324,000 a year can now qualify — as well as growing the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-expands-access-to-affordable-after-school-care-for-san-francisco-families-following-major-expansion-of-early-childcare\">after-school programs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lurie is among a handful of mayors and state governors who’ve championed similar policies aimed at families, joining Delaware, Maine, Minnesota and Colorado in \u003ca href=\"https://www.parentoleave.com/blog/whats-changing-in-paid-family-leave-in-2026-your-complete-guide\">enacting or expanding paid parental leave\u003c/a> and New York City in rolling out \u003ca href=\"https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/09/10/mamdani-2-k-program-launches-with-cost-savings-payment-delays/\">free childcare for 2-year-olds\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Lurie is among a handful of mayors and state governors who’ve championed similar policies aimed at families, joining Delaware, Maine, Minnesota and Colorado in \u003ca href=\"https://www.parentoleave.com/blog/whats-changing-in-paid-family-leave-in-2026-your-complete-guide\">enacting or expanding paid parental leave\u003c/a> and New York City in rolling out \u003ca href=\"https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/09/10/mamdani-2-k-program-launches-with-cost-savings-payment-delays/\">free childcare for 2-year-olds\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those efforts come as the child population is trending down nationwide due to falling birth and fertility rates, and major cities \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/vintage-2025-pop-estimates.html\">saw the biggest decline\u003c/a> in the past five years, according to Census data. Between 2010 and 2025, San Francisco’s under-18 population decreased numerically but \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-fewest-kids-data-21044908.php\">stayed relatively flat as a percentage of the overall population\u003c/a>. The portion of children under 5 had hovered around 4.5% between 2010 and 2020, but since the pandemic, it’s dropped to just under 4%.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Those efforts come as the child population is trending down nationwide due to falling birth and fertility rates, and major cities \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/vintage-2025-pop-estimates.html\">saw the biggest decline\u003c/a> in the past five years, according to Census data. Between 2010 and 2025, San Francisco’s under-18 population decreased numerically but \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-fewest-kids-data-21044908.php\">stayed relatively flat as a percentage of the overall population\u003c/a>. The portion of children under 5 had hovered around 4.5% between 2010 and 2020, but since the pandemic, it’s dropped to just under 4%.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In speeches, Lurie and other city leaders echoed concerns about people delaying having children, if at all, or moving out of San Francisco after they have kids. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is the greatest city in the world, but it can’t be great if the people that are living here today can’t afford to stay here tomorrow,” Lurie told KQED in a recent interview. “We know how expensive this city is to raise a family, and so we’re doing everything in our power to build more affordable housing, to make early childhood care and education accessible to every family.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This is the greatest city in the world, but it can’t be great if the people that are living here today can’t afford to stay here tomorrow,” Lurie told KQED in a recent interview. “We know how expensive this city is to raise a family, and so we’re doing everything in our power to build more affordable housing, to make early childhood care and education accessible to every family.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>City leaders are focusing on the early years because Census surveys show that’s when families are most likely to leave. It’s also the most expensive phase of life, when childcare prices can consume a big chunk of a family’s income.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>City leaders are focusing on the early years because Census surveys show that’s when families are most likely to leave. It’s also the most expensive phase of life, when childcare prices can consume a big chunk of a family’s income.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“One of the things that’s been true in San Francisco is that if you have a child [under] 5, you’re more likely to leave,” said Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist. “But if you have a child who’s over 5, you’re not — which basically means once people are settled in school, they’re less mobile.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“One of the things that’s been true in San Francisco is that if you have a child [under] 5, you’re more likely to leave,” said Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist. “But if you have a child who’s over 5, you’re not — which basically means once people are settled in school, they’re less mobile.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco first began using city funds to offer free preschool for 4-year-olds in 2004 and two decades later broadened that program by using revenue from a voter-approved tax to offer free or discounted early education and care for families, based on their income. Lurie stops short of calling it universal childcare, but said he wants San Francisco to become the first major city in the country to provide “access to childcare” for every family with a child under 5.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>San Francisco first began using city funds to offer free preschool for 4-year-olds in 2004 and two decades later broadened that program by using revenue from a voter-approved tax to offer free or discounted early education and care for families, based on their income. Lurie stops short of calling it universal childcare, but said he wants San Francisco to become the first major city in the country to provide “access to childcare” for every family with a child under 5.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city was also a leader in offering fully paid parental leave, becoming the first in the nation to do so in 2017. The ordinance built on California’s \u003ca href=\"https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/\">paid family leave program\u003c/a>, which offers new parents between 60 and 70 percent of their wages for eight weeks, by requiring employers to cover the rest of workers’ paychecks. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The city was also a leader in offering fully paid parental leave, becoming the first in the nation to do so in 2017. The ordinance built on California’s \u003ca href=\"https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/\">paid family leave program\u003c/a>, which offers new parents between 60 and 70 percent of their wages for eight weeks, by requiring employers to cover the rest of workers’ paychecks. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres holds her 5-month-old son Angel as her daughter Valentina works on a project for school in the kitchen of Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres’ mother helps out with childcare for her and her family.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096522\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres holds her 5-month-old son Angel as her daughter Valentina works on a project for school in the kitchen of Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres’ mother helps out with childcare for her and her family.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11828551/who-benefits-from-san-franciscos-paid-leave-for-new-parents\">Studies have shown\u003c/a> that workers in industries with high turnover, like restaurants and hospitality, were least likely to opt in. A new update to the law makes employees who are starting a new job eligible for the benefit sooner — at 90 days, up from 180.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11828551/who-benefits-from-san-franciscos-paid-leave-for-new-parents\">Studies have shown\u003c/a> that workers in industries with high turnover, like restaurants and hospitality, were least likely to opt in. A new update to the law makes employees who are starting a new job eligible for the benefit sooner — at 90 days, up from 180.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Torres said this change didn’t directly affect her, but she was glad to see her partner take time off his job as a restaurant cook to take care of their baby after she went back to work as a site supervisor at a preschool. It was a benefit he could have taken after their daughter was born, but didn’t, she said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Torres said this change didn’t directly affect her, but she was glad to see her partner take time off his job as a restaurant cook to take care of their baby after she went back to work as a site supervisor at a preschool. It was a benefit he could have taken after their daughter was born, but didn’t, she said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘I cannot miss a lot of days of work. What is my boss going to say?’” Torres said. “This time around, I explained to him [he] could take some time off. It’s a law. He would go on walks with the baby and take care of our daughter. I feel like he was more connected to his children.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘I cannot miss a lot of days of work. What is my boss going to say?’” Torres said. “This time around, I explained to him [he] could take some time off. It’s a law. He would go on walks with the baby and take care of our daughter. I feel like he was more connected to his children.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The subsidized childcare program, Early Learning For All, saves her more than $2,000 per month for her daughter’s full-time care, she said, and helps offset other rising costs. The program also boosts the pay of early childhood educators at its participating programs, including the preschool where Torres works, and that has increased her hourly wage from $28 to $36 per hour in the last few years. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The subsidized childcare program, Early Learning For All, saves her more than $2,000 per month for her daughter’s full-time care, she said, and helps offset other rising costs. The program also boosts the pay of early childhood educators at its participating programs, including the preschool where Torres works, and that has increased her hourly wage from $28 to $36 per hour in the last few years. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While she’s grateful for the help, Torres said her biggest expense is still the rent. The couple shares a four-bedroom apartment with Torres’ parents and brother in the Excelsior District, a working-class neighborhood in the southeastern part of the city. Since the pandemic, the rent stayed at $4,000 until a couple of months ago, when Torres said the landlord bumped it up by 10%.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While she’s grateful for the help, Torres said her biggest expense is still the rent. The couple shares a four-bedroom apartment with Torres’ parents and brother in the Excelsior District, a working-class neighborhood in the southeastern part of the city. Since the pandemic, the rent stayed at $4,000 until a couple of months ago, when Torres said the landlord bumped it up by 10%.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said she hopes that city leaders “can target the bigger issues that people in San Francisco face like the rent.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Rent is really expensive. Super expensive,” she said. “I really love this city. I love the diversity, and I want my children to grow here.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Rent is really expensive. Super expensive,” she said. “I really love this city. I love the diversity, and I want my children to grow here.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In several interviews, parents of young children echoed Torres’ concern, praising the family-friendly policies but citing the high cost of housing, limited availability of family-sized apartments and an unpopular school lottery as reasons they may eventually leave.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People who locked in their [mortgage or rental] rates during the pandemic are happy to stay, but those that want to move or want to expand out of their one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartments really do find it hard to live here,” said Vai Sundaresan, a tech worker who was laid off when she was pregnant with her 1-year-old daughter. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said one reason she and her husband, who also works in tech, can afford to live in San Francisco is that they bought their house four years ago. “But if we were to move now, it would be hard.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sauter is keenly aware of this trend: In the 15 years he’s lived in San Francisco, he said he’s seen friends leave after they start a family. He became a dad himself more than a year ago and said he’s now getting a closer glimpse into the challenges of parenting in the city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sauter is keenly aware of this trend: In the 15 years he’s lived in San Francisco, he said he’s seen friends leave after they start a family. He became a dad himself more than a year ago and said he’s now getting a closer glimpse into the challenges of parenting in the city.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It almost feels destined when you have a first child, or certainly a second child, that you just expect someone to move away,” Sauter said. “That’s not healthy for a city.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It almost feels destined when you have a first child, or certainly a second child, that you just expect someone to move away,” Sauter said. “That’s not healthy for a city.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To encourage developers to build larger, family-sized apartments, Sauter co-authored an incentive to allow developers to add another floor if they build apartments with two or more bedrooms. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The incentive is part of a state-mandated effort to address California’s housing shortage. The city’s proposal, which Lurie branded the “Family Zoning Plan,” was approved in December 2025 and allows for the construction of some 36,000 additional homes and apartments, largely in neighborhoods with access to public transit, parks, retail, and community facilities.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The incentive is part of a state-mandated effort to address California’s housing shortage. The city’s proposal, which Lurie branded the “Family Zoning Plan,” was approved in December 2025 and allows for the construction of some 36,000 additional homes and apartments, largely in neighborhoods with access to public transit, parks, retail, and community facilities.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition to championing the rezoning amendment and expanded paid parental leave, Sauter is also looking to add more diaper-changing tables and lactation rooms in public spaces and improve transit access for families with young kids. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But for some families, a bigger issue is the public school system.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Hitomi Wada and EJ Macayan, a couple who own a small business in the Tenderloin District, said they’re grateful to save $3,000 per month in infant care under the city’s expanded Early Learning for All program but aren’t sure what they’ll do when their 1-year-old son reaches school age. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wada said she’s heard “nightmare stories” of navigating San Francisco Unified School District’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11641238/how-the-san-francisco-school-lottery-works-and-how-it-doesnt-2\">lottery\u003c/a> — a complicated assignment system intended to desegregate schools but one that has also led to long waitlists and confusion, leaving families anxious about whether they’ll get into their preferred school. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The district wants to overhaul the system but has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082156/sfusd-wants-to-fix-its-lottery-system-then-look-again-at-closing-schools\">repeatedly delayed replacing it\u003c/a>, though officials said this year, 65% of families got into their top-ranked school. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The district wants to overhaul the system but has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082156/sfusd-wants-to-fix-its-lottery-system-then-look-again-at-closing-schools\">repeatedly delayed replacing it\u003c/a>, though officials said this year, 65% of families got into their top-ranked school. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“He’s only 15 months old, but we’re already thinking, ‘What is our strategy for navigating that portion?’ and trying to figure out what best fits us,” Wada said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“He’s only 15 months old, but we’re already thinking, ‘What is our strategy for navigating that portion?’ and trying to figure out what best fits us,” Wada said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Lurie’s hands are tied when it comes to resolving this problem: By law, an elected school board governs the district, which is funded by the state.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said the city does set aside around $100 million annually from its general fund to support public school libraries and the district’s arts, sports and college readiness programs. The city also increased access to free or discounted after-school care “to help bridge the gap between the time that school ends and parents are done with their job,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He said the city does set aside around $100 million annually from its general fund to support public school libraries and the district’s arts, sports and college readiness programs. The city also increased access to free or discounted after-school care “to help bridge the gap between the time that school ends and parents are done with their job,” he said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We have more work to do, but we’ve made some progress, especially on this early childhood [initiative],” Lurie said. “We’re going to lean in on transit; we’re going to lean in on building more affordable housing.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“We have more work to do, but we’ve made some progress, especially on this early childhood [initiative],” Lurie said. “We’re going to lean in on transit; we’re going to lean in on building more affordable housing.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wada and Macayan said their heart is in San Francisco, but they’re not sure how long they can sustain their life in the city.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We do want to stay,” Wada said. “We want to make it work for as long as possible.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But as they look into the future, Wada said they’re already bracing themselves for what comes next: “When we do have to leave, where do we want to go?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After giving birth to her second child this Spring, Angelica Torres was able to take four months off work to care for herself and her baby.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It’s a luxury not all working parents can afford, but Torres was able to take advantage of a San Francisco law, which offers parents full paychecks while they miss work to bond with a new child. That benefit, plus another city program that offers free childcare for her 3-year-old daughter, gave her welcome financial relief as she navigated the additional cost of growing her family, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“With everything getting so expensive, I feel that San Francisco does a lot to support families,” she said. “This is why we’re still here.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For at least a decade, San Francisco has had the fewest children of any major American city, with about 13% of residents under the age of 18 in 2025, according to U.S. Census data. The cost of raising a family has long been cited as one reason. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As the artificial intelligence boom fuels economic growth and stirs anxiety about the costs of living rising even higher, local leaders are trying to help families stay in San Francisco by making life a little more affordable.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096525\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-09-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres and her children Valentina and Angel stand for a portrait in Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres and her family stay with her mother for childcare assistance. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There’s a joke about San Francisco having more dogs than kids, and that’s a little funny, but a little sad,” said Supervisor Danny Sauter, who pushed to expand the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/information--paid-parental-leave-ordinance\">paid parental leave ordinance\u003c/a> to make it easier for workers to qualify. “It’s our responsibility at City Hall to look to see if we can remove barriers, if we could lend a hand.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since the beginning of this year, the city has focused on alleviating some of the largest expenses families face. In January, Mayor Daniel Lurie rolled out his “Family Opportunity Agenda,” which included \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12094257/san-francisco-child-care-free-elfa-discount-subsidies-how-to-apply-who-qualifies\">expanding the city’s subsidized childcare\u003c/a> to include higher-income earners — a family of four making up to $324,000 a year can now qualify — as well as growing the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.sf.gov/news-mayor-lurie-expands-access-to-affordable-after-school-care-for-san-francisco-families-following-major-expansion-of-early-childcare\">after-school programs\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lurie is among a handful of mayors and state governors who’ve championed similar policies aimed at families, joining Delaware, Maine, Minnesota and Colorado in \u003ca href=\"https://www.parentoleave.com/blog/whats-changing-in-paid-family-leave-in-2026-your-complete-guide\">enacting or expanding paid parental leave\u003c/a> and New York City in rolling out \u003ca href=\"https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2026/09/10/mamdani-2-k-program-launches-with-cost-savings-payment-delays/\">free childcare for 2-year-olds\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those efforts come as the child population is trending down nationwide due to falling birth and fertility rates, and major cities \u003ca href=\"https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/vintage-2025-pop-estimates.html\">saw the biggest decline\u003c/a> in the past five years, according to Census data. Between 2010 and 2025, San Francisco’s under-18 population decreased numerically but \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/san-francisco-fewest-kids-data-21044908.php\">stayed relatively flat as a percentage of the overall population\u003c/a>. The portion of children under 5 had hovered around 4.5% between 2010 and 2020, but since the pandemic, it’s dropped to just under 4%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr />\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"San Francisco's Under 18 and Under 5 Population\" aria-label=\"Area Chart\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-nMwbh\" src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/nMwbh/1/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" 0=\"style="width:\" 1=\"0;\" 2=\"min-width:\" 3=\"100%\" width=\"100%\" height=\"500\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In speeches, Lurie and other city leaders echoed concerns about people delaying having children, if at all, or moving out of San Francisco after they have kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is the greatest city in the world, but it can’t be great if the people that are living here today can’t afford to stay here tomorrow,” Lurie told KQED in a recent interview. “We know how expensive this city is to raise a family, and so we’re doing everything in our power to build more affordable housing, to make early childhood care and education accessible to every family.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>City leaders are focusing on the early years because Census surveys show that’s when families are most likely to leave. It’s also the most expensive phase of life, when childcare prices can consume a big chunk of a family’s income.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“One of the things that’s been true in San Francisco is that if you have a child [under] 5, you’re more likely to leave,” said Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist. “But if you have a child who’s over 5, you’re not — which basically means once people are settled in school, they’re less mobile.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco first began using city funds to offer free preschool for 4-year-olds in 2004 and two decades later broadened that program by using revenue from a voter-approved tax to offer free or discounted early education and care for families, based on their income. Lurie stops short of calling it universal childcare, but said he wants San Francisco to become the first major city in the country to provide “access to childcare” for every family with a child under 5.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city was also a leader in offering fully paid parental leave, becoming the first in the nation to do so in 2017. The ordinance built on California’s \u003ca href=\"https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/paid-family-leave/\">paid family leave program\u003c/a>, which offers new parents between 60 and 70 percent of their wages for eight weeks, by requiring employers to cover the rest of workers’ paychecks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096522\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-01-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres holds her 5-month-old son Angel as her daughter Valentina works on a project for school in the kitchen of Torres’ mother’s home in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. Torres’ mother helps out with childcare for her and her family. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11828551/who-benefits-from-san-franciscos-paid-leave-for-new-parents\">Studies have shown\u003c/a> that workers in industries with high turnover, like restaurants and hospitality, were least likely to opt in. A new update to the law makes employees who are starting a new job eligible for the benefit sooner — at 90 days, up from 180.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Torres said this change didn’t directly affect her, but she was glad to see her partner take time off his job as a restaurant cook to take care of their baby after she went back to work as a site supervisor at a preschool. It was a benefit he could have taken after their daughter was born, but didn’t, she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He was like, ‘I cannot miss a lot of days of work. What is my boss going to say?’” Torres said. “This time around, I explained to him [he] could take some time off. It’s a law. He would go on walks with the baby and take care of our daughter. I feel like he was more connected to his children.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The subsidized childcare program, Early Learning For All, saves her more than $2,000 per month for her daughter’s full-time care, she said, and helps offset other rising costs. The program also boosts the pay of early childhood educators at its participating programs, including the preschool where Torres works, and that has increased her hourly wage from $28 to $36 per hour in the last few years. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>While she’s grateful for the help, Torres said her biggest expense is still the rent. The couple shares a four-bedroom apartment with Torres’ parents and brother in the Excelsior District, a working-class neighborhood in the southeastern part of the city. Since the pandemic, the rent stayed at $4,000 until a couple of months ago, when Torres said the landlord bumped it up by 10%.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said she hopes that city leaders “can target the bigger issues that people in San Francisco face like the rent.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Rent is really expensive. Super expensive,” she said. “I really love this city. I love the diversity, and I want my children to grow here.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">‘Hard to live here’ \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In several interviews, parents of young children echoed Torres’ concern, praising the family-friendly policies but citing the high cost of housing, limited availability of family-sized apartments and an unpopular school lottery as reasons they may eventually leave.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12096523\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260821-FamilyFriendlySF-JY-03-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Angelica Torres holds her 5-month-old son Angel in her mother’s kitchen in San Francisco on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People who locked in their [mortgage or rental] rates during the pandemic are happy to stay, but those that want to move or want to expand out of their one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartments really do find it hard to live here,” said Vai Sundaresan, a tech worker who was laid off when she was pregnant with her 1-year-old daughter. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said one reason she and her husband, who also works in tech, can afford to live in San Francisco is that they bought their house four years ago. “But if we were to move now, it would be hard.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sauter is keenly aware of this trend: In the 15 years he’s lived in San Francisco, he said he’s seen friends leave after they start a family. He became a dad himself more than a year ago and said he’s now getting a closer glimpse into the challenges of parenting in the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It almost feels destined when you have a first child, or certainly a second child, that you just expect someone to move away,” Sauter said. “That’s not healthy for a city.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>To encourage developers to build larger, family-sized apartments, Sauter co-authored an incentive to allow developers to add another floor if they build apartments with two or more bedrooms. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The incentive is part of a state-mandated effort to address California’s housing shortage. The city’s proposal, which Lurie branded the “Family Zoning Plan,” was approved in December 2025 and allows for the construction of some 36,000 additional homes and apartments, largely in neighborhoods with access to public transit, parks, retail, and community facilities.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In addition to championing the rezoning amendment and expanded paid parental leave, Sauter is also looking to add more diaper-changing tables and lactation rooms in public spaces and improve transit access for families with young kids. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But for some families, a bigger issue is the public school system.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Hitomi Wada and EJ Macayan, a couple who own a small business in the Tenderloin District, said they’re grateful to save $3,000 per month in infant care under the city’s expanded Early Learning for All program but aren’t sure what they’ll do when their 1-year-old son reaches school age. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wada said she’s heard “nightmare stories” of navigating San Francisco Unified School District’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11641238/how-the-san-francisco-school-lottery-works-and-how-it-doesnt-2\">lottery\u003c/a> — a complicated assignment system intended to desegregate schools but one that has also led to long waitlists and confusion, leaving families anxious about whether they’ll get into their preferred school. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The district wants to overhaul the system but has \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12082156/sfusd-wants-to-fix-its-lottery-system-then-look-again-at-closing-schools\">repeatedly delayed replacing it\u003c/a>, though officials said this year, 65% of families got into their top-ranked school. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“He’s only 15 months old, but we’re already thinking, ‘What is our strategy for navigating that portion?’ and trying to figure out what best fits us,” Wada said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Lurie’s hands are tied when it comes to resolving this problem: By law, an elected school board governs the district, which is funded by the state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He said the city does set aside around $100 million annually from its general fund to support public school libraries and the district’s arts, sports and college readiness programs. The city also increased access to free or discounted after-school care “to help bridge the gap between the time that school ends and parents are done with their job,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We have more work to do, but we’ve made some progress, especially on this early childhood [initiative],” Lurie said. “We’re going to lean in on transit; we’re going to lean in on building more affordable housing.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Wada and Macayan said their heart is in San Francisco, but they’re not sure how long they can sustain their life in the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We do want to stay,” Wada said. “We want to make it work for as long as possible.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But as they look into the future, Wada said they’re already bracing themselves for what comes next: “When we do have to leave, where do we want to go?”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Proposition 45 would put a shot clock on environmental reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. Opponents say CEQA still protects people and the environment from harmful development. Marisa talks with Jordan Grimes, legislative director at the Bay Area environmental group Greenbelt Alliance, who oppose the measure. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, Marisa spoke with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100915/housing-fix-or-data-center-loophole-this-ballot-measure-would-overhaul-ceqa\">Jennifer Barrera\u003c/a>, CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the campaign in support of Prop. 45. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Opponents of Proposition 45 argue the Legislature already fixed CEQA with a bill that took effect last year. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Proposition 45 would put a shot clock on environmental reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. Opponents say CEQA still protects people and the environment from harmful development. Marisa talks with Jordan Grimes, legislative director at the Bay Area environmental group Greenbelt Alliance, who oppose the measure. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last week, Marisa spoke with \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12100915/housing-fix-or-data-center-loophole-this-ballot-measure-would-overhaul-ceqa\">Jennifer Barrera\u003c/a>, CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce, which is leading the campaign in support of Prop. 45. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Check out \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/political-breakdown\">Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter\u003c/a>, delivered straight to your inbox.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "this-sf-renter-is-trying-to-beat-the-ai-fueled-housing-boom-with-an-analog-approach",
"title": "This SF Renter Is Trying to Beat the AI-Fueled Housing Boom With an Analog Approach",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over the past nine months, Harlow Srain has reached out to more than 200 landlords and property managers. In search of a deal, she’s determined to stay in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After nearly a decade bouncing between couches, cars and shoddy apartments, the 28-year-old finally found the perfect place: a one-bedroom in Bernal Heights with access to a backyard that she shares with her now ex-partner. After they broke up late last year, they’ve continued to live uncomfortably together while Srain looks for a new place. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Srain said it’s been a difficult search. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101915202/sf-renters-face-buyout-offers-and-evictions-as-ai-boom-sends-prices-soaring\">AI-fueled housing market\u003c/a> has sent rents soaring, \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/rent-report/ca/san-francisco\">up more than 25%\u003c/a> over the past year. Even with a roommate or two, Srain said she’d have to stretch her budget to stay in the neighborhood she’s grown to love.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, she decided to do something unusual: cold-call landlords and property managers to appeal to their humanity and possibly get them to lower the rent. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I know these people are probably making a stupid amount of profit,” she said. “Why not just ask to have them cut that back a little bit?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12087198\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087198\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) plants line a shelf in the backyard of her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12087197\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087197\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) view from a balcony in her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s rental market has “always been a pressure cooker,” Redfin’s chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. The land-constrained city’s scant supply of homes has long been outweighed by intense demand. But now, as more companies require employees to return to the office and investors pump billions of dollars into AI, Fairweather said the fight for available housing has become even more competitive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People, when they have money, they wanna spend it on a better, nicer place,” she said. “It goes into the real estate market and drives up both home prices and rents.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those prices have spiked so swiftly that earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a “rent emergency” and introduced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098973/san-francisco-mayor-lurie-infuses-30-million-in-reforms-to-tackle-rent-emergency\">$30 million package\u003c/a> to forestall evictions and protect existing tenants from displacement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That doesn’t address Srain’s problem, however, since her landlord isn’t evicting her. She’s competing for a limited supply of apartments with people who have a lot more money to spend. According to a June report from ApartmentList, an online rental marketplace, just over \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/vacancy-rate-dashboard\">2% of San Francisco’s multifamily housing\u003c/a> is vacant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sitting on the back patio of her Bernal Heights apartment earlier this summer, Srain scrolled through listings on her phone in search of a new home. Most of the calls ended in voicemails. Or a bot. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When she did get a hold of a live human, they often stonewalled her. “With any situation where there’s a manager — like, ‘I’m just the manager’ — there’s no talking.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But every once in a while, someone picked up and played ball. That’s when she’d get into her pitch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I recognize AI is really booming, tech is hiring, we’re going back into the office, but I don’t work in tech,” Srain told a property manager listing a two-bedroom in the Mission District for $4,700. “I’ve just lived in the Bay Area for … around 10 years, and I would like to stay here. So I’m just trying to see if rent prices are negotiable at all.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The manager sympathized but didn’t budge. People are willing to pay top dollar, he told her. The city is experiencing a boom right now, but he said one day, that boom will cool. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>JJ Panzer, the owner of Real Management Company in San Francisco, said that if Srain had been looking to get a good deal on an apartment, she might have found one during the pandemic, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/These-charts-show-just-how-extreme-the-rent-15848320.php\">rents dropped by more than 20%\u003c/a>, and San Francisco’s apartment vacancy rate \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/vacancy-rate-dashboard\">reached nearly 11%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain never reached out to Panzer. But if she had, he said her pitch would have been a “hard sell” in today’s market. His company manages more than 700 units across the Bay Area, though mostly in San Francisco. He owns three buildings himself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">JJ Panzer, president of Real Management Company, in front of their offices in San Francisco on Aug. 13, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because many San Francisco apartments are covered under state or local rent control laws, Panzer said landlords can only increase rents significantly after a tenant leaves. Once a new tenant moves into a rent-controlled unit, he said they often don’t move out for years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You’ve got to get as much as you can for that vacancy because you don’t know when you’re going to see that apartment come vacant again,” Panzer said. “The better price I give you, the longer it’s going to be before I get a chance to make that money back.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are also first-come, first-served laws that require landlords to approve the first qualified application they receive. And there are anti-discrimination laws that don’t allow landlords to consider protected characteristics — including race, immigration status, familial status or source of income — when choosing a tenant, Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might come to your landlord and say ‘I have small kids’ or ‘I have an aging mother’ or ‘I’ve lived in this neighborhood forever,’ and those all might sound like innocent things to say,” she said. “But in housing, you’re not allowed to give preferential treatment to people based on their family status or these other protected characteristics.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paul Griffiths, CEO and owner of Vesta Asset Management in San Francisco, a mid-size property management company, said today’s rental market has so much demand that it encourages pricing homes above market so there are fewer applicants to sift through. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101639\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) plants line a stairwell in the backyard of her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If somebody calls me to say, ‘Can you offer less money?’ First of all, I don’t even have time to call that person back because I’m just scheduling the showings for 75 people,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain understands the competition is tough, but can’t help being frustrated by it. “It kind of makes me wonder, where’s the line? Where does it stop?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain grew up in Salinas, a mid-sized agricultural community about a two-hour drive south of San Francisco. She decided to move to the Bay Area in 2019 after she started dating someone in San José. She was working as a DoorDash driver and found a room in a three-bedroom house in Fremont for $750 a month. A couple rented one of the other rooms, and another person slept on a mattress in the garage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m freshly moved out of my parents’ house in this giant city that’s in a larger metropolitan area,” she said. “It was really, really exciting until I figured out what it meant to be housing-stable.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within a week, another person moved into the remaining vacant room and then a stranger started living on the couch. She began to feel like she was living amongst strangers and didn’t have control over who entered or exited her home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said she witnessed drug use and domestic violence while living there, so she moved out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the next three years, Srain moved from apartment to apartment to find an affordable place to live. For some of that time, she lived with friends or in her car.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Having to move almost twice a year every year, it can lead to trauma, believe it or not,” Srain said. “I have been sent through the wringer so many times.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fear of returning to a semi-nomadic lifestyle is part of what’s driving her current push to stay in San Francisco, and especially the neighborhood she’s called home for nearly two years — the longest she’s been in one place in the past decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was in her Bernal Heights apartment where she finally got an opportunity to plant roots and build community. She got to know her neighbors, joined a dodgeball league nearby and volunteered at a nearby bookstore. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is one of the first places I’ve ever felt comfortable. I felt at home,” she said. “I know my neighbors, whether they’re on this street or down a few blocks. I’ve never had this before.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also got involved in advocating for tenants rights. Srain became a community organizer with the nonprofit Faith in Action, which champions tenants’ rights, affordable housing and efforts to reduce homelessness. Earlier this year, she canvassed for a rent control measure the group supports that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090248/redwood-city-to-vote-on-rent-control-in-november\">headed to the November ballot in Redwood City\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through that work, she spoke with small landlords and homeowners about the problems they face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101628\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain poses for a portrait on the balcony of her housing unit in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can understand that some homeowners are totally oblivious to the rental crisis because they have their own issues owning a home,” she said. “It has become really expensive with rising property taxes, [insurance], PG&E. It’s beginning to become unmanageable to own a home for some people.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She developed sympathy for small mom-and-pop landlords, who own just a building or two and face their own set of affordability issues. While cold-calling, she found they were more willing to explain how they set their rents and the profit they made on each unit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one such call in January, Srain spoke with an older landlord who walked her through his costs to maintain a Pacifica apartment he was renting out, including details about his water bill, property taxes and how much profit he made. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was only around $100 to $200 [in profit],” she said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this guy really walked me through this!’ That’s impressive.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But not all landlords are willing to entertain Srain’s questions. Of the hundreds she called, she said only around 50 actually picked up the phone and were willing to talk. Many times, she’s found they were unwilling to divulge their experiences. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And no one has been willing to lower the rent. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Griffiths said he understands Srain’s struggle. “I think, ethically, most people believe that housing is a human right.” But he said the United States — even California — doesn’t have enough housing to provide that right to everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can’t put the responsibility of saying, ‘Well, everybody should be housed, and it’s the landlord’s responsibility,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fairweather argued that, if anyone is to blame, it’s local governments that largely control how much housing can be built. San Francisco, she said, has long \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033966/sfs-single-family-home-neighborhoods-apartments-65-story-towers-downtown\">restricted development in certain neighborhoods, and while\u003c/a> city leaders have agreed to allow more housing in those parts of town, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062042/report-projects-weak-housing-production-under-san-francisco-zoning-plan-over-next-20-years\">reports suggest\u003c/a> it may not make a dent in the city’s housing affordability crisis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>In San Francisco, the problem is so far gone that we can’t just say ‘Get rid of single-family zoning,’ and everything will be fixed,” Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then again, she said, the reality is that there may never be enough apartments in San Francisco for everyone who would like to live there. “There’s no mathematical way around that. There are going to be some people who are left moving to other places because there physically aren’t enough units for everybody.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain knows her best option might be to move out of San Francisco to the East Bay, where it’s cheaper — something families have done for generations as the city has grown more expensive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But she said that reality points to a broken system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are people living through so much worse right now in the Bay Area,” she said. “No one deserves that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After nearly a decade bouncing between couches, cars and shoddy apartments, the 28-year-old finally found the perfect place: a one-bedroom in Bernal Heights with access to a backyard that she shares with her now ex-partner. After they broke up late last year, they’ve continued to live uncomfortably together while Srain looks for a new place. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I know these people are probably making a stupid amount of profit,” she said. “Why not just ask to have them cut that back a little bit?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s rental market has “always been a pressure cooker,” Redfin’s chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. The land-constrained city’s scant supply of homes has long been outweighed by intense demand. But now, as more companies require employees to return to the office and investors pump billions of dollars into AI, Fairweather said the fight for available housing has become even more competitive. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“People, when they have money, they wanna spend it on a better, nicer place,” she said. “It goes into the real estate market and drives up both home prices and rents.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Those prices have spiked so swiftly that earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a “rent emergency” and introduced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098973/san-francisco-mayor-lurie-infuses-30-million-in-reforms-to-tackle-rent-emergency\">$30 million package\u003c/a> to forestall evictions and protect existing tenants from displacement. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Those prices have spiked so swiftly that earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a “rent emergency” and introduced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098973/san-francisco-mayor-lurie-infuses-30-million-in-reforms-to-tackle-rent-emergency\">$30 million package\u003c/a> to forestall evictions and protect existing tenants from displacement. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That doesn’t address Srain’s problem, however, since her landlord isn’t evicting her. She’s competing for a limited supply of apartments with people who have a lot more money to spend. According to a June report from ApartmentList, an online rental marketplace, just over \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/vacancy-rate-dashboard\">2% of San Francisco’s multifamily housing\u003c/a> is vacant. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sitting on the back patio of her Bernal Heights apartment earlier this summer, Srain scrolled through listings on her phone in search of a new home. Most of the calls ended in voicemails. Or a bot. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>When she did get a hold of a live human, they often stonewalled her. “With any situation where there’s a manager — like, ‘I’m just the manager’ — there’s no talking.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But every once in a while, someone picked up and played ball. That’s when she’d get into her pitch. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I recognize AI is really booming, tech is hiring, we’re going back into the office, but I don’t work in tech,” Srain told a property manager listing a two-bedroom in the Mission District for $4,700. “I’ve just lived in the Bay Area for … around 10 years, and I would like to stay here. So I’m just trying to see if rent prices are negotiable at all.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The manager sympathized but didn’t budge. People are willing to pay top dollar, he told her. The city is experiencing a boom right now, but he said one day, that boom will cool. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>JJ Panzer, the owner of Real Management Company in San Francisco, said that if Srain had been looking to get a good deal on an apartment, she might have found one during the pandemic, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/These-charts-show-just-how-extreme-the-rent-15848320.php\">rents dropped by more than 20%\u003c/a>, and San Francisco’s apartment vacancy rate \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/vacancy-rate-dashboard\">reached nearly 11%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Srain never reached out to Panzer. But if she had, he said her pitch would have been a “hard sell” in today’s market. His company manages more than 700 units across the Bay Area, though mostly in San Francisco. He owns three buildings himself. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Because many San Francisco apartments are covered under state or local rent control laws, Panzer said landlords can only increase rents significantly after a tenant leaves. Once a new tenant moves into a rent-controlled unit, he said they often don’t move out for years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You’ve got to get as much as you can for that vacancy because you don’t know when you’re going to see that apartment come vacant again,” Panzer said. “The better price I give you, the longer it’s going to be before I get a chance to make that money back.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are also first-come, first-served laws that require landlords to approve the first qualified application they receive. And there are anti-discrimination laws that don’t allow landlords to consider protected characteristics — including race, immigration status, familial status or source of income — when choosing a tenant, Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There are also first-come, first-served laws that require landlords to approve the first qualified application they receive. And there are anti-discrimination laws that don’t allow landlords to consider protected characteristics — including race, immigration status, familial status or source of income — when choosing a tenant, Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You might come to your landlord and say ‘I have small kids’ or ‘I have an aging mother’ or ‘I’ve lived in this neighborhood forever,’ and those all might sound like innocent things to say,” she said. “But in housing, you’re not allowed to give preferential treatment to people based on their family status or these other protected characteristics.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You might come to your landlord and say ‘I have small kids’ or ‘I have an aging mother’ or ‘I’ve lived in this neighborhood forever,’ and those all might sound like innocent things to say,” she said. “But in housing, you’re not allowed to give preferential treatment to people based on their family status or these other protected characteristics.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Paul Griffiths, CEO and owner of Vesta Asset Management in San Francisco, a mid-size property management company, said today’s rental market has so much demand that it encourages pricing homes above market so there are fewer applicants to sift through. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Paul Griffiths, CEO and owner of Vesta Asset Management in San Francisco, a mid-size property management company, said today’s rental market has so much demand that it encourages pricing homes above market so there are fewer applicants to sift through. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101639\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) plants line a stairwell in the backyard of her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101639\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) plants line a stairwell in the backyard of her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If somebody calls me to say, ‘Can you offer less money?’ First of all, I don’t even have time to call that person back because I’m just scheduling the showings for 75 people,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Srain understands the competition is tough, but can’t help being frustrated by it. “It kind of makes me wonder, where’s the line? Where does it stop?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Srain grew up in Salinas, a mid-sized agricultural community about a two-hour drive south of San Francisco. She decided to move to the Bay Area in 2019 after she started dating someone in San José. She was working as a DoorDash driver and found a room in a three-bedroom house in Fremont for $750 a month. A couple rented one of the other rooms, and another person slept on a mattress in the garage.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Srain grew up in Salinas, a mid-sized agricultural community about a two-hour drive south of San Francisco. She decided to move to the Bay Area in 2019 after she started dating someone in San José. She was working as a DoorDash driver and found a room in a three-bedroom house in Fremont for $750 a month. A couple rented one of the other rooms, and another person slept on a mattress in the garage.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I’m freshly moved out of my parents’ house in this giant city that’s in a larger metropolitan area,” she said. “It was really, really exciting until I figured out what it meant to be housing-stable.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Within a week, another person moved into the remaining vacant room and then a stranger started living on the couch. She began to feel like she was living amongst strangers and didn’t have control over who entered or exited her home. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Within a week, another person moved into the remaining vacant room and then a stranger started living on the couch. She began to feel like she was living amongst strangers and didn’t have control over who entered or exited her home. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said she witnessed drug use and domestic violence while living there, so she moved out. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For the next three years, Srain moved from apartment to apartment to find an affordable place to live. For some of that time, she lived with friends or in her car.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Having to move almost twice a year every year, it can lead to trauma, believe it or not,” Srain said. “I have been sent through the wringer so many times.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The fear of returning to a semi-nomadic lifestyle is part of what’s driving her current push to stay in San Francisco, and especially the neighborhood she’s called home for nearly two years — the longest she’s been in one place in the past decade.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The fear of returning to a semi-nomadic lifestyle is part of what’s driving her current push to stay in San Francisco, and especially the neighborhood she’s called home for nearly two years — the longest she’s been in one place in the past decade.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It was in her Bernal Heights apartment where she finally got an opportunity to plant roots and build community. She got to know her neighbors, joined a dodgeball league nearby and volunteered at a nearby bookstore. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It was in her Bernal Heights apartment where she finally got an opportunity to plant roots and build community. She got to know her neighbors, joined a dodgeball league nearby and volunteered at a nearby bookstore. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is one of the first places I’ve ever felt comfortable. I felt at home,” she said. “I know my neighbors, whether they’re on this street or down a few blocks. I’ve never had this before.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She also got involved in advocating for tenants rights. Srain became a community organizer with the nonprofit Faith in Action, which champions tenants’ rights, affordable housing and efforts to reduce homelessness. Earlier this year, she canvassed for a rent control measure the group supports that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090248/redwood-city-to-vote-on-rent-control-in-november\">headed to the November ballot in Redwood City\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She also got involved in advocating for tenants rights. Srain became a community organizer with the nonprofit Faith in Action, which champions tenants’ rights, affordable housing and efforts to reduce homelessness. Earlier this year, she canvassed for a rent control measure the group supports that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090248/redwood-city-to-vote-on-rent-control-in-november\">headed to the November ballot in Redwood City\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Through that work, she spoke with small landlords and homeowners about the problems they face.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101628\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain poses for a portrait on the balcony of her housing unit in San Francisco on June 9, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101628\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain poses for a portrait on the balcony of her housing unit in San Francisco on June 9, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I can understand that some homeowners are totally oblivious to the rental crisis because they have their own issues owning a home,” she said. “It has become really expensive with rising property taxes, [insurance], PG&E. It’s beginning to become unmanageable to own a home for some people.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She developed sympathy for small mom-and-pop landlords, who own just a building or two and face their own set of affordability issues. While cold-calling, she found they were more willing to explain how they set their rents and the profit they made on each unit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She developed sympathy for small mom-and-pop landlords, who own just a building or two and face their own set of affordability issues. While cold-calling, she found they were more willing to explain how they set their rents and the profit they made on each unit.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In one such call in January, Srain spoke with an older landlord who walked her through his costs to maintain a Pacifica apartment he was renting out, including details about his water bill, property taxes and how much profit he made. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In one such call in January, Srain spoke with an older landlord who walked her through his costs to maintain a Pacifica apartment he was renting out, including details about his water bill, property taxes and how much profit he made. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It was only around $100 to $200 [in profit],” she said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this guy really walked me through this!’ That’s impressive.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But not all landlords are willing to entertain Srain’s questions. Of the hundreds she called, she said only around 50 actually picked up the phone and were willing to talk. Many times, she’s found they were unwilling to divulge their experiences. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And no one has been willing to lower the rent. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Griffiths said he understands Srain’s struggle. “I think, ethically, most people believe that housing is a human right.” But he said the United States — even California — doesn’t have enough housing to provide that right to everyone.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Griffiths said he understands Srain’s struggle. “I think, ethically, most people believe that housing is a human right.” But he said the United States — even California — doesn’t have enough housing to provide that right to everyone.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You can’t put the responsibility of saying, ‘Well, everybody should be housed, and it’s the landlord’s responsibility,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fairweather argued that, if anyone is to blame, it’s local governments that largely control how much housing can be built. San Francisco, she said, has long \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033966/sfs-single-family-home-neighborhoods-apartments-65-story-towers-downtown\">restricted development in certain neighborhoods, and while\u003c/a> city leaders have agreed to allow more housing in those parts of town, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062042/report-projects-weak-housing-production-under-san-francisco-zoning-plan-over-next-20-years\">reports suggest\u003c/a> it may not make a dent in the city’s housing affordability crisis.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Fairweather argued that, if anyone is to blame, it’s local governments that largely control how much housing can be built. San Francisco, she said, has long \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033966/sfs-single-family-home-neighborhoods-apartments-65-story-towers-downtown\">restricted development in certain neighborhoods, and while\u003c/a> city leaders have agreed to allow more housing in those parts of town, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062042/report-projects-weak-housing-production-under-san-francisco-zoning-plan-over-next-20-years\">reports suggest\u003c/a> it may not make a dent in the city’s housing affordability crisis.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>In San Francisco, the problem is so far gone that we can’t just say ‘Get rid of single-family zoning,’ and everything will be fixed,” Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>In San Francisco, the problem is so far gone that we can’t just say ‘Get rid of single-family zoning,’ and everything will be fixed,” Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Then again, she said, the reality is that there may never be enough apartments in San Francisco for everyone who would like to live there. “There’s no mathematical way around that. There are going to be some people who are left moving to other places because there physically aren’t enough units for everybody.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Then again, she said, the reality is that there may never be enough apartments in San Francisco for everyone who would like to live there. “There’s no mathematical way around that. There are going to be some people who are left moving to other places because there physically aren’t enough units for everybody.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Srain knows her best option might be to move out of San Francisco to the East Bay, where it’s cheaper — something families have done for generations as the city has grown more expensive. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Srain knows her best option might be to move out of San Francisco to the East Bay, where it’s cheaper — something families have done for generations as the city has grown more expensive. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But she said that reality points to a broken system. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There are people living through so much worse right now in the Bay Area,” she said. “No one deserves that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“There are people living through so much worse right now in the Bay Area,” she said. “No one deserves that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Thanks to the AI boom, rents in San Francisco have soared more than 20% since last year. One renter is trying an unusual approach to finding an apartment she can afford. ",
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"title": "This SF Renter Is Trying to Beat the AI-Fueled Housing Boom With an Analog Approach | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Over the past nine months, Harlow Srain has reached out to more than 200 landlords and property managers. In search of a deal, she’s determined to stay in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After nearly a decade bouncing between couches, cars and shoddy apartments, the 28-year-old finally found the perfect place: a one-bedroom in Bernal Heights with access to a backyard that she shares with her now ex-partner. After they broke up late last year, they’ve continued to live uncomfortably together while Srain looks for a new place. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But Srain said it’s been a difficult search. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101915202/sf-renters-face-buyout-offers-and-evictions-as-ai-boom-sends-prices-soaring\">AI-fueled housing market\u003c/a> has sent rents soaring, \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/rent-report/ca/san-francisco\">up more than 25%\u003c/a> over the past year. Even with a roommate or two, Srain said she’d have to stretch her budget to stay in the neighborhood she’s grown to love.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So, she decided to do something unusual: cold-call landlords and property managers to appeal to their humanity and possibly get them to lower the rent. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I know these people are probably making a stupid amount of profit,” she said. “Why not just ask to have them cut that back a little bit?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12087198\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087198\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01030-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) plants line a shelf in the backyard of her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" data-id=\"12087197\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087197\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01021-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) view from a balcony in her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s rental market has “always been a pressure cooker,” Redfin’s chief economist Daryl Fairweather said. The land-constrained city’s scant supply of homes has long been outweighed by intense demand. But now, as more companies require employees to return to the office and investors pump billions of dollars into AI, Fairweather said the fight for available housing has become even more competitive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“People, when they have money, they wanna spend it on a better, nicer place,” she said. “It goes into the real estate market and drives up both home prices and rents.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Those prices have spiked so swiftly that earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a “rent emergency” and introduced a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12098973/san-francisco-mayor-lurie-infuses-30-million-in-reforms-to-tackle-rent-emergency\">$30 million package\u003c/a> to forestall evictions and protect existing tenants from displacement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That doesn’t address Srain’s problem, however, since her landlord isn’t evicting her. She’s competing for a limited supply of apartments with people who have a lot more money to spend. According to a June report from ApartmentList, an online rental marketplace, just over \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/vacancy-rate-dashboard\">2% of San Francisco’s multifamily housing\u003c/a> is vacant. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sitting on the back patio of her Bernal Heights apartment earlier this summer, Srain scrolled through listings on her phone in search of a new home. Most of the calls ended in voicemails. Or a bot. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>When she did get a hold of a live human, they often stonewalled her. “With any situation where there’s a manager — like, ‘I’m just the manager’ — there’s no talking.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But every once in a while, someone picked up and played ball. That’s when she’d get into her pitch. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I recognize AI is really booming, tech is hiring, we’re going back into the office, but I don’t work in tech,” Srain told a property manager listing a two-bedroom in the Mission District for $4,700. “I’ve just lived in the Bay Area for … around 10 years, and I would like to stay here. So I’m just trying to see if rent prices are negotiable at all.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The manager sympathized but didn’t budge. People are willing to pay top dollar, he told her. The city is experiencing a boom right now, but he said one day, that boom will cool. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>JJ Panzer, the owner of Real Management Company in San Francisco, said that if Srain had been looking to get a good deal on an apartment, she might have found one during the pandemic, when \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/These-charts-show-just-how-extreme-the-rent-15848320.php\">rents dropped by more than 20%\u003c/a>, and San Francisco’s apartment vacancy rate \u003ca href=\"https://www.apartmentlist.com/research/vacancy-rate-dashboard\">reached nearly 11%\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain never reached out to Panzer. But if she had, he said her pitch would have been a “hard sell” in today’s market. His company manages more than 700 units across the Bay Area, though mostly in San Francisco. He owns three buildings himself. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12095218\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/08/260813-RentNegotiator-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">JJ Panzer, president of Real Management Company, in front of their offices in San Francisco on Aug. 13, 2026. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Because many San Francisco apartments are covered under state or local rent control laws, Panzer said landlords can only increase rents significantly after a tenant leaves. Once a new tenant moves into a rent-controlled unit, he said they often don’t move out for years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You’ve got to get as much as you can for that vacancy because you don’t know when you’re going to see that apartment come vacant again,” Panzer said. “The better price I give you, the longer it’s going to be before I get a chance to make that money back.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are also first-come, first-served laws that require landlords to approve the first qualified application they receive. And there are anti-discrimination laws that don’t allow landlords to consider protected characteristics — including race, immigration status, familial status or source of income — when choosing a tenant, Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might come to your landlord and say ‘I have small kids’ or ‘I have an aging mother’ or ‘I’ve lived in this neighborhood forever,’ and those all might sound like innocent things to say,” she said. “But in housing, you’re not allowed to give preferential treatment to people based on their family status or these other protected characteristics.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Paul Griffiths, CEO and owner of Vesta Asset Management in San Francisco, a mid-size property management company, said today’s rental market has so much demand that it encourages pricing homes above market so there are fewer applicants to sift through. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101639\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01026_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain’s (not pictured) plants line a stairwell in the backyard of her complex in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If somebody calls me to say, ‘Can you offer less money?’ First of all, I don’t even have time to call that person back because I’m just scheduling the showings for 75 people,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain understands the competition is tough, but can’t help being frustrated by it. “It kind of makes me wonder, where’s the line? Where does it stop?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain grew up in Salinas, a mid-sized agricultural community about a two-hour drive south of San Francisco. She decided to move to the Bay Area in 2019 after she started dating someone in San José. She was working as a DoorDash driver and found a room in a three-bedroom house in Fremont for $750 a month. A couple rented one of the other rooms, and another person slept on a mattress in the garage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I’m freshly moved out of my parents’ house in this giant city that’s in a larger metropolitan area,” she said. “It was really, really exciting until I figured out what it meant to be housing-stable.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Within a week, another person moved into the remaining vacant room and then a stranger started living on the couch. She began to feel like she was living amongst strangers and didn’t have control over who entered or exited her home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said she witnessed drug use and domestic violence while living there, so she moved out. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>For the next three years, Srain moved from apartment to apartment to find an affordable place to live. For some of that time, she lived with friends or in her car.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Having to move almost twice a year every year, it can lead to trauma, believe it or not,” Srain said. “I have been sent through the wringer so many times.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The fear of returning to a semi-nomadic lifestyle is part of what’s driving her current push to stay in San Francisco, and especially the neighborhood she’s called home for nearly two years — the longest she’s been in one place in the past decade.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It was in her Bernal Heights apartment where she finally got an opportunity to plant roots and build community. She got to know her neighbors, joined a dodgeball league nearby and volunteered at a nearby bookstore. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is one of the first places I’ve ever felt comfortable. I felt at home,” she said. “I know my neighbors, whether they’re on this street or down a few blocks. I’ve never had this before.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She also got involved in advocating for tenants rights. Srain became a community organizer with the nonprofit Faith in Action, which champions tenants’ rights, affordable housing and efforts to reduce homelessness. Earlier this year, she canvassed for a rent control measure the group supports that’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12090248/redwood-city-to-vote-on-rent-control-in-november\">headed to the November ballot in Redwood City\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Through that work, she spoke with small landlords and homeowners about the problems they face.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101628\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260609-housingcrisisharlowsrain-TV-01227_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harlow Srain poses for a portrait on the balcony of her housing unit in San Francisco on June 9, 2026. (Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I can understand that some homeowners are totally oblivious to the rental crisis because they have their own issues owning a home,” she said. “It has become really expensive with rising property taxes, [insurance], PG&E. It’s beginning to become unmanageable to own a home for some people.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She developed sympathy for small mom-and-pop landlords, who own just a building or two and face their own set of affordability issues. While cold-calling, she found they were more willing to explain how they set their rents and the profit they made on each unit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In one such call in January, Srain spoke with an older landlord who walked her through his costs to maintain a Pacifica apartment he was renting out, including details about his water bill, property taxes and how much profit he made. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It was only around $100 to $200 [in profit],” she said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this guy really walked me through this!’ That’s impressive.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But not all landlords are willing to entertain Srain’s questions. Of the hundreds she called, she said only around 50 actually picked up the phone and were willing to talk. Many times, she’s found they were unwilling to divulge their experiences. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And no one has been willing to lower the rent. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Griffiths said he understands Srain’s struggle. “I think, ethically, most people believe that housing is a human right.” But he said the United States — even California — doesn’t have enough housing to provide that right to everyone.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You can’t put the responsibility of saying, ‘Well, everybody should be housed, and it’s the landlord’s responsibility,’” he said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fairweather argued that, if anyone is to blame, it’s local governments that largely control how much housing can be built. San Francisco, she said, has long \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12033966/sfs-single-family-home-neighborhoods-apartments-65-story-towers-downtown\">restricted development in certain neighborhoods, and while\u003c/a> city leaders have agreed to allow more housing in those parts of town, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062042/report-projects-weak-housing-production-under-san-francisco-zoning-plan-over-next-20-years\">reports suggest\u003c/a> it may not make a dent in the city’s housing affordability crisis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>“\u003c/strong>In San Francisco, the problem is so far gone that we can’t just say ‘Get rid of single-family zoning,’ and everything will be fixed,” Fairweather said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Then again, she said, the reality is that there may never be enough apartments in San Francisco for everyone who would like to live there. “There’s no mathematical way around that. There are going to be some people who are left moving to other places because there physically aren’t enough units for everybody.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Srain knows her best option might be to move out of San Francisco to the East Bay, where it’s cheaper — something families have done for generations as the city has grown more expensive. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But she said that reality points to a broken system. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are people living through so much worse right now in the Bay Area,” she said. “No one deserves that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "displaced-tenants-from-oakland-apartment-fire-say-they-lost-everything",
"title": "Displaced Tenants From Oakland Apartment Fire Say They Lost Everything",
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"headTitle": "Displaced Tenants From Oakland Apartment Fire Say They Lost Everything | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>José Pabon and his wife were eating in their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/east-oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a> apartment in the early hours of Friday morning when he said they heard a loud boom coming from down the hall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He ran out of their unit to look for the source of the noise, and said he found the hallway “already on fire.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We grabbed our daughter and ran out,” he told KQED in Spanish on Monday. “We started to yell because everything was already full of black smoke. People were yelling, and going out and asking for help.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just after midnight, flames quickly tore through the four-story apartment building on the 5100 block of Bancroft Avenue, displacing dozens of residents and causing significant damage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101638\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oakland Fire Department firefighters rescued people on multiple floors of a three-alarm fire in an apartment building at 5142 Bancroft Ave. in East Oakland on Sept. 25, 2026. (Courtesy of the Oakland Fire Department via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>According to fire chief Damon Covington, crews arrived at the scene of the three-alarm fire just after 12:30 a.m. to find “heavy smoke and fire from all four floors.” He said firefighters performed rescues on multiple levels. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In total, around 70 people occupying 19 of the building’s 21 units were evacuated, and four were transported to local medical centers with injuries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has set up a temporary shelter for tenants, and the Housing and Community Development Department is working with individuals and families to find longer-term shelter, according to spokesperson Sean Maher. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But many tenants who fled their apartments quickly now find themselves without their belongings or homes to return to. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pabon said he was able to go back into his unit with a firefighter to grab a few things — a cell phone, car keys and some documents, but the rest is lost. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I got out with only my pants, without shoes or anything,” said Alberto Martin, who was asleep in the apartment he shared with three roommates before the sound of an explosion woke him up early Friday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The fire was almost up to the windows,” he recalled Monday, on the verge of tears. “When we went to leave, the waves of fire were almost reaching us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Parks and Recreation Department Supervisor Angelica Lopez said her department has been able to provide some clothing and basic essentials from emergency buckets that they keep at city recreation centers, and is working with partner organizations like St. Vincent DePaul to collect and distribute donations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since Friday, about 22 residents have been staying at the city’s temporary shelter, while some have opted to sleep in their cars and come in only for meals, and others have found their own places to stay, according to Lopez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said the Red Cross was able to provide cots, and the center is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Lopez said the shelter doesn’t yet have a closing date, and will remain available to all displaced tenants for the time being. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pabon and his wife, who are both delivery drivers, said they stayed home from work on Monday while they try to determine what comes next for their family.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re not in the headspace to work,” he said in Spanish. “We are worried because we do not know what is going to happen to us right now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Martin, who usually works in construction, also planned to remain at the shelter so that he could attend a meeting with city officials, where he hoped to get more information about housing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s see what God says, because here, one can’t say [what’s going to happen],” he told KQED in Spanish. “We don’t know who can help us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The cause of the fire is under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the fire started late Friday night – it has been updated to reflect that this incident occurred around midnight in the early hours of Friday.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101638\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oakland Fire Department firefighters rescued people on multiple floors of a three-alarm fire in an apartment building at 5142 Bancroft Ave. in East Oakland on Sept. 25, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of the Oakland Fire Department via Facebook)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>According to fire chief Damon Covington, crews arrived at the scene of the three-alarm fire just after 12:30 a.m. to find “heavy smoke and fire from all four floors.” He said firefighters performed rescues on multiple levels. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In total, around 70 people occupying 19 of the building’s 21 units were evacuated, and four were transported to local medical centers with injuries.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The city has set up a temporary shelter for tenants, and the Housing and Community Development Department is working with individuals and families to find longer-term shelter, according to spokesperson Sean Maher. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But many tenants who fled their apartments quickly now find themselves without their belongings or homes to return to. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Pabon said he was able to go back into his unit with a firefighter to grab a few things — a cell phone, car keys and some documents, but the rest is lost. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I got out with only my pants, without shoes or anything,” said Alberto Martin, who was asleep in the apartment he shared with three roommates before the sound of an explosion woke him up early Friday. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The fire was almost up to the windows,” he recalled Monday, on the verge of tears. “When we went to leave, the waves of fire were almost reaching us.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since Friday, about 22 residents have been staying at the city’s temporary shelter, while some have opted to sleep in their cars and come in only for meals, and others have found their own places to stay, according to Lopez.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>She said the Red Cross was able to provide cots, and the center is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Lopez said the shelter doesn’t yet have a closing date, and will remain available to all displaced tenants for the time being. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>She said the Red Cross was able to provide cots, and the center is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Lopez said the shelter doesn’t yet have a closing date, and will remain available to all displaced tenants for the time being. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Pabon and his wife, who are both delivery drivers, said they stayed home from work on Monday while they try to determine what comes next for their family.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re not in the headspace to work,” he said in Spanish. “We are worried because we do not know what is going to happen to us right now.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Martin, who usually works in construction, also planned to remain at the shelter so that he could attend a meeting with city officials, where he hoped to get more information about housing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Let’s see what God says, because here, one can’t say [what’s going to happen],” he told KQED in Spanish. “We don’t know who can help us.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Let’s see what God says, because here, one can’t say [what’s going to happen],” he told KQED in Spanish. “We don’t know who can help us.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The cause of the fire is under investigation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Since Friday’s blaze, many tenants have either sought shelter at the Red Cross or in their cars, with the cause of the fire still under investigation.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>José Pabon and his wife were eating in their \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/east-oakland\">East Oakland\u003c/a> apartment in the early hours of Friday morning when he said they heard a loud boom coming from down the hall.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He ran out of their unit to look for the source of the noise, and said he found the hallway “already on fire.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We grabbed our daughter and ran out,” he told KQED in Spanish on Monday. “We started to yell because everything was already full of black smoke. People were yelling, and going out and asking for help.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Just after midnight, flames quickly tore through the four-story apartment building on the 5100 block of Bancroft Avenue, displacing dozens of residents and causing significant damage.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-image\">\n\u003cfigure class=\"alignleft size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"2000\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12101638\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED.jpg 1500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/260928-Oakland-Fire-Folo-02-KQED-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oakland Fire Department firefighters rescued people on multiple floors of a three-alarm fire in an apartment building at 5142 Bancroft Ave. in East Oakland on Sept. 25, 2026. (Courtesy of the Oakland Fire Department via Facebook)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\n\u003cp>According to fire chief Damon Covington, crews arrived at the scene of the three-alarm fire just after 12:30 a.m. to find “heavy smoke and fire from all four floors.” He said firefighters performed rescues on multiple levels. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In total, around 70 people occupying 19 of the building’s 21 units were evacuated, and four were transported to local medical centers with injuries.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city has set up a temporary shelter for tenants, and the Housing and Community Development Department is working with individuals and families to find longer-term shelter, according to spokesperson Sean Maher. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But many tenants who fled their apartments quickly now find themselves without their belongings or homes to return to. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pabon said he was able to go back into his unit with a firefighter to grab a few things — a cell phone, car keys and some documents, but the rest is lost. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“I got out with only my pants, without shoes or anything,” said Alberto Martin, who was asleep in the apartment he shared with three roommates before the sound of an explosion woke him up early Friday. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The fire was almost up to the windows,” he recalled Monday, on the verge of tears. “When we went to leave, the waves of fire were almost reaching us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Parks and Recreation Department Supervisor Angelica Lopez said her department has been able to provide some clothing and basic essentials from emergency buckets that they keep at city recreation centers, and is working with partner organizations like St. Vincent DePaul to collect and distribute donations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since Friday, about 22 residents have been staying at the city’s temporary shelter, while some have opted to sleep in their cars and come in only for meals, and others have found their own places to stay, according to Lopez.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>She said the Red Cross was able to provide cots, and the center is serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Lopez said the shelter doesn’t yet have a closing date, and will remain available to all displaced tenants for the time being. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Pabon and his wife, who are both delivery drivers, said they stayed home from work on Monday while they try to determine what comes next for their family.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re not in the headspace to work,” he said in Spanish. “We are worried because we do not know what is going to happen to us right now.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Martin, who usually works in construction, also planned to remain at the shelter so that he could attend a meeting with city officials, where he hoped to get more information about housing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Let’s see what God says, because here, one can’t say [what’s going to happen],” he told KQED in Spanish. “We don’t know who can help us.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The cause of the fire is under investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the fire started late Friday night – it has been updated to reflect that this incident occurred around midnight in the early hours of Friday.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Cities Often Squabble Over Homelessness. A New California Law Forces One Community to Try Something Different",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature is forcing the city and county of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sacramento\">Sacramento\u003c/a> to try something unusual in their fight against homelessness, and both critics and supporters of the controversial plan say it could have broad implications for the rest of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb802\">Senate Bill 802\u003c/a> on Sunday, which requires Sacramento, as well as all smaller cities within the county, to coordinate and form a joint powers authority that will lead the region’s homelessness response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Homelessness does not stop at jurisdictional boundaries,” Newsom wrote in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sign-msg-SB-802.pdf\">signing message\u003c/a>, “and no city or county can solve this crisis alone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A joint powers authority is a public partnership where two or more local governments or agencies team up to jointly manage something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, the idea is that this new framework will allow the cities and county to better communicate and work together on homelessness – hopefully leading to more people getting off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters say it’s a no-brainer, and they hope it will be an example to fix an age-old problem playing out in regions across the state: Cities and counties must work well together to effectively address homelessness, but they often don’t. On the other hand, opponents say forcing local governments to work together sets a bad precedent: Cooperation works best if it’s voluntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062672\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062672\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally in support of Proposition 50 at IBEW Local 6 in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, this new experiment in co-governance is highly atypical for a number of reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one thing, this appears to be the first time the California Legislature has forced anyone to form a joint powers authority. Typically, those agreements are voluntary. In Sacramento, local jurisdictions chafing under this new mandate worry the new law will embolden the Legislature to do this again in other regions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This would be unprecedented, so it could have ramifications in 57 other counties,” said Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, who opposes the legislation. The county is threatening to sue the state to stop its implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, while it’s not uncommon for local governments to form joint powers authorities to manage other things that cross city boundaries — such as sewers or public transit — it’s very rare for this type of structure to govern a region’s homelessness response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, there were only \u003ca href=\"https://records.cityofsacramento.org/ViewDoc.aspx?ID=s6tFBnt4W+JMwYxfWbaMShVZ45n8cfdC\">three examples\u003c/a> in all of California, according to Joe Colletti, chief executive officer of the nonprofit research organization HUB for Urban Initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most well-known is the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/05/la-homeless-agency/\">Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority\u003c/a>, which recently has been \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/lahsa-bows-out-federal-roles-including-homeless-count-annual\">reduced\u003c/a> to a shell of its former self as a result of one headline-making \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/la-homeless-services-federal-charges/\">crisis\u003c/a> after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/06/lahsa-hud-funding/\">another\u003c/a>. In the rest of the state, a region’s homelessness response usually is led by a county or nonprofit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Squabbling between cities and counties\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This legislation was controversial from the beginning. It took \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/angelique-ashby-165434\">Sen. Angelique Ashby\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Sacramento and former city councilmember, two years of tense negotiations and multiple amendments to get it across the finish line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final version allows the county and participating cities to keep control of their own funds, rather than pooling everything together — a major sticking point for the local governments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sacramento region needed this legislation, Ashby argued during a recent committee hearing, because its various agencies have eight boards and nearly 90 board members working separately on homelessness without coordinating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result is duplicated and inconsistent services, leaving people who are homeless in Sacramento County with no idea where they should go for help, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[aside postID=news_12100741 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/NationalWeatherServiceGetty-1920x1272.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a problem the city and county have tried to fix for more than two decades. In 2010, the county board of supervisors and city council approved resolutions that supported creating a joint powers authority, but it didn’t happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two separate grand jury reports, one in 2019 and another in 2023, said the region’s homelessness response was dysfunctional and recommended better coordination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hardly an issue unique to Sacramento. Across California, cities typically provide shelter beds, while counties are responsible for the other services homeless residents need, such as mental health and addiction treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because counties receive state funding for social services, and cities don’t. So, neither can effectively address homelessness unless they work together. But, frequently, they don’t. Instead, they \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/05/la-homeless-agency/\">often squabble\u003c/a> over who should pay for what, and who isn’t doing their fair share.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fighting between neighboring cities is common, too. As unhoused people move across city lines, local governments argue over who should have to provide shelter beds and other resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a major frustration for former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. His constituents saw people on the street in mental health crisis, suffering. Voters demanded he do something, but his hands were largely tied, he said, as he had no control over the county’s mental health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was just a major gulf between my accountability to the people and my authority to be able to actually make the difference that the people expected,” Steinberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12101493\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12101493\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/GettyImages-938822306-scaled-e1790376038997.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1321\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg speaks to members of the media about the investigation of the shooting death of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, California on March 27, 2018. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During his time in office, which ended in 2024, Steinberg negotiated a partnership between the city and the county. But it lacked a governance structure that would have forced them to make decisions together. That’s the missing piece that this law brings to the table, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the city and county of Sacramento, as well as Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Folsom, have until January 2028 to finalize their joint powers authority. They recently convened a joint task force of elected officials, and have started working together on homelessness issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s some lingering tension. While the city of Sacramento is on board with the legislation, the county and the city of Folsom are opposed. Neither is against the idea of collaboration, but they don’t like that it’s being forced upon them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an unnecessary cost,” county Supervisor Kennedy said. “It’s an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, it’s an unnecessary burden that’s just going to slow down processes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staffing and running the new joint powers authority is expected to have an annual price tag of anywhere between the mid-hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the low millions, according to a Senate analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Examples in Los Angeles and Solano counties\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the Sacramento region gears up to create this new power structure, it has two main examples it can turn to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One, in Los Angeles, is a cautionary tale. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a joint powers authority between the city and county, was the target of recent audits criticizing its handling of homelessness funds. A downward spiral followed. LA County pulled its funding from the authority and the Trump administration now is prosecuting homeless services providers that it alleges \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/la-homeless-services-federal-charges/\">misused money from the agency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kennedy said the parallels between LA and Sacramento’s new agency worry him “very much,” and clearly show that a joint powers authority is hardly a panacea for homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Steinberg believes the new Sacramento agency can do better. The LA agency didn’t have enough authority, and as a result, the city and county weren’t governing effectively together, he said. He hopes that will be different in Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12101495\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12101495 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/GettyImages-2286687889-scaled-e1790376676446.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Angeles, CA – July 22: Skid Row in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. The area spans approximately 50 blocks and has the highest density of homeless people in the country. \u003ccite>(Hans Gutknecht-The Los Angeles Daily News/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The other example Sacramento leaders can turn to is in Solano County, which created the current version of its joint powers authority in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local leaders pushed for a collaborative agency after hearing reports that other cities were dropping off their homeless residents at parking lots in Fairfield, assuming that services would be available because it’s the county seat, said Doriss Panduro, a Fairfield city councilmember and chair of the joint powers authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the authority is made up of two elected officials from each city and the county, and they meet once a month to discuss how to spend money and how many people are receiving services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a big undertaking,” Panduro said. “We started the work in 2021, 2022, and here we are four years later just getting paid staff on board. It’s been a big lift.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, she said, it’s been worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, the county and all the cities involved in the joint powers authority applied together for state funding to clear one encampment along a flood control basin in Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though Vallejo would be the only city to get that money, it arguably would benefit everyone since it targets the largest encampment in the county, Panduro said. And Vallejo wouldn’t have had the resources to manage the state grant without the support of everyone else, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Homelessness is such a big issue, and I think finding an out-of-the-box way to approach it, for me, I can only say it’s a positive,” she said. “Everyone felt like we had been doing the same things over and over and nothing was changing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/sacramento-county-city-jpa-homelessness/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Legislature is forcing the city and county of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/sacramento\">Sacramento\u003c/a> to try something unusual in their fight against homelessness, and both critics and supporters of the controversial plan say it could have broad implications for the rest of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gov. Gavin Newsom signed \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/bills/ca_202520260sb802\">Senate Bill 802\u003c/a> on Sunday, which requires Sacramento, as well as all smaller cities within the county, to coordinate and form a joint powers authority that will lead the region’s homelessness response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Homelessness does not stop at jurisdictional boundaries,” Newsom wrote in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Sign-msg-SB-802.pdf\">signing message\u003c/a>, “and no city or county can solve this crisis alone.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A joint powers authority is a public partnership where two or more local governments or agencies team up to jointly manage something.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Sacramento, the idea is that this new framework will allow the cities and county to better communicate and work together on homelessness – hopefully leading to more people getting off the streets.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters say it’s a no-brainer, and they hope it will be an example to fix an age-old problem playing out in regions across the state: Cities and counties must work well together to effectively address homelessness, but they often don’t. On the other hand, opponents say forcing local governments to work together sets a bad precedent: Cooperation works best if it’s voluntary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12062672\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12062672\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/251103-NewsomProp50Rally-44-BL-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a rally in support of Proposition 50 at IBEW Local 6 in San Francisco on Nov. 3, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, this new experiment in co-governance is highly atypical for a number of reasons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For one thing, this appears to be the first time the California Legislature has forced anyone to form a joint powers authority. Typically, those agreements are voluntary. In Sacramento, local jurisdictions chafing under this new mandate worry the new law will embolden the Legislature to do this again in other regions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This would be unprecedented, so it could have ramifications in 57 other counties,” said Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, who opposes the legislation. The county is threatening to sue the state to stop its implementation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, while it’s not uncommon for local governments to form joint powers authorities to manage other things that cross city boundaries — such as sewers or public transit — it’s very rare for this type of structure to govern a region’s homelessness response.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, there were only \u003ca href=\"https://records.cityofsacramento.org/ViewDoc.aspx?ID=s6tFBnt4W+JMwYxfWbaMShVZ45n8cfdC\">three examples\u003c/a> in all of California, according to Joe Colletti, chief executive officer of the nonprofit research organization HUB for Urban Initiatives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most well-known is the \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/05/la-homeless-agency/\">Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority\u003c/a>, which recently has been \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/lahsa-bows-out-federal-roles-including-homeless-count-annual\">reduced\u003c/a> to a shell of its former self as a result of one headline-making \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/la-homeless-services-federal-charges/\">crisis\u003c/a> after \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/06/lahsa-hud-funding/\">another\u003c/a>. In the rest of the state, a region’s homelessness response usually is led by a county or nonprofit.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Squabbling between cities and counties\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>This legislation was controversial from the beginning. It took \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org/legislators/angelique-ashby-165434\">Sen. Angelique Ashby\u003c/a>, a Democrat from Sacramento and former city councilmember, two years of tense negotiations and multiple amendments to get it across the finish line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The final version allows the county and participating cities to keep control of their own funds, rather than pooling everything together — a major sticking point for the local governments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Sacramento region needed this legislation, Ashby argued during a recent committee hearing, because its various agencies have eight boards and nearly 90 board members working separately on homelessness without coordinating.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The result is duplicated and inconsistent services, leaving people who are homeless in Sacramento County with no idea where they should go for help, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a problem the city and county have tried to fix for more than two decades. In 2010, the county board of supervisors and city council approved resolutions that supported creating a joint powers authority, but it didn’t happen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two separate grand jury reports, one in 2019 and another in 2023, said the region’s homelessness response was dysfunctional and recommended better coordination.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s hardly an issue unique to Sacramento. Across California, cities typically provide shelter beds, while counties are responsible for the other services homeless residents need, such as mental health and addiction treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because counties receive state funding for social services, and cities don’t. So, neither can effectively address homelessness unless they work together. But, frequently, they don’t. Instead, they \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/05/la-homeless-agency/\">often squabble\u003c/a> over who should pay for what, and who isn’t doing their fair share.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fighting between neighboring cities is common, too. As unhoused people move across city lines, local governments argue over who should have to provide shelter beds and other resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was a major frustration for former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. His constituents saw people on the street in mental health crisis, suffering. Voters demanded he do something, but his hands were largely tied, he said, as he had no control over the county’s mental health services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was just a major gulf between my accountability to the people and my authority to be able to actually make the difference that the people expected,” Steinberg said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12101493\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12101493\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/GettyImages-938822306-scaled-e1790376038997.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1321\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Former Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg speaks to members of the media about the investigation of the shooting death of Stephon Clark in Sacramento, California on March 27, 2018. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>During his time in office, which ended in 2024, Steinberg negotiated a partnership between the city and the county. But it lacked a governance structure that would have forced them to make decisions together. That’s the missing piece that this law brings to the table, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the city and county of Sacramento, as well as Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights and Folsom, have until January 2028 to finalize their joint powers authority. They recently convened a joint task force of elected officials, and have started working together on homelessness issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s some lingering tension. While the city of Sacramento is on board with the legislation, the county and the city of Folsom are opposed. Neither is against the idea of collaboration, but they don’t like that it’s being forced upon them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s an unnecessary cost,” county Supervisor Kennedy said. “It’s an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, it’s an unnecessary burden that’s just going to slow down processes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Staffing and running the new joint powers authority is expected to have an annual price tag of anywhere between the mid-hundreds of thousands of dollars, to the low millions, according to a Senate analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Examples in Los Angeles and Solano counties\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>As the Sacramento region gears up to create this new power structure, it has two main examples it can turn to.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One, in Los Angeles, is a cautionary tale. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, a joint powers authority between the city and county, was the target of recent audits criticizing its handling of homelessness funds. A downward spiral followed. LA County pulled its funding from the authority and the Trump administration now is prosecuting homeless services providers that it alleges \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/la-homeless-services-federal-charges/\">misused money from the agency\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kennedy said the parallels between LA and Sacramento’s new agency worry him “very much,” and clearly show that a joint powers authority is hardly a panacea for homelessness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Steinberg believes the new Sacramento agency can do better. The LA agency didn’t have enough authority, and as a result, the city and county weren’t governing effectively together, he said. He hopes that will be different in Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12101495\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12101495 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/09/GettyImages-2286687889-scaled-e1790376676446.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Angeles, CA – July 22: Skid Row in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 22, 2026. The area spans approximately 50 blocks and has the highest density of homeless people in the country. \u003ccite>(Hans Gutknecht-The Los Angeles Daily News/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The other example Sacramento leaders can turn to is in Solano County, which created the current version of its joint powers authority in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Local leaders pushed for a collaborative agency after hearing reports that other cities were dropping off their homeless residents at parking lots in Fairfield, assuming that services would be available because it’s the county seat, said Doriss Panduro, a Fairfield city councilmember and chair of the joint powers authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the authority is made up of two elected officials from each city and the county, and they meet once a month to discuss how to spend money and how many people are receiving services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It is a big undertaking,” Panduro said. “We started the work in 2021, 2022, and here we are four years later just getting paid staff on board. It’s been a big lift.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, she said, it’s been worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, the county and all the cities involved in the joint powers authority applied together for state funding to clear one encampment along a flood control basin in Vallejo.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though Vallejo would be the only city to get that money, it arguably would benefit everyone since it targets the largest encampment in the county, Panduro said. And Vallejo wouldn’t have had the resources to manage the state grant without the support of everyone else, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Homelessness is such a big issue, and I think finding an out-of-the-box way to approach it, for me, I can only say it’s a positive,” she said. “Everyone felt like we had been doing the same things over and over and nothing was changing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/sacramento-county-city-jpa-homelessness/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "1-million-in-homeless-funds-for-a-nightclub-new-la-fraud-cases-allege-bribery-and-theft",
"title": "$1 Million in Homeless Funds for a Nightclub: New LA Fraud Cases Allege Bribery and Theft",
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"headTitle": "$1 Million in Homeless Funds for a Nightclub: New LA Fraud Cases Allege Bribery and Theft | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal and county law enforcement announced charges Wednesday against three people in a widening investigation of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/homelessness\">homelessness\u003c/a> services fraud in the L.A. area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors previously \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/bill-essayli-federal-charges-homelessness-homekey\">\u003cu>charged\u003c/u>\u003c/a> three \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/executive-director-south-la-based-charity-arrested-federal-complaint-alleging-23\">\u003cu>other people\u003c/u>\u003c/a> and said they plan to bring “many more” cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Wednesday’s announcement at a news conference, authorities alleged a bribery scheme built on “ghost” clients illustrates a yearslong problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody was minding the shop,” the region’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, told reporters in response to a question from LAist. “There’s no vetting. There’s no auditing. There’s no accounting. It was just a rush to push as much money out the door.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are the charges?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Authorities arrested Michael Young — founder of the Culver City nonprofit Home At Last — and accused him of using shell companies and fake bids to misappropriate $12 million in taxpayer funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The allegations include siphoning $1 million into a high-end nightclub, a nearly $50,000 trip to Tahiti and a $140,000 restoration of a vintage Chevy Impala.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Turner, the U.S. secretary for Housing and Urban Development, said Young’s group received more than $118 million in public dollars for homeless housing since 2019 — over $75 million of it through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064495\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064495\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Secretary of Housing and Urban Development nominee, Scott Turner, testifies during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new cases allege about $12 million in misappropriated funds — almost all of it by Young.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bribery charges are against Lakiya Malone, an employee of the nonprofit Special Service for Groups, or SSG, who was responsible for referring homeless people to housing funded by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say Malone took roughly $180,000 in bribes from Alexander Soofer, head of the now-defunct nonprofit Abundant Blessings, and in exchange steered him “ghost” participants — so he could bill for services never rendered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was supposed to guard the money, and instead she took bribes,” Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Special Service for Groups said it has been working with federal prosecutors “to ensure that any responsible individuals are held accountable” and has strengthened its “protocols and compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charges against Soofer \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/executive-director-south-la-based-charity-arrested-federal-complaint-alleging-23\">\u003cu>were announced in January\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. Authorities announced Wednesday that he has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Soofer \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28652149-alex-soofer-plea-agreement/#document/p46/a2829674\">\u003cu>admitted in his plea agreement\u003c/u>\u003c/a> to the alleged bribery scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085155\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085155\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Hollywood Courthouse, in Los Angeles, on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to prosecutors, Soofer also admitted to “pocketing at least $2 million in taxpayer money for his own personal enrichment and for businesses unrelated to homeless housing,” and that he has agreed to forfeit the money to the U.S. government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors previously alleged he diverted a much larger amount: at least $10 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/la-homeless-nonprofit-soofer\">\u003cu>An LAist investigation found\u003c/u>\u003c/a> the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority kept awarding millions in contract renewals to Soofer’s group even after the authority’s own compliance team labeled it “high-risk” for, among other things, billing for services while reporting no enrolled participants.[aside postID=news_12096431 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/02/260127-SUPERBOWLHOMELESSNESS-13-BL-KQED.jpg']The third defendant announced Wednesday is Donye Mitchell of the nonprofit Big Blue Umbrella.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell is accused of lying about his experience to land a $1.2 million county-funded grant, receiving $315,000 and using those funds for personal expenses, including bail for a domestic violence arrest and video games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell is “a convicted fraudster, by the way,” Essayli said. He was convicted in 2011 of defrauding California unemployment benefits, according to the criminal complaint in the new case, and was ordered in 2012 to compensate the state $6 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county funds he’s accused of stealing were awarded by a county vendor in 2024 — well after his fraud conviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LAist has left phone messages for Young’s and Malone’s lawyers inviting their response to the charges and will update this article if they provide comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is unknown who is representing Mitchell, whose arrest authorities announced after Wednesday’s news conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Prosecutors’ critique\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Essayli and L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman criticized what they called a glaring lack of oversight of massive spending on homeless services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hochman cited \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/audit-homeless-carter-lahsa\">\u003cu>a court-ordered 2025 report\u003c/u>\u003c/a> that found L.A. city officials failed to properly track $2.3 billion in homeless funds, largely by outsourcing to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority — which the review found failed to collect accurate data on its vendors and hold them accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954914\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11954914\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01.jpg\" alt=\"Tents line a paved road near a sidewalk. A bicycle is on its side in front of a gray and navy tent with a blue tarp covering its roof. Scattered belongings and cardboard boxes cover the spaces between each tent. A city bus is seen driving in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The city of Los Angeles relocated a large homeless camp in the Beverly Grove area, next to Beverly Hills, on May 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Ted Soqui/SIPA USA via Reuters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have not seen the results you would expect for billions of dollars being spent,” Hochman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the beginning of these prosecutions,” he added. ”Many more” are expected in the coming months, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Nick Gerda as a reporter for CalMatters. Gerda reports on alleged financial corruption for LAist. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/la-homeless-services-federal-charges/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"headline": "$1 Million in Homeless Funds for a Nightclub: New LA Fraud Cases Allege Bribery and Theft",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Federal and county law enforcement announced charges Wednesday against three people in a widening investigation of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/homelessness\">homelessness\u003c/a> services fraud in the L.A. area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors previously \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/bill-essayli-federal-charges-homelessness-homekey\">\u003cu>charged\u003c/u>\u003c/a> three \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/executive-director-south-la-based-charity-arrested-federal-complaint-alleging-23\">\u003cu>other people\u003c/u>\u003c/a> and said they plan to bring “many more” cases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Wednesday’s announcement at a news conference, authorities alleged a bribery scheme built on “ghost” clients illustrates a yearslong problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody was minding the shop,” the region’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, told reporters in response to a question from LAist. “There’s no vetting. There’s no auditing. There’s no accounting. It was just a rush to push as much money out the door.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>What are the charges?\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Authorities arrested Michael Young — founder of the Culver City nonprofit Home At Last — and accused him of using shell companies and fake bids to misappropriate $12 million in taxpayer funds.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The allegations include siphoning $1 million into a high-end nightclub, a nearly $50,000 trip to Tahiti and a $140,000 restoration of a vintage Chevy Impala.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scott Turner, the U.S. secretary for Housing and Urban Development, said Young’s group received more than $118 million in public dollars for homeless housing since 2019 — over $75 million of it through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064495\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12064495\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/ScottTurnerGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Secretary of Housing and Urban Development nominee, Scott Turner, testifies during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The new cases allege about $12 million in misappropriated funds — almost all of it by Young.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bribery charges are against Lakiya Malone, an employee of the nonprofit Special Service for Groups, or SSG, who was responsible for referring homeless people to housing funded by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors say Malone took roughly $180,000 in bribes from Alexander Soofer, head of the now-defunct nonprofit Abundant Blessings, and in exchange steered him “ghost” participants — so he could bill for services never rendered.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She was supposed to guard the money, and instead she took bribes,” Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Special Service for Groups said it has been working with federal prosecutors “to ensure that any responsible individuals are held accountable” and has strengthened its “protocols and compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charges against Soofer \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/executive-director-south-la-based-charity-arrested-federal-complaint-alleging-23\">\u003cu>were announced in January\u003c/u>\u003c/a>. Authorities announced Wednesday that he has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. Soofer \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28652149-alex-soofer-plea-agreement/#document/p46/a2829674\">\u003cu>admitted in his plea agreement\u003c/u>\u003c/a> to the alleged bribery scheme.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12085155\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12085155\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11.jpeg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11-160x107.jpeg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/031225-MentalHealth-JAH-CM-11-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Los Angeles County Superior Court’s Hollywood Courthouse, in Los Angeles, on March 12, 2025. \u003ccite>(Jules Hotz for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>According to prosecutors, Soofer also admitted to “pocketing at least $2 million in taxpayer money for his own personal enrichment and for businesses unrelated to homeless housing,” and that he has agreed to forfeit the money to the U.S. government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prosecutors previously alleged he diverted a much larger amount: at least $10 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/la-homeless-nonprofit-soofer\">\u003cu>An LAist investigation found\u003c/u>\u003c/a> the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority kept awarding millions in contract renewals to Soofer’s group even after the authority’s own compliance team labeled it “high-risk” for, among other things, billing for services while reporting no enrolled participants.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The third defendant announced Wednesday is Donye Mitchell of the nonprofit Big Blue Umbrella.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell is accused of lying about his experience to land a $1.2 million county-funded grant, receiving $315,000 and using those funds for personal expenses, including bail for a domestic violence arrest and video games.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mitchell is “a convicted fraudster, by the way,” Essayli said. He was convicted in 2011 of defrauding California unemployment benefits, according to the criminal complaint in the new case, and was ordered in 2012 to compensate the state $6 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The county funds he’s accused of stealing were awarded by a county vendor in 2024 — well after his fraud conviction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>LAist has left phone messages for Young’s and Malone’s lawyers inviting their response to the charges and will update this article if they provide comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is unknown who is representing Mitchell, whose arrest authorities announced after Wednesday’s news conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Prosecutors’ critique\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Essayli and L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman criticized what they called a glaring lack of oversight of massive spending on homeless services.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hochman cited \u003ca href=\"https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/audit-homeless-carter-lahsa\">\u003cu>a court-ordered 2025 report\u003c/u>\u003c/a> that found L.A. city officials failed to properly track $2.3 billion in homeless funds, largely by outsourcing to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority — which the review found failed to collect accurate data on its vendors and hold them accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11954914\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11954914\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01.jpg\" alt=\"Tents line a paved road near a sidewalk. A bicycle is on its side in front of a gray and navy tent with a blue tarp covering its roof. Scattered belongings and cardboard boxes cover the spaces between each tent. A city bus is seen driving in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/07/CalMattersUnhousedLA01-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The city of Los Angeles relocated a large homeless camp in the Beverly Grove area, next to Beverly Hills, on May 11, 2023. \u003ccite>(Ted Soqui/SIPA USA via Reuters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We have not seen the results you would expect for billions of dollars being spent,” Hochman said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is the beginning of these prosecutions,” he added. ”Many more” are expected in the coming months, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Nick Gerda as a reporter for CalMatters. Gerda reports on alleged financial corruption for LAist. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2026/09/la-homeless-services-federal-charges/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Changing Mission District and Intergenerational Friendship Center Tomas Moniz’s Novel ‘The King of Aloe Vera’",
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"content": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Airdate: Monday, September 21, 2026 at 9 am\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Tomas Moniz’s new novel “The King of Aloe Vera,” seventy-five-year-old Rey has one month left in his longtime Mission District home when he befriends Q, a young woman on probation who is about to lose her housing. The novel unspools as a love letter to the Mission District of San Francisco and its longtime residents—housed and unhoused alike— as they find themselves in a neighborhood that’s changing in so many ways. We’ll talk with Moniz about the Mission and Latinos, housing activism, and intergenerational friendship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Guest:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz,\u003c/strong> author, “King of Aloe Vera”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Welcome to \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>. I’m Alexis Madrigal. We are out of pledge drive, everyone. Thanks for sticking with us. This morning, we are talking with Tomas Moniz. Tomas Moniz’s \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em> has got to be the novel set closest to KQED headquarters here in San Francisco. On my walk into the office today from BART, I passed half of the book’s key locations, from the park on 17th to Shotwell to ODC, the dance studio. This book could not be more locally rooted here in the Mission, a place that’s a symbol of different things to different people: Latino life, tech-world change, the problems of the street, the flood of wealth. Tomas Moniz is here this morning in spitting distance to the action of the novel. Welcome, Tomas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much for having me here. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> So this book really all works through Ray, our 75-year-old main character, a lover of ODC and the Mission branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Just introduce us to Ray.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, Ray is a — he’s an elder, and I really was trying to, like, think about what it means to, you know, survive and get to that age. I know so many of us are raising children and having — thinking about, like, how we want to make the world better. So what does it mean to, like, get to the end? You know? And so with Ray, I just wanted a little bit of some curmudgeonly, playful, irreverent kind of views of the world. And he’s been in the Mission for a long time, so he’s kind of seen it change. He’s struggling with his own place in it and his kind of future. So that’s right.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> What makes it difficult for Ray in the Mission? Like, what are the factors at play for him?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Well, I think part of it is a lack of community, for the biggest part. I think his larger plan to move out of the Mission and into this retirement community, which I had so much fun naming, which is, like, the San Leandro Rolling Hills Retirement Estates and Community, right? Like, I wanted this huge name. And so he’s in the space of, like, I’ve got this plan in motion, but I don’t quite know if I still believe in it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And a lot of times, I think our elders tend to be, I don’t know, left out of a lot of our thinking and planning. And so he’s trying to find ways in, but, you know, his only real community connection is sweeping his stairs, volunteering at the library and ODC, which I love.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, it’s interesting, right? Because part of it is that he’s had this personal loss. He lost his beloved wife, who he still thinks about a lot in the book, but part of it is that the world around him, yeah, it really has not just changed, but it feels to him like he doesn’t always fit into it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, I remember thinking about writing scenes with him, like, walking those streets and, like, you know, the way we live in such a vibrant, amazing community with all the messiness and beauty that comes with that, right? And so I wanted Ray’s trying to continue to see all of that. So what does it mean to walk past the unhoused who are living in, you know, those areas, right? And what does that mean to kind of see the kids grow up and see, you know, of course, all the spandex and the rented scooters and the bikes, right? And so where does he, you know, how does this make sense to him anymore?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was curious, where did Ray come from? Did you sort of meet an elder on the stoop in Shotwell, or was it just sort of like a composite of some different Mission characters you’d run across?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it was a little bit of all of that. I mean, I really was trying to imagine, because I think, uh, you know, I think I lost a few elders in my life and I started realizing, like, God, you know, I’m going to hopefully get to that stage, right? And, you know, what is it I’m going to leave behind? Because I was also kind of going through the legacy that they left me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And so I really started thinking, like, okay, I tend to write all these characters in their thirties and forties, like, you know, single dads trying to raise kids, trying to find relationships, trying to find community. So what does it mean to be on the back end of that? And so that’s where Ray came from.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And I really wanted him to — I wanted also something playful and, like, beyond the kind of stereotypes of what I think sometimes elders get represented as, but I also wanted that loneliness and that kind of disconnect. And so, you know, I think when I got the framework for the last month of his existence in the Mission Street Apartments, yeah, I was like, there you go. I got 30 days. There’s one day, you know, one chapter a day. And it’s like, let’s have some fun and see, you know, how he’s either trying to wrap things up or he’s trying to kind of extend himself out. Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Um, yeah, it’s interesting because, of course, there have been many nonfiction books and there’s been a lot of talk about the quote-unquote male loneliness epidemic. A lot of it, though, doesn’t have the sort of, like, positive spirit of this book in some ways. You know, a lot of it is pretty grim, pretty dark. There’s a lot — yeah, there’s a lot of factors in it. And in our case, Ray just seems like someone who may be done. You know, we find that out very early in the book. It’s not a spoiler, right? He just thinks, like, I might have just reached the end.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s one — when I got to the idea of him, like, having to decide either to, you know, move and start totally again at this retirement community, or he’s been saving these pills, right, and thinking about how he wants to go out on his own terms. And so that was kind of the framework. And then I came up with that to-do list of things he needs, needs to do, right? And I love — there’s a moment when it changes to a list of things he wants to do, right? So that’s the growth of that character where maybe he begins to feel less lonely, less disconnected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But when I think about the writing I’ve been doing for, you know, since \u003cem>Rad Dad\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Rad Family\u003c/em>, my early nonfiction anthologies about parenting, it seems like masculinity has been kind of the primary theme of my writing. And so Ray felt like a really nice kind of — not culmination, but, like, where it’s led. An extension, sort of.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Exactly, exactly. Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We are talking with Tomas Moniz about his new book, \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>, set in a changing Mission District. He’s also the author of \u003cem>Big Familia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>All Friends Are Necessary\u003c/em>. He lives in East Oakland. And this new book, \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>, comes out next week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We want to hear from you. If you’ve lived in the Mission for a long time, how have you seen things change? What are the ways in which your neighborhood has changed due to gentrification, displacement, just neighborhood change? You can give us a call. The number is 866-733-6786. That’s 866-733-6786. Of course, you can email Forum at KQED.org. You can find us on social media, BlueSky, Instagram. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The action in this book really turns — I mean, Ray is the presence that we’re with, but the action really turns on his sort of budding friendship with Q, who’s sort of his young queer neighbor. I’m a sucker for intergenerational friendship, as you’ll hear in this show, but what was it that you wanted to explore between them in that friendship?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, I mean, as someone who raised two daughters now into adulthood, I just loved that kind of camaraderie and the way you build the relationship that’s based on kind of love and kindness and respect. And so I wanted this moment where Ray is, you know, he’s got to learn to see her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He has all these assumptions kind of about her early on. Like, he remembers her running around the street, but he doesn’t know her as a person, as an individual, as a young — and, you know, in some ways, she’s got to also learn to see him a little bit as well. And so they start off a little adversarially, and I kind of had fun writing these scenes where she gives him a bunch of crap about his behavior and he’s trying to get to the bottom of some reason why she’s behaving in a certain way on the street.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But they come to, I don’t know, find ways to support each other that I thought were really, for me at least, a pleasure to write and explore.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it’s interesting too, because Ray has no children of his own, right? So there’s a way in which he’s kind of encountering this particular young person without kind of the background that you have of having raised a couple of daughters. And he’s like — there’s — but one thing that I love about him is, like, his curiosity is genuine, right? You know, he’s not just, like, trying to, I don’t know, get her to do something. He’s just sort of like, who is this person?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Right. Yeah. And it was funny. That was a real, uh, like, risk for me, I thought, writing a character that wasn’t a parent. Because I mean, when I look back at everything I’ve ever written, any male character is always a father, right? And so it’s so clearly ways in which I can connect and think about, you know, interacting with the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So Ray was a really specific decision to think about his relationship to the world, not just to the family. Because I think sometimes that’s such a — you know, it’s easy to say, well, you know, if you’ve got kids, you should think this way, right? Or you care about things in this way. But I wanted Ray to kind of come to his, you know, fatherly view of the world as an elder.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And I love that, you know, people in the book keep calling him Abuelo, right? So — and he’s like, no, you don’t — like, he’s got to, like, do I tell him? Do I not? How do I deal with this? And so, yeah, I really want Ray to kind of grapple with a connection and community that was slightly outside my experience of understanding how important that is to —\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Well, and I love that he, despite not having kids, he volunteers in the kids section at the Mission District branch. There’s a lot of love for the Mission District library branch here. It’s just like, you like this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yes, I do. And the first thing I did when I got a copy was send it to the main city library, and I was like, guys, this book is in this library.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And they shut down the Mission branch. They’re renovating it, right? And so I couldn’t go back in as I was revising it. And I definitely had architectural poetic license with the setting of the library in the book.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But I had so much fun just thinking about volunteering in a library and his ideas about shelving that, you know, um, uh, cause, uh, Alma, his supervisor, to, you know, remind him how he should be shelving books. But — and that’s, and I think that’s a good example, again, of the ways in which he’s got a view of the world and it’s kind of at odds with other people’s views of the world. And he’s gotta try and figure out, like, how do I, how do I allow others to influence me as opposed to me always trying to get my way in the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> I also like, too, that his, you know, linguistically, he’s a little out of sorts. He doesn’t, he doesn’t have all the new language, but what’s kind of lovely is the sense that he is — his heart is in the right place. He’s doing the right thing. You know, and the people around him, I think, do sense that and they, they don’t — you know, there isn’t, like, a Ray purity test where he gets, like, bounced, and said people are very appreciative. Right. I like.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was a lot of fun, too, like, talking about — well, I love that he’s a subscriber to the Chronicle for 30 years, and that’s, like, his primary, right, way he’s understanding the world. And so, yeah, he references, like, the articles he’s read as a way to talk about issues that are, you know, when he’s in conversation with other characters in the book. So, yeah, I had fun with that. That’s cool.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> We are talking with Tomas Moniz about his new book, comes out next week. It’s called \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>. It is set in the Mission District as we follow 75-year-old Ray in his last month in the Mission. Moniz is also the author of \u003cem>Big Familia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>All Friends Are Necessary\u003c/em>. Lives in East Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We also want to hear from you around the experience of intergenerational friendship. I mean, do you have friends who are much older or much younger than you? How does that relationship inform your life? The number here is 866-733-6786. We’re also taking your call still on the Mission and your neighborhood change. 866-733-6786. The email is forum@kqed.org, and social media, BlueSky, Instagram, Discord. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I’m Alexis Madrigal. Stay tuned.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Tomas Moniz’s new novel “The King of Aloe Vera,” seventy-five-year-old Rey has one month left in his longtime Mission District home when he befriends Q, a young woman on probation who is about to lose her housing. The novel unspools as a love letter to the Mission District of San Francisco and its longtime residents—housed and unhoused alike— as they find themselves in a neighborhood that’s changing in so many ways. We’ll talk with Moniz about the Mission and Latinos, housing activism, and intergenerational friendship.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Welcome to \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>. I’m Alexis Madrigal. We are out of pledge drive, everyone. Thanks for sticking with us. This morning, we are talking with Tomas Moniz. Tomas Moniz’s \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em> has got to be the novel set closest to KQED headquarters here in San Francisco. On my walk into the office today from BART, I passed half of the book’s key locations, from the park on 17th to Shotwell to ODC, the dance studio. This book could not be more locally rooted here in the Mission, a place that’s a symbol of different things to different people: Latino life, tech-world change, the problems of the street, the flood of wealth. Tomas Moniz is here this morning in spitting distance to the action of the novel. Welcome, Tomas.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Welcome to \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>. I’m Alexis Madrigal. We are out of pledge drive, everyone. Thanks for sticking with us. This morning, we are talking with Tomas Moniz. Tomas Moniz’s \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em> has got to be the novel set closest to KQED headquarters here in San Francisco. On my walk into the office today from BART, I passed half of the book’s key locations, from the park on 17th to Shotwell to ODC, the dance studio. This book could not be more locally rooted here in the Mission, a place that’s a symbol of different things to different people: Latino life, tech-world change, the problems of the street, the flood of wealth. Tomas Moniz is here this morning in spitting distance to the action of the novel. Welcome, Tomas.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much for having me here. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> So this book really all works through Ray, our 75-year-old main character, a lover of ODC and the Mission branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Just introduce us to Ray.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, Ray is a — he’s an elder, and I really was trying to, like, think about what it means to, you know, survive and get to that age. I know so many of us are raising children and having — thinking about, like, how we want to make the world better. So what does it mean to, like, get to the end? You know? And so with Ray, I just wanted a little bit of some curmudgeonly, playful, irreverent kind of views of the world. And he’s been in the Mission for a long time, so he’s kind of seen it change. He’s struggling with his own place in it and his kind of future. So that’s right.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, Ray is a — he’s an elder, and I really was trying to, like, think about what it means to, you know, survive and get to that age. I know so many of us are raising children and having — thinking about, like, how we want to make the world better. So what does it mean to, like, get to the end? You know? And so with Ray, I just wanted a little bit of some curmudgeonly, playful, irreverent kind of views of the world. And he’s been in the Mission for a long time, so he’s kind of seen it change. He’s struggling with his own place in it and his kind of future. So that’s right.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> What makes it difficult for Ray in the Mission? Like, what are the factors at play for him?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Well, I think part of it is a lack of community, for the biggest part. I think his larger plan to move out of the Mission and into this retirement community, which I had so much fun naming, which is, like, the San Leandro Rolling Hills Retirement Estates and Community, right? Like, I wanted this huge name. And so he’s in the space of, like, I’ve got this plan in motion, but I don’t quite know if I still believe in it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Well, I think part of it is a lack of community, for the biggest part. I think his larger plan to move out of the Mission and into this retirement community, which I had so much fun naming, which is, like, the San Leandro Rolling Hills Retirement Estates and Community, right? Like, I wanted this huge name. And so he’s in the space of, like, I’ve got this plan in motion, but I don’t quite know if I still believe in it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And a lot of times, I think our elders tend to be, I don’t know, left out of a lot of our thinking and planning. And so he’s trying to find ways in, but, you know, his only real community connection is sweeping his stairs, volunteering at the library and ODC, which I love.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And a lot of times, I think our elders tend to be, I don’t know, left out of a lot of our thinking and planning. And so he’s trying to find ways in, but, you know, his only real community connection is sweeping his stairs, volunteering at the library and ODC, which I love.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, it’s interesting, right? Because part of it is that he’s had this personal loss. He lost his beloved wife, who he still thinks about a lot in the book, but part of it is that the world around him, yeah, it really has not just changed, but it feels to him like he doesn’t always fit into it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, it’s interesting, right? Because part of it is that he’s had this personal loss. He lost his beloved wife, who he still thinks about a lot in the book, but part of it is that the world around him, yeah, it really has not just changed, but it feels to him like he doesn’t always fit into it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, I remember thinking about writing scenes with him, like, walking those streets and, like, you know, the way we live in such a vibrant, amazing community with all the messiness and beauty that comes with that, right? And so I wanted Ray’s trying to continue to see all of that. So what does it mean to walk past the unhoused who are living in, you know, those areas, right? And what does that mean to kind of see the kids grow up and see, you know, of course, all the spandex and the rented scooters and the bikes, right? And so where does he, you know, how does this make sense to him anymore?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, I remember thinking about writing scenes with him, like, walking those streets and, like, you know, the way we live in such a vibrant, amazing community with all the messiness and beauty that comes with that, right? And so I wanted Ray’s trying to continue to see all of that. So what does it mean to walk past the unhoused who are living in, you know, those areas, right? And what does that mean to kind of see the kids grow up and see, you know, of course, all the spandex and the rented scooters and the bikes, right? And so where does he, you know, how does this make sense to him anymore?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was curious, where did Ray come from? Did you sort of meet an elder on the stoop in Shotwell, or was it just sort of like a composite of some different Mission characters you’d run across?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it was a little bit of all of that. I mean, I really was trying to imagine, because I think, uh, you know, I think I lost a few elders in my life and I started realizing, like, God, you know, I’m going to hopefully get to that stage, right? And, you know, what is it I’m going to leave behind? Because I was also kind of going through the legacy that they left me.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it was a little bit of all of that. I mean, I really was trying to imagine, because I think, uh, you know, I think I lost a few elders in my life and I started realizing, like, God, you know, I’m going to hopefully get to that stage, right? And, you know, what is it I’m going to leave behind? Because I was also kind of going through the legacy that they left me.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And so I really started thinking, like, okay, I tend to write all these characters in their thirties and forties, like, you know, single dads trying to raise kids, trying to find relationships, trying to find community. So what does it mean to be on the back end of that? And so that’s where Ray came from.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And so I really started thinking, like, okay, I tend to write all these characters in their thirties and forties, like, you know, single dads trying to raise kids, trying to find relationships, trying to find community. So what does it mean to be on the back end of that? And so that’s where Ray came from.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And I really wanted him to — I wanted also something playful and, like, beyond the kind of stereotypes of what I think sometimes elders get represented as, but I also wanted that loneliness and that kind of disconnect. And so, you know, I think when I got the framework for the last month of his existence in the Mission Street Apartments, yeah, I was like, there you go. I got 30 days. There’s one day, you know, one chapter a day. And it’s like, let’s have some fun and see, you know, how he’s either trying to wrap things up or he’s trying to kind of extend himself out. Yeah.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And I really wanted him to — I wanted also something playful and, like, beyond the kind of stereotypes of what I think sometimes elders get represented as, but I also wanted that loneliness and that kind of disconnect. And so, you know, I think when I got the framework for the last month of his existence in the Mission Street Apartments, yeah, I was like, there you go. I got 30 days. There’s one day, you know, one chapter a day. And it’s like, let’s have some fun and see, you know, how he’s either trying to wrap things up or he’s trying to kind of extend himself out. Yeah.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Um, yeah, it’s interesting because, of course, there have been many nonfiction books and there’s been a lot of talk about the quote-unquote male loneliness epidemic. A lot of it, though, doesn’t have the sort of, like, positive spirit of this book in some ways. You know, a lot of it is pretty grim, pretty dark. There’s a lot — yeah, there’s a lot of factors in it. And in our case, Ray just seems like someone who may be done. You know, we find that out very early in the book. It’s not a spoiler, right? He just thinks, like, I might have just reached the end.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Um, yeah, it’s interesting because, of course, there have been many nonfiction books and there’s been a lot of talk about the quote-unquote male loneliness epidemic. A lot of it, though, doesn’t have the sort of, like, positive spirit of this book in some ways. You know, a lot of it is pretty grim, pretty dark. There’s a lot — yeah, there’s a lot of factors in it. And in our case, Ray just seems like someone who may be done. You know, we find that out very early in the book. It’s not a spoiler, right? He just thinks, like, I might have just reached the end.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s one — when I got to the idea of him, like, having to decide either to, you know, move and start totally again at this retirement community, or he’s been saving these pills, right, and thinking about how he wants to go out on his own terms. And so that was kind of the framework. And then I came up with that to-do list of things he needs, needs to do, right? And I love — there’s a moment when it changes to a list of things he wants to do, right? So that’s the growth of that character where maybe he begins to feel less lonely, less disconnected.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s one — when I got to the idea of him, like, having to decide either to, you know, move and start totally again at this retirement community, or he’s been saving these pills, right, and thinking about how he wants to go out on his own terms. And so that was kind of the framework. And then I came up with that to-do list of things he needs, needs to do, right? And I love — there’s a moment when it changes to a list of things he wants to do, right? So that’s the growth of that character where maybe he begins to feel less lonely, less disconnected.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But when I think about the writing I’ve been doing for, you know, since \u003cem>Rad Dad\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Rad Family\u003c/em>, my early nonfiction anthologies about parenting, it seems like masculinity has been kind of the primary theme of my writing. And so Ray felt like a really nice kind of — not culmination, but, like, where it’s led. An extension, sort of.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But when I think about the writing I’ve been doing for, you know, since \u003cem>Rad Dad\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Rad Family\u003c/em>, my early nonfiction anthologies about parenting, it seems like masculinity has been kind of the primary theme of my writing. And so Ray felt like a really nice kind of — not culmination, but, like, where it’s led. An extension, sort of.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Exactly, exactly. Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Exactly, exactly. Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We are talking with Tomas Moniz about his new book, \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>, set in a changing Mission District. He’s also the author of \u003cem>Big Familia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>All Friends Are Necessary\u003c/em>. He lives in East Oakland. And this new book, \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>, comes out next week.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We want to hear from you. If you’ve lived in the Mission for a long time, how have you seen things change? What are the ways in which your neighborhood has changed due to gentrification, displacement, just neighborhood change? You can give us a call. The number is 866-733-6786. That’s 866-733-6786. Of course, you can email Forum at KQED.org. You can find us on social media, BlueSky, Instagram. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>We want to hear from you. If you’ve lived in the Mission for a long time, how have you seen things change? What are the ways in which your neighborhood has changed due to gentrification, displacement, just neighborhood change? You can give us a call. The number is 866-733-6786. That’s 866-733-6786. Of course, you can email Forum at KQED.org. You can find us on social media, BlueSky, Instagram. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The action in this book really turns — I mean, Ray is the presence that we’re with, but the action really turns on his sort of budding friendship with Q, who’s sort of his young queer neighbor. I’m a sucker for intergenerational friendship, as you’ll hear in this show, but what was it that you wanted to explore between them in that friendship?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The action in this book really turns — I mean, Ray is the presence that we’re with, but the action really turns on his sort of budding friendship with Q, who’s sort of his young queer neighbor. I’m a sucker for intergenerational friendship, as you’ll hear in this show, but what was it that you wanted to explore between them in that friendship?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, I mean, as someone who raised two daughters now into adulthood, I just loved that kind of camaraderie and the way you build the relationship that’s based on kind of love and kindness and respect. And so I wanted this moment where Ray is, you know, he’s got to learn to see her.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, I mean, as someone who raised two daughters now into adulthood, I just loved that kind of camaraderie and the way you build the relationship that’s based on kind of love and kindness and respect. And so I wanted this moment where Ray is, you know, he’s got to learn to see her.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He has all these assumptions kind of about her early on. Like, he remembers her running around the street, but he doesn’t know her as a person, as an individual, as a young — and, you know, in some ways, she’s got to also learn to see him a little bit as well. And so they start off a little adversarially, and I kind of had fun writing these scenes where she gives him a bunch of crap about his behavior and he’s trying to get to the bottom of some reason why she’s behaving in a certain way on the street.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>He has all these assumptions kind of about her early on. Like, he remembers her running around the street, but he doesn’t know her as a person, as an individual, as a young — and, you know, in some ways, she’s got to also learn to see him a little bit as well. And so they start off a little adversarially, and I kind of had fun writing these scenes where she gives him a bunch of crap about his behavior and he’s trying to get to the bottom of some reason why she’s behaving in a certain way on the street.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But they come to, I don’t know, find ways to support each other that I thought were really, for me at least, a pleasure to write and explore.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But they come to, I don’t know, find ways to support each other that I thought were really, for me at least, a pleasure to write and explore.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it’s interesting too, because Ray has no children of his own, right? So there’s a way in which he’s kind of encountering this particular young person without kind of the background that you have of having raised a couple of daughters. And he’s like — there’s — but one thing that I love about him is, like, his curiosity is genuine, right? You know, he’s not just, like, trying to, I don’t know, get her to do something. He’s just sort of like, who is this person?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it’s interesting too, because Ray has no children of his own, right? So there’s a way in which he’s kind of encountering this particular young person without kind of the background that you have of having raised a couple of daughters. And he’s like — there’s — but one thing that I love about him is, like, his curiosity is genuine, right? You know, he’s not just, like, trying to, I don’t know, get her to do something. He’s just sort of like, who is this person?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Right. Yeah. And it was funny. That was a real, uh, like, risk for me, I thought, writing a character that wasn’t a parent. Because I mean, when I look back at everything I’ve ever written, any male character is always a father, right? And so it’s so clearly ways in which I can connect and think about, you know, interacting with the world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Right. Yeah. And it was funny. That was a real, uh, like, risk for me, I thought, writing a character that wasn’t a parent. Because I mean, when I look back at everything I’ve ever written, any male character is always a father, right? And so it’s so clearly ways in which I can connect and think about, you know, interacting with the world.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>So Ray was a really specific decision to think about his relationship to the world, not just to the family. Because I think sometimes that’s such a — you know, it’s easy to say, well, you know, if you’ve got kids, you should think this way, right? Or you care about things in this way. But I wanted Ray to kind of come to his, you know, fatherly view of the world as an elder.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>So Ray was a really specific decision to think about his relationship to the world, not just to the family. Because I think sometimes that’s such a — you know, it’s easy to say, well, you know, if you’ve got kids, you should think this way, right? Or you care about things in this way. But I wanted Ray to kind of come to his, you know, fatherly view of the world as an elder.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And I love that, you know, people in the book keep calling him Abuelo, right? So — and he’s like, no, you don’t — like, he’s got to, like, do I tell him? Do I not? How do I deal with this? And so, yeah, I really want Ray to kind of grapple with a connection and community that was slightly outside my experience of understanding how important that is to —\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And I love that, you know, people in the book keep calling him Abuelo, right? So — and he’s like, no, you don’t — like, he’s got to, like, do I tell him? Do I not? How do I deal with this? And so, yeah, I really want Ray to kind of grapple with a connection and community that was slightly outside my experience of understanding how important that is to —\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Well, and I love that he, despite not having kids, he volunteers in the kids section at the Mission District branch. There’s a lot of love for the Mission District library branch here. It’s just like, you like this.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Well, and I love that he, despite not having kids, he volunteers in the kids section at the Mission District branch. There’s a lot of love for the Mission District library branch here. It’s just like, you like this.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yes, I do. And the first thing I did when I got a copy was send it to the main city library, and I was like, guys, this book is in this library.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yes, I do. And the first thing I did when I got a copy was send it to the main city library, and I was like, guys, this book is in this library.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And they shut down the Mission branch. They’re renovating it, right? And so I couldn’t go back in as I was revising it. And I definitely had architectural poetic license with the setting of the library in the book.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And they shut down the Mission branch. They’re renovating it, right? And so I couldn’t go back in as I was revising it. And I definitely had architectural poetic license with the setting of the library in the book.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But I had so much fun just thinking about volunteering in a library and his ideas about shelving that, you know, um, uh, cause, uh, Alma, his supervisor, to, you know, remind him how he should be shelving books. But — and that’s, and I think that’s a good example, again, of the ways in which he’s got a view of the world and it’s kind of at odds with other people’s views of the world. And he’s gotta try and figure out, like, how do I, how do I allow others to influence me as opposed to me always trying to get my way in the world.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But I had so much fun just thinking about volunteering in a library and his ideas about shelving that, you know, um, uh, cause, uh, Alma, his supervisor, to, you know, remind him how he should be shelving books. But — and that’s, and I think that’s a good example, again, of the ways in which he’s got a view of the world and it’s kind of at odds with other people’s views of the world. And he’s gotta try and figure out, like, how do I, how do I allow others to influence me as opposed to me always trying to get my way in the world.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> I also like, too, that his, you know, linguistically, he’s a little out of sorts. He doesn’t, he doesn’t have all the new language, but what’s kind of lovely is the sense that he is — his heart is in the right place. He’s doing the right thing. You know, and the people around him, I think, do sense that and they, they don’t — you know, there isn’t, like, a Ray purity test where he gets, like, bounced, and said people are very appreciative. Right. I like.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> I also like, too, that his, you know, linguistically, he’s a little out of sorts. He doesn’t, he doesn’t have all the new language, but what’s kind of lovely is the sense that he is — his heart is in the right place. He’s doing the right thing. You know, and the people around him, I think, do sense that and they, they don’t — you know, there isn’t, like, a Ray purity test where he gets, like, bounced, and said people are very appreciative. Right. I like.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was a lot of fun, too, like, talking about — well, I love that he’s a subscriber to the Chronicle for 30 years, and that’s, like, his primary, right, way he’s understanding the world. And so, yeah, he references, like, the articles he’s read as a way to talk about issues that are, you know, when he’s in conversation with other characters in the book. So, yeah, I had fun with that. That’s cool.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> We are talking with Tomas Moniz about his new book, comes out next week. It’s called \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>. It is set in the Mission District as we follow 75-year-old Ray in his last month in the Mission. Moniz is also the author of \u003cem>Big Familia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>All Friends Are Necessary\u003c/em>. Lives in East Oakland.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>We also want to hear from you around the experience of intergenerational friendship. I mean, do you have friends who are much older or much younger than you? How does that relationship inform your life? The number here is 866-733-6786. We’re also taking your call still on the Mission and your neighborhood change. 866-733-6786. The email is forum@kqed.org, and social media, BlueSky, Instagram, Discord. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>We also want to hear from you around the experience of intergenerational friendship. I mean, do you have friends who are much older or much younger than you? How does that relationship inform your life? The number here is 866-733-6786. We’re also taking your call still on the Mission and your neighborhood change. 866-733-6786. The email is forum@kqed.org, and social media, BlueSky, Instagram, Discord. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Airdate: Monday, September 21, 2026 at 9 am\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In Tomas Moniz’s new novel “The King of Aloe Vera,” seventy-five-year-old Rey has one month left in his longtime Mission District home when he befriends Q, a young woman on probation who is about to lose her housing. The novel unspools as a love letter to the Mission District of San Francisco and its longtime residents—housed and unhoused alike— as they find themselves in a neighborhood that’s changing in so many ways. We’ll talk with Moniz about the Mission and Latinos, housing activism, and intergenerational friendship.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Guest:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz,\u003c/strong> author, “King of Aloe Vera”\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003cstrong>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/strong>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Welcome to \u003cem>Forum\u003c/em>. I’m Alexis Madrigal. We are out of pledge drive, everyone. Thanks for sticking with us. This morning, we are talking with Tomas Moniz. Tomas Moniz’s \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em> has got to be the novel set closest to KQED headquarters here in San Francisco. On my walk into the office today from BART, I passed half of the book’s key locations, from the park on 17th to Shotwell to ODC, the dance studio. This book could not be more locally rooted here in the Mission, a place that’s a symbol of different things to different people: Latino life, tech-world change, the problems of the street, the flood of wealth. Tomas Moniz is here this morning in spitting distance to the action of the novel. Welcome, Tomas.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much for having me here. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> So this book really all works through Ray, our 75-year-old main character, a lover of ODC and the Mission branch of the San Francisco Public Library. Just introduce us to Ray.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, Ray is a — he’s an elder, and I really was trying to, like, think about what it means to, you know, survive and get to that age. I know so many of us are raising children and having — thinking about, like, how we want to make the world better. So what does it mean to, like, get to the end? You know? And so with Ray, I just wanted a little bit of some curmudgeonly, playful, irreverent kind of views of the world. And he’s been in the Mission for a long time, so he’s kind of seen it change. He’s struggling with his own place in it and his kind of future. So that’s right.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> What makes it difficult for Ray in the Mission? Like, what are the factors at play for him?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Well, I think part of it is a lack of community, for the biggest part. I think his larger plan to move out of the Mission and into this retirement community, which I had so much fun naming, which is, like, the San Leandro Rolling Hills Retirement Estates and Community, right? Like, I wanted this huge name. And so he’s in the space of, like, I’ve got this plan in motion, but I don’t quite know if I still believe in it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And a lot of times, I think our elders tend to be, I don’t know, left out of a lot of our thinking and planning. And so he’s trying to find ways in, but, you know, his only real community connection is sweeping his stairs, volunteering at the library and ODC, which I love.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, it’s interesting, right? Because part of it is that he’s had this personal loss. He lost his beloved wife, who he still thinks about a lot in the book, but part of it is that the world around him, yeah, it really has not just changed, but it feels to him like he doesn’t always fit into it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. I mean, I remember thinking about writing scenes with him, like, walking those streets and, like, you know, the way we live in such a vibrant, amazing community with all the messiness and beauty that comes with that, right? And so I wanted Ray’s trying to continue to see all of that. So what does it mean to walk past the unhoused who are living in, you know, those areas, right? And what does that mean to kind of see the kids grow up and see, you know, of course, all the spandex and the rented scooters and the bikes, right? And so where does he, you know, how does this make sense to him anymore?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was curious, where did Ray come from? Did you sort of meet an elder on the stoop in Shotwell, or was it just sort of like a composite of some different Mission characters you’d run across?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it was a little bit of all of that. I mean, I really was trying to imagine, because I think, uh, you know, I think I lost a few elders in my life and I started realizing, like, God, you know, I’m going to hopefully get to that stage, right? And, you know, what is it I’m going to leave behind? Because I was also kind of going through the legacy that they left me.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And so I really started thinking, like, okay, I tend to write all these characters in their thirties and forties, like, you know, single dads trying to raise kids, trying to find relationships, trying to find community. So what does it mean to be on the back end of that? And so that’s where Ray came from.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And I really wanted him to — I wanted also something playful and, like, beyond the kind of stereotypes of what I think sometimes elders get represented as, but I also wanted that loneliness and that kind of disconnect. And so, you know, I think when I got the framework for the last month of his existence in the Mission Street Apartments, yeah, I was like, there you go. I got 30 days. There’s one day, you know, one chapter a day. And it’s like, let’s have some fun and see, you know, how he’s either trying to wrap things up or he’s trying to kind of extend himself out. Yeah.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Um, yeah, it’s interesting because, of course, there have been many nonfiction books and there’s been a lot of talk about the quote-unquote male loneliness epidemic. A lot of it, though, doesn’t have the sort of, like, positive spirit of this book in some ways. You know, a lot of it is pretty grim, pretty dark. There’s a lot — yeah, there’s a lot of factors in it. And in our case, Ray just seems like someone who may be done. You know, we find that out very early in the book. It’s not a spoiler, right? He just thinks, like, I might have just reached the end.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that’s one — when I got to the idea of him, like, having to decide either to, you know, move and start totally again at this retirement community, or he’s been saving these pills, right, and thinking about how he wants to go out on his own terms. And so that was kind of the framework. And then I came up with that to-do list of things he needs, needs to do, right? And I love — there’s a moment when it changes to a list of things he wants to do, right? So that’s the growth of that character where maybe he begins to feel less lonely, less disconnected.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But when I think about the writing I’ve been doing for, you know, since \u003cem>Rad Dad\u003c/em> and \u003cem>Rad Family\u003c/em>, my early nonfiction anthologies about parenting, it seems like masculinity has been kind of the primary theme of my writing. And so Ray felt like a really nice kind of — not culmination, but, like, where it’s led. An extension, sort of.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Exactly, exactly. Yeah, yeah, that makes a lot of sense.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We are talking with Tomas Moniz about his new book, \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>, set in a changing Mission District. He’s also the author of \u003cem>Big Familia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>All Friends Are Necessary\u003c/em>. He lives in East Oakland. And this new book, \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>, comes out next week.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We want to hear from you. If you’ve lived in the Mission for a long time, how have you seen things change? What are the ways in which your neighborhood has changed due to gentrification, displacement, just neighborhood change? You can give us a call. The number is 866-733-6786. That’s 866-733-6786. Of course, you can email Forum at KQED.org. You can find us on social media, BlueSky, Instagram. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The action in this book really turns — I mean, Ray is the presence that we’re with, but the action really turns on his sort of budding friendship with Q, who’s sort of his young queer neighbor. I’m a sucker for intergenerational friendship, as you’ll hear in this show, but what was it that you wanted to explore between them in that friendship?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yeah, I mean, as someone who raised two daughters now into adulthood, I just loved that kind of camaraderie and the way you build the relationship that’s based on kind of love and kindness and respect. And so I wanted this moment where Ray is, you know, he’s got to learn to see her.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He has all these assumptions kind of about her early on. Like, he remembers her running around the street, but he doesn’t know her as a person, as an individual, as a young — and, you know, in some ways, she’s got to also learn to see him a little bit as well. And so they start off a little adversarially, and I kind of had fun writing these scenes where she gives him a bunch of crap about his behavior and he’s trying to get to the bottom of some reason why she’s behaving in a certain way on the street.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But they come to, I don’t know, find ways to support each other that I thought were really, for me at least, a pleasure to write and explore.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Yeah, it’s interesting too, because Ray has no children of his own, right? So there’s a way in which he’s kind of encountering this particular young person without kind of the background that you have of having raised a couple of daughters. And he’s like — there’s — but one thing that I love about him is, like, his curiosity is genuine, right? You know, he’s not just, like, trying to, I don’t know, get her to do something. He’s just sort of like, who is this person?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Right. Yeah. And it was funny. That was a real, uh, like, risk for me, I thought, writing a character that wasn’t a parent. Because I mean, when I look back at everything I’ve ever written, any male character is always a father, right? And so it’s so clearly ways in which I can connect and think about, you know, interacting with the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>So Ray was a really specific decision to think about his relationship to the world, not just to the family. Because I think sometimes that’s such a — you know, it’s easy to say, well, you know, if you’ve got kids, you should think this way, right? Or you care about things in this way. But I wanted Ray to kind of come to his, you know, fatherly view of the world as an elder.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And I love that, you know, people in the book keep calling him Abuelo, right? So — and he’s like, no, you don’t — like, he’s got to, like, do I tell him? Do I not? How do I deal with this? And so, yeah, I really want Ray to kind of grapple with a connection and community that was slightly outside my experience of understanding how important that is to —\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> Well, and I love that he, despite not having kids, he volunteers in the kids section at the Mission District branch. There’s a lot of love for the Mission District library branch here. It’s just like, you like this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Yes, I do. And the first thing I did when I got a copy was send it to the main city library, and I was like, guys, this book is in this library.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And they shut down the Mission branch. They’re renovating it, right? And so I couldn’t go back in as I was revising it. And I definitely had architectural poetic license with the setting of the library in the book.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But I had so much fun just thinking about volunteering in a library and his ideas about shelving that, you know, um, uh, cause, uh, Alma, his supervisor, to, you know, remind him how he should be shelving books. But — and that’s, and I think that’s a good example, again, of the ways in which he’s got a view of the world and it’s kind of at odds with other people’s views of the world. And he’s gotta try and figure out, like, how do I, how do I allow others to influence me as opposed to me always trying to get my way in the world.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> I also like, too, that his, you know, linguistically, he’s a little out of sorts. He doesn’t, he doesn’t have all the new language, but what’s kind of lovely is the sense that he is — his heart is in the right place. He’s doing the right thing. You know, and the people around him, I think, do sense that and they, they don’t — you know, there isn’t, like, a Ray purity test where he gets, like, bounced, and said people are very appreciative. Right. I like.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Tomas Moniz:\u003c/strong> Right, yeah, yeah, yeah. That was a lot of fun, too, like, talking about — well, I love that he’s a subscriber to the Chronicle for 30 years, and that’s, like, his primary, right, way he’s understanding the world. And so, yeah, he references, like, the articles he’s read as a way to talk about issues that are, you know, when he’s in conversation with other characters in the book. So, yeah, I had fun with that. That’s cool.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alexis Madrigal:\u003c/strong> We are talking with Tomas Moniz about his new book, comes out next week. It’s called \u003cem>The King of Aloe Vera\u003c/em>. It is set in the Mission District as we follow 75-year-old Ray in his last month in the Mission. Moniz is also the author of \u003cem>Big Familia\u003c/em> and \u003cem>All Friends Are Necessary\u003c/em>. Lives in East Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>We also want to hear from you around the experience of intergenerational friendship. I mean, do you have friends who are much older or much younger than you? How does that relationship inform your life? The number here is 866-733-6786. We’re also taking your call still on the Mission and your neighborhood change. 866-733-6786. The email is forum@kqed.org, and social media, BlueSky, Instagram, Discord. We’re KQED Forum.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>I’m Alexis Madrigal. Stay tuned.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "even-in-a-hot-rental-market-what-renters-shouldnt-settle-on-when-looking-for-new-home",
"title": "Even in a Hot Rental Market, What Renters Shouldn’t Settle on When Looking for a New Home",
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"headTitle": "Even in a Hot Rental Market, What Renters Shouldn’t Settle on When Looking for a New Home | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Looking for a rental property in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> is not for the faint of heart — a fact Beyond Deng has come to understand very well.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 26-year-old policy researcher has a few days left to find a new home, after his landlord sold the Mission District apartment Deng shares with two friends. To stay in the city, Deng is now searching for a new home in one of the country’s hottest rental markets. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the sky-high prices and intense competition weren’t even the biggest surprises, he said: “It was how \u003cem>little \u003c/em>I would get for so much that I would have to pay.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2250030108-scaled-e1789077751622.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078788\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An apartment-for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building on Dec. 4, 2025, in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fueled in part by the AI boom, rents in San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/06/04/oakland-artificial-intelligence-ai-housing-rents-san-francisco/\">have risen\u003c/a> this year faster than anywhere else in the country — bringing with them \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095536/after-the-18000-scam-how-can-bay-area-renters-protect-themselves\">a new breed of scams\u003c/a> — and the rest of the Bay Area is also \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/rent-price-apartment-oakland-22329281.php\">feeling the heat\u003c/a>. The few remaining options on the market, however, are forcing many renters to scale down their expectations \u003cem>even more\u003c/em> to find a home in the region.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One spot Deng considered was a \u003ca href=\"https://www.zillow.com/b/1000-1010-bush-street-san-francisco-ca-CkNrCG/\">110-square-foot room\u003c/a> with only a sink and a closet. The kitchen and bathroom were shared by more than a dozen other residents. Monthly rent for the property was listed at $1,400. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If I’m going to pay that much, let me just gather all my things, go back down South and try to find a whole house,” Houston-raised Deng joked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A compromise too far?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other renters are looking into homes where tenants are already jostling for limited amenities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Álvaro Galván, a data scientist who just found a new rental spot, recalled visiting a three-bedroom home in the Excelsior District shared by seven people during his own search. When he asked about the TV in the living room, Galván said the existing tenants told him, “That’s our TV.” Meaning: “They could use the TV — but me, as their subtenant — could not,” he recalled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>High prices and endless competition may encourage you to look for fewer amenities than you’d like, said San Francisco-based attorney and tenants’ rights advocate Joshua Ezrin. But there are actually “basic state rules governing habitability,” he warned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12051134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs in the window of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And you should be very careful, he added, “about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that is knowingly renting a unit that is violating these basic state rules.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Think you could hypothetically live in a rented room with no natural lighting — and where the bathroom is located \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ss42dp/is_there_a_place_to_warn_fellow_renters_of_bad/\">in a different building\u003c/a>? The law says something different, said Ora Prochovnick, director of litigation for the San Francisco renters’ rights group, Eviction Defense Collaborative. “You \u003cem>do \u003c/em>have rights and protections as a tenant,” she stressed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what legal experts recommend tenants should remember when looking for a new rental home in California — especially when a limited budget and a tight market might be forcing you to limit your expectations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does the law say homes in California need to have?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are several laws that detail what all living spaces — “dwelling” is the official term used —in California must have. These rules apply when you own the home you live in, or when you are renting a house, apartment or an individual room.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The home “has to be fit for a human being to live in,” said Prochovnick from Eviction Defense Collaborative. “It’s a pretty low bar to meet — but it is a requirement.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One law \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=17920.3.\">requires\u003c/a> all dwellings (including hotel rooms) to have the following:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A \u003cstrong>sink\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A working \u003cstrong>heating system\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A \u003cstrong>toilet\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Shower \u003c/strong>or \u003cstrong>bathtub\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Electricity\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A \u003cstrong>ventilation system\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Some form of \u003cstrong>natural light\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1941.1.\">another law\u003c/a> specific to rental agreements goes even further: landlords have an \u003cem>immediate \u003c/em>obligation to comply with the standards above if they expect individuals to live in this home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As of this year, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067581/in-2026-all-rental-homes-in-california-will-need-to-have-these-2-things\">also requires\u003c/a> rental homes to have a \u003cstrong>fridge \u003cem>and \u003c/em>a stove \u003c/strong>— and property owners must repair or replace them if they stop working.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If the home didn’t have a heater or fridge when you moved in, you can still ask your landlord to meet the state’s obligations after you’ve begun living there, as there’s no time limit on invoking these rights.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Tenants don’t waive their rights if there are problems when they move in,” Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if you are renting an individual room in a house or large building but that room does not include its own private bathroom or kitchen, your landlord must grant you access to the bathroom and kitchen of that property. You have access to the shared amenities even if the space you are paying for does not explicitly include them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can you flag problems \u003cem>before \u003c/em>you move in?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Renters absolutely have a right to ask property owners to follow state regulations even if they haven’t signed a lease yet, Prochovnick said. But she also acknowledged that some people may feel unsure — to put it mildly — about bringing issues up with a landlord during an interview or a crowded open house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Yes, there’s a lot of competition for every unit, and you don’t want the landlord to think you’re a troublemaker from day one,” she said. “But this is something we have to weigh: How bad are the problems that you want to point them out now — or later?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And how a property owner responds to you asking a question about what the apartment has — or lacks — can also be an opportunity for you to learn how they may deal with future needs, added Ezrin, the San Francisco-based attorney.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign on a house in San Francisco’s Mission District on March 31, 2020. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Are these going to be folks that will be responsive to your repair and maintenance requests?” he questioned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ezrin recommended that you get a record — in writing — from a prospective landlord outlining what problems will be fixed: “either in the lease itself, in a lease addendum or in some separate side agreement before you execute the lease.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Why is this important? So you have something in writing verifying the problem actually exists, Ezrin explained. This also means you’re putting the landlord “on notice of the issue,” he said, so that they can move forward with necessary repairs before you move into the home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are folks who have no other options based on financial limitations and what the market has available,” he acknowledged. “So sometimes you’re going to concede points that you might not want to.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, “you should be very careful about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that knowingly is renting a unit that is violating the basic state rules governing habitability,” Ezrin warned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How small is \u003cem>too\u003c/em> small?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another thing many Bay Area tenants might grudgingly sacrifice to find a place that’s in their budget: space. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Craigslist, there are hundreds of \u003ca href=\"http://craigslist.org/search/city/san-francisco-ca?cat=roo&max_price=1500&min_price=0&postal=94110&radius=10#search=2~gallery~27\">Bay Area listings\u003c/a> for homes with three or more people already sharing the space — and of course, some San Franciscans are even paying $700 per month for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080289/700-a-month-sleeping-pods-make-sf-more-affordable-but-at-what-cost\">a bunk bed\u003c/a> in a room with 30 other adults.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But even in a very crowded home, state law requires minimum physical requirements for those inhabitants. The ceiling height must be at least 7 feet, 6 inches. “You have to be able to stand up straight without bumping your head,” said Prochovnick.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12058552\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State law also \u003ca href=\"https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0-0-0-87716\">dictates\u003c/a> that every dwelling must be a minimum of 70 square feet, she said — which includes bedrooms. And if you’re renting just a bed in a room that’s shared with other people, the room where you all sleep in must be bigger than 70 square feet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You also have a right to privacy within the space that you are paying for. Even if you are renting a room in a friend or family member’s home, they cannot enter your bedroom without a proper reason and proper notice, Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of those reasons could be that you have invited your landlord to enter your room, or there’s an emergency. Otherwise, your landlord can \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.&lawCode=CIV\">come in only\u003c/a> to:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Make necessary or agreed-upon repairs.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Inspect the room’s condition at the start or end of your lease.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Show the space to a potential tenant.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if any of these conditions apply, your landlord still needs to let you know — in writing — that they’ll be entering at least 24 hours in advance.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Knowing what the state requires can help you understand what your privacy would look like in any rental home you’re looking at.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Think ahead of time: What will be your private space?” said Prochovnick. If you’ve rented only a bedroom in the landlord’s home, your right to privacy applies \u003cem>only \u003c/em>to that bedroom, she added. “The landlord doesn’t have to give you notice if they’re coming in the garage or the stairway.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you feel that a home you’re looking to rent already has a lot of people living in it, have a clear understanding of who you have a lease with — is it the landlord or another tenant? If it’s another tenant, check what the main (or “original”) lease says about the maximum number of occupants in the home, Prochovnick advised.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might feel like bringing in a roommate is just bringing in a roommate,” she said. “But legally that’s subletting, and that could be a violation of your lease if you’re not doing it with prior written consent from the landlord.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Looking for a rental property in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> is not for the faint of heart — a fact Beyond Deng has come to understand very well.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Looking for a rental property in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> is not for the faint of heart — a fact Beyond Deng has come to understand very well.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The 26-year-old policy researcher has a few days left to find a new home, after his landlord sold the Mission District apartment Deng shares with two friends. To stay in the city, Deng is now searching for a new home in one of the country’s hottest rental markets. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The 26-year-old policy researcher has a few days left to find a new home, after his landlord sold the Mission District apartment Deng shares with two friends. To stay in the city, Deng is now searching for a new home in one of the country’s hottest rental markets. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But the sky-high prices and intense competition weren’t even the biggest surprises, he said: “It was how \u003cem>little \u003c/em>I would get for so much that I would have to pay.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>But the sky-high prices and intense competition weren’t even the biggest surprises, he said: “It was how \u003cem>little \u003c/em>I would get for so much that I would have to pay.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2250030108-scaled-e1789077751622.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078788\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An apartment-for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building on Dec. 4, 2025, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2250030108-scaled-e1789077751622.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078788\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An apartment-for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building on Dec. 4, 2025, in San Francisco.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Fueled in part by the AI boom, rents in San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/06/04/oakland-artificial-intelligence-ai-housing-rents-san-francisco/\">have risen\u003c/a> this year faster than anywhere else in the country — bringing with them \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095536/after-the-18000-scam-how-can-bay-area-renters-protect-themselves\">a new breed of scams\u003c/a> — and the rest of the Bay Area is also \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/rent-price-apartment-oakland-22329281.php\">feeling the heat\u003c/a>. The few remaining options on the market, however, are forcing many renters to scale down their expectations \u003cem>even more\u003c/em> to find a home in the region.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Fueled in part by the AI boom, rents in San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/06/04/oakland-artificial-intelligence-ai-housing-rents-san-francisco/\">have risen\u003c/a> this year faster than anywhere else in the country — bringing with them \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095536/after-the-18000-scam-how-can-bay-area-renters-protect-themselves\">a new breed of scams\u003c/a> — and the rest of the Bay Area is also \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/rent-price-apartment-oakland-22329281.php\">feeling the heat\u003c/a>. The few remaining options on the market, however, are forcing many renters to scale down their expectations \u003cem>even more\u003c/em> to find a home in the region.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One spot Deng considered was a \u003ca href=\"https://www.zillow.com/b/1000-1010-bush-street-san-francisco-ca-CkNrCG/\">110-square-foot room\u003c/a> with only a sink and a closet. The kitchen and bathroom were shared by more than a dozen other residents. Monthly rent for the property was listed at $1,400. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One spot Deng considered was a \u003ca href=\"https://www.zillow.com/b/1000-1010-bush-street-san-francisco-ca-CkNrCG/\">110-square-foot room\u003c/a> with only a sink and a closet. The kitchen and bathroom were shared by more than a dozen other residents. Monthly rent for the property was listed at $1,400. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If I’m going to pay that much, let me just gather all my things, go back down South and try to find a whole house,” Houston-raised Deng joked.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If I’m going to pay that much, let me just gather all my things, go back down South and try to find a whole house,” Houston-raised Deng joked.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "A compromise too far?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A compromise too far?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A compromise too far?\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other renters are looking into homes where tenants are already jostling for limited amenities. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other renters are looking into homes where tenants are already jostling for limited amenities. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Álvaro Galván, a data scientist who just found a new rental spot, recalled visiting a three-bedroom home in the Excelsior District shared by seven people during his own search. When he asked about the TV in the living room, Galván said the existing tenants told him, “That’s our TV.” Meaning: “They could use the TV — but me, as their subtenant — could not,” he recalled.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Álvaro Galván, a data scientist who just found a new rental spot, recalled visiting a three-bedroom home in the Excelsior District shared by seven people during his own search. When he asked about the TV in the living room, Galván said the existing tenants told him, “That’s our TV.” Meaning: “They could use the TV — but me, as their subtenant — could not,” he recalled.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>High prices and endless competition may encourage you to look for fewer amenities than you’d like, said San Francisco-based attorney and tenants’ rights advocate Joshua Ezrin. But there are actually “basic state rules governing habitability,” he warned.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>High prices and endless competition may encourage you to look for fewer amenities than you’d like, said San Francisco-based attorney and tenants’ rights advocate Joshua Ezrin. But there are actually “basic state rules governing habitability,” he warned.\u003c/p>\n"
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"sizes": "(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12051134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs in the window of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12051134\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs in the window of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And you should be very careful, he added, “about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that is knowingly renting a unit that is violating these basic state rules.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And you should be very careful, he added, “about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that is knowingly renting a unit that is violating these basic state rules.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Think you could hypothetically live in a rented room with no natural lighting — and where the bathroom is located \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ss42dp/is_there_a_place_to_warn_fellow_renters_of_bad/\">in a different building\u003c/a>? The law says something different, said Ora Prochovnick, director of litigation for the San Francisco renters’ rights group, Eviction Defense Collaborative. “You \u003cem>do \u003c/em>have rights and protections as a tenant,” she stressed.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Think you could hypothetically live in a rented room with no natural lighting — and where the bathroom is located \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ss42dp/is_there_a_place_to_warn_fellow_renters_of_bad/\">in a different building\u003c/a>? The law says something different, said Ora Prochovnick, director of litigation for the San Francisco renters’ rights group, Eviction Defense Collaborative. “You \u003cem>do \u003c/em>have rights and protections as a tenant,” she stressed.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what legal experts recommend tenants should remember when looking for a new rental home in California — especially when a limited budget and a tight market might be forcing you to limit your expectations. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what legal experts recommend tenants should remember when looking for a new rental home in California — especially when a limited budget and a tight market might be forcing you to limit your expectations. \u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "What does the law say homes in California need to have?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does the law say homes in California need to have?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>There are several laws that detail what all living spaces — “dwelling” is the official term used —in California must have. These rules apply when you own the home you live in, or when you are renting a house, apartment or an individual room.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>There are several laws that detail what all living spaces — “dwelling” is the official term used —in California must have. These rules apply when you own the home you live in, or when you are renting a house, apartment or an individual room.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The home “has to be fit for a human being to live in,” said Prochovnick from Eviction Defense Collaborative. “It’s a pretty low bar to meet — but it is a requirement.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The home “has to be fit for a human being to live in,” said Prochovnick from Eviction Defense Collaborative. “It’s a pretty low bar to meet — but it is a requirement.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One law \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=17920.3.\">requires\u003c/a> all dwellings (including hotel rooms) to have the following:\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One law \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=17920.3.\">requires\u003c/a> all dwellings (including hotel rooms) to have the following:\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A working \u003cstrong>heating system\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>A \u003cstrong>toilet\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Some form of \u003cstrong>natural light\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cli>Some form of \u003cstrong>natural light\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1941.1.\">another law\u003c/a> specific to rental agreements goes even further: landlords have an \u003cem>immediate \u003c/em>obligation to comply with the standards above if they expect individuals to live in this home. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1941.1.\">another law\u003c/a> specific to rental agreements goes even further: landlords have an \u003cem>immediate \u003c/em>obligation to comply with the standards above if they expect individuals to live in this home. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As of this year, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067581/in-2026-all-rental-homes-in-california-will-need-to-have-these-2-things\">also requires\u003c/a> rental homes to have a \u003cstrong>fridge \u003cem>and \u003c/em>a stove \u003c/strong>— and property owners must repair or replace them if they stop working.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>As of this year, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067581/in-2026-all-rental-homes-in-california-will-need-to-have-these-2-things\">also requires\u003c/a> rental homes to have a \u003cstrong>fridge \u003cem>and \u003c/em>a stove \u003c/strong>— and property owners must repair or replace them if they stop working.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If the home didn’t have a heater or fridge when you moved in, you can still ask your landlord to meet the state’s obligations after you’ve begun living there, as there’s no time limit on invoking these rights.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>If the home didn’t have a heater or fridge when you moved in, you can still ask your landlord to meet the state’s obligations after you’ve begun living there, as there’s no time limit on invoking these rights.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Tenants don’t waive their rights if there are problems when they move in,” Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Tenants don’t waive their rights if there are problems when they move in,” Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And if you are renting an individual room in a house or large building but that room does not include its own private bathroom or kitchen, your landlord must grant you access to the bathroom and kitchen of that property. You have access to the shared amenities even if the space you are paying for does not explicitly include them.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And if you are renting an individual room in a house or large building but that room does not include its own private bathroom or kitchen, your landlord must grant you access to the bathroom and kitchen of that property. You have access to the shared amenities even if the space you are paying for does not explicitly include them.\u003c/p>\n"
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "How can you flag problems before you move in?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can you flag problems \u003cem>before \u003c/em>you move in?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Renters absolutely have a right to ask property owners to follow state regulations even if they haven’t signed a lease yet, Prochovnick said. But she also acknowledged that some people may feel unsure — to put it mildly — about bringing issues up with a landlord during an interview or a crowded open house.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Renters absolutely have a right to ask property owners to follow state regulations even if they haven’t signed a lease yet, Prochovnick said. But she also acknowledged that some people may feel unsure — to put it mildly — about bringing issues up with a landlord during an interview or a crowded open house.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Yes, there’s a lot of competition for every unit, and you don’t want the landlord to think you’re a troublemaker from day one,” she said. “But this is something we have to weigh: How bad are the problems that you want to point them out now — or later?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Yes, there’s a lot of competition for every unit, and you don’t want the landlord to think you’re a troublemaker from day one,” she said. “But this is something we have to weigh: How bad are the problems that you want to point them out now — or later?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And how a property owner responds to you asking a question about what the apartment has — or lacks — can also be an opportunity for you to learn how they may deal with future needs, added Ezrin, the San Francisco-based attorney.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>And how a property owner responds to you asking a question about what the apartment has — or lacks — can also be an opportunity for you to learn how they may deal with future needs, added Ezrin, the San Francisco-based attorney.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign on a house in San Francisco’s Mission District on March 31, 2020.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040031\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign on a house in San Francisco’s Mission District on March 31, 2020.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Are these going to be folks that will be responsive to your repair and maintenance requests?” he questioned.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“Are these going to be folks that will be responsive to your repair and maintenance requests?” he questioned.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Ezrin recommended that you get a record — in writing — from a prospective landlord outlining what problems will be fixed: “either in the lease itself, in a lease addendum or in some separate side agreement before you execute the lease.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Ezrin recommended that you get a record — in writing — from a prospective landlord outlining what problems will be fixed: “either in the lease itself, in a lease addendum or in some separate side agreement before you execute the lease.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Why is this important? So you have something in writing verifying the problem actually exists, Ezrin explained. This also means you’re putting the landlord “on notice of the issue,” he said, so that they can move forward with necessary repairs before you move into the home.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Why is this important? So you have something in writing verifying the problem actually exists, Ezrin explained. This also means you’re putting the landlord “on notice of the issue,” he said, so that they can move forward with necessary repairs before you move into the home.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“There are folks who have no other options based on financial limitations and what the market has available,” he acknowledged. “So sometimes you’re going to concede points that you might not want to.” \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“There are folks who have no other options based on financial limitations and what the market has available,” he acknowledged. “So sometimes you’re going to concede points that you might not want to.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, “you should be very careful about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that knowingly is renting a unit that is violating the basic state rules governing habitability,” Ezrin warned.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, “you should be very careful about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that knowingly is renting a unit that is violating the basic state rules governing habitability,” Ezrin warned.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerBlocks": []
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"blockName": "core/heading",
"attrs": {
"text": "How small is too small?",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How small is \u003cem>too\u003c/em> small?\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How small is \u003cem>too\u003c/em> small?\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Another thing many Bay Area tenants might grudgingly sacrifice to find a place that’s in their budget: space. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Another thing many Bay Area tenants might grudgingly sacrifice to find a place that’s in their budget: space. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Craigslist, there are hundreds of \u003ca href=\"http://craigslist.org/search/city/san-francisco-ca?cat=roo&max_price=1500&min_price=0&postal=94110&radius=10#search=2~gallery~27\">Bay Area listings\u003c/a> for homes with three or more people already sharing the space — and of course, some San Franciscans are even paying $700 per month for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080289/700-a-month-sleeping-pods-make-sf-more-affordable-but-at-what-cost\">a bunk bed\u003c/a> in a room with 30 other adults.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>On Craigslist, there are hundreds of \u003ca href=\"http://craigslist.org/search/city/san-francisco-ca?cat=roo&max_price=1500&min_price=0&postal=94110&radius=10#search=2~gallery~27\">Bay Area listings\u003c/a> for homes with three or more people already sharing the space — and of course, some San Franciscans are even paying $700 per month for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080289/700-a-month-sleeping-pods-make-sf-more-affordable-but-at-what-cost\">a bunk bed\u003c/a> in a room with 30 other adults.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>But even in a very crowded home, state law requires minimum physical requirements for those inhabitants. The ceiling height must be at least 7 feet, 6 inches. “You have to be able to stand up straight without bumping your head,” said Prochovnick.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>But even in a very crowded home, state law requires minimum physical requirements for those inhabitants. The ceiling height must be at least 7 feet, 6 inches. “You have to be able to stand up straight without bumping your head,” said Prochovnick.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12058552\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12058552\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State law also \u003ca href=\"https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0-0-0-87716\">dictates\u003c/a> that every dwelling must be a minimum of 70 square feet, she said — which includes bedrooms. And if you’re renting just a bed in a room that’s shared with other people, the room where you all sleep in must be bigger than 70 square feet.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State law also \u003ca href=\"https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0-0-0-87716\">dictates\u003c/a> that every dwelling must be a minimum of 70 square feet, she said — which includes bedrooms. And if you’re renting just a bed in a room that’s shared with other people, the room where you all sleep in must be bigger than 70 square feet.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>You also have a right to privacy within the space that you are paying for. Even if you are renting a room in a friend or family member’s home, they cannot enter your bedroom without a proper reason and proper notice, Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>You also have a right to privacy within the space that you are paying for. Even if you are renting a room in a friend or family member’s home, they cannot enter your bedroom without a proper reason and proper notice, Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of those reasons could be that you have invited your landlord to enter your room, or there’s an emergency. Otherwise, your landlord can \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.&lawCode=CIV\">come in only\u003c/a> to:\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of those reasons could be that you have invited your landlord to enter your room, or there’s an emergency. Otherwise, your landlord can \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.&lawCode=CIV\">come in only\u003c/a> to:\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Inspect the room’s condition at the start or end of your lease.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cli>Show the space to a potential tenant.\u003c/li>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>And if any of these conditions apply, your landlord still needs to let you know — in writing — that they’ll be entering at least 24 hours in advance.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>And if any of these conditions apply, your landlord still needs to let you know — in writing — that they’ll be entering at least 24 hours in advance.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Knowing what the state requires can help you understand what your privacy would look like in any rental home you’re looking at.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Knowing what the state requires can help you understand what your privacy would look like in any rental home you’re looking at.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Think ahead of time: What will be your private space?” said Prochovnick. If you’ve rented only a bedroom in the landlord’s home, your right to privacy applies \u003cem>only \u003c/em>to that bedroom, she added. “The landlord doesn’t have to give you notice if they’re coming in the garage or the stairway.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Think ahead of time: What will be your private space?” said Prochovnick. If you’ve rented only a bedroom in the landlord’s home, your right to privacy applies \u003cem>only \u003c/em>to that bedroom, she added. “The landlord doesn’t have to give you notice if they’re coming in the garage or the stairway.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If you feel that a home you’re looking to rent already has a lot of people living in it, have a clear understanding of who you have a lease with — is it the landlord or another tenant? If it’s another tenant, check what the main (or “original”) lease says about the maximum number of occupants in the home, Prochovnick advised.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If you feel that a home you’re looking to rent already has a lot of people living in it, have a clear understanding of who you have a lease with — is it the landlord or another tenant? If it’s another tenant, check what the main (or “original”) lease says about the maximum number of occupants in the home, Prochovnick advised.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“You might feel like bringing in a roommate is just bringing in a roommate,” she said. “But legally that’s subletting, and that could be a violation of your lease if you’re not doing it with prior written consent from the landlord.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“You might feel like bringing in a roommate is just bringing in a roommate,” she said. “But legally that’s subletting, and that could be a violation of your lease if you’re not doing it with prior written consent from the landlord.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Less space, natural light and, sometimes, no bathroom — many Bay Area renters are seeing fewer homes within their budget. But legal experts say there are some compromises you shouldn’t have to make, even if you're desperate to secure a spot.\n",
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"title": "Even in a Hot Rental Market, What Renters Shouldn’t Settle on When Looking for a New Home | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of How We Get By, a KQED series exploring how people are coping with rising costs in the Bay Area and California. Find the \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/affordability\">\u003cem>full series here\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em> \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Looking for a rental property in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a> is not for the faint of heart — a fact Beyond Deng has come to understand very well.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The 26-year-old policy researcher has a few days left to find a new home, after his landlord sold the Mission District apartment Deng shares with two friends. To stay in the city, Deng is now searching for a new home in one of the country’s hottest rental markets. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But the sky-high prices and intense competition weren’t even the biggest surprises, he said: “It was how \u003cem>little \u003c/em>I would get for so much that I would have to pay.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1391\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/04/GettyImages-2250030108-scaled-e1789077751622.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12078788\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An apartment-for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building on Dec. 4, 2025, in San Francisco. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Fueled in part by the AI boom, rents in San Francisco \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2026/06/04/oakland-artificial-intelligence-ai-housing-rents-san-francisco/\">have risen\u003c/a> this year faster than anywhere else in the country — bringing with them \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095536/after-the-18000-scam-how-can-bay-area-renters-protect-themselves\">a new breed of scams\u003c/a> — and the rest of the Bay Area is also \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/realestate/article/rent-price-apartment-oakland-22329281.php\">feeling the heat\u003c/a>. The few remaining options on the market, however, are forcing many renters to scale down their expectations \u003cem>even more\u003c/em> to find a home in the region.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One spot Deng considered was a \u003ca href=\"https://www.zillow.com/b/1000-1010-bush-street-san-francisco-ca-CkNrCG/\">110-square-foot room\u003c/a> with only a sink and a closet. The kitchen and bathroom were shared by more than a dozen other residents. Monthly rent for the property was listed at $1,400. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“If I’m going to pay that much, let me just gather all my things, go back down South and try to find a whole house,” Houston-raised Deng joked.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A compromise too far?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other renters are looking into homes where tenants are already jostling for limited amenities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Álvaro Galván, a data scientist who just found a new rental spot, recalled visiting a three-bedroom home in the Excelsior District shared by seven people during his own search. When he asked about the TV in the living room, Galván said the existing tenants told him, “That’s our TV.” Meaning: “They could use the TV — but me, as their subtenant — could not,” he recalled.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>High prices and endless competition may encourage you to look for fewer amenities than you’d like, said San Francisco-based attorney and tenants’ rights advocate Joshua Ezrin. But there are actually “basic state rules governing habitability,” he warned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12051134\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/018_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs in the window of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And you should be very careful, he added, “about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that is knowingly renting a unit that is violating these basic state rules.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Think you could hypothetically live in a rented room with no natural lighting — and where the bathroom is located \u003ca href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/1ss42dp/is_there_a_place_to_warn_fellow_renters_of_bad/\">in a different building\u003c/a>? The law says something different, said Ora Prochovnick, director of litigation for the San Francisco renters’ rights group, Eviction Defense Collaborative. “You \u003cem>do \u003c/em>have rights and protections as a tenant,” she stressed.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Keep reading for what legal experts recommend tenants should remember when looking for a new rental home in California — especially when a limited budget and a tight market might be forcing you to limit your expectations. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What does the law say homes in California need to have?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>There are several laws that detail what all living spaces — “dwelling” is the official term used —in California must have. These rules apply when you own the home you live in, or when you are renting a house, apartment or an individual room.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The home “has to be fit for a human being to live in,” said Prochovnick from Eviction Defense Collaborative. “It’s a pretty low bar to meet — but it is a requirement.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One law \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC§ionNum=17920.3.\">requires\u003c/a> all dwellings (including hotel rooms) to have the following:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>A \u003cstrong>sink\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A working \u003cstrong>heating system\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A \u003cstrong>toilet\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Shower \u003c/strong>or \u003cstrong>bathtub\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003cstrong>Electricity\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>A \u003cstrong>ventilation system\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Some form of \u003cstrong>natural light\u003c/strong>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=CIV§ionNum=1941.1.\">another law\u003c/a> specific to rental agreements goes even further: landlords have an \u003cem>immediate \u003c/em>obligation to comply with the standards above if they expect individuals to live in this home. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As of this year, California \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067581/in-2026-all-rental-homes-in-california-will-need-to-have-these-2-things\">also requires\u003c/a> rental homes to have a \u003cstrong>fridge \u003cem>and \u003c/em>a stove \u003c/strong>— and property owners must repair or replace them if they stop working.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If the home didn’t have a heater or fridge when you moved in, you can still ask your landlord to meet the state’s obligations after you’ve begun living there, as there’s no time limit on invoking these rights.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Tenants don’t waive their rights if there are problems when they move in,” Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if you are renting an individual room in a house or large building but that room does not include its own private bathroom or kitchen, your landlord must grant you access to the bathroom and kitchen of that property. You have access to the shared amenities even if the space you are paying for does not explicitly include them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How can you flag problems \u003cem>before \u003c/em>you move in?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Renters absolutely have a right to ask property owners to follow state regulations even if they haven’t signed a lease yet, Prochovnick said. But she also acknowledged that some people may feel unsure — to put it mildly — about bringing issues up with a landlord during an interview or a crowded open house.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Yes, there’s a lot of competition for every unit, and you don’t want the landlord to think you’re a troublemaker from day one,” she said. “But this is something we have to weigh: How bad are the problems that you want to point them out now — or later?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And how a property owner responds to you asking a question about what the apartment has — or lacks — can also be an opportunity for you to learn how they may deal with future needs, added Ezrin, the San Francisco-based attorney.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12040031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/002_KQED_SanFrancisco_RentStrike_03312020_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign on a house in San Francisco’s Mission District on March 31, 2020. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Are these going to be folks that will be responsive to your repair and maintenance requests?” he questioned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Ezrin recommended that you get a record — in writing — from a prospective landlord outlining what problems will be fixed: “either in the lease itself, in a lease addendum or in some separate side agreement before you execute the lease.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Why is this important? So you have something in writing verifying the problem actually exists, Ezrin explained. This also means you’re putting the landlord “on notice of the issue,” he said, so that they can move forward with necessary repairs before you move into the home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“There are folks who have no other options based on financial limitations and what the market has available,” he acknowledged. “So sometimes you’re going to concede points that you might not want to.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, “you should be very careful about entering into any type of lease with a landlord that knowingly is renting a unit that is violating the basic state rules governing habitability,” Ezrin warned.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How small is \u003cem>too\u003c/em> small?\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Another thing many Bay Area tenants might grudgingly sacrifice to find a place that’s in their budget: space. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Craigslist, there are hundreds of \u003ca href=\"http://craigslist.org/search/city/san-francisco-ca?cat=roo&max_price=1500&min_price=0&postal=94110&radius=10#search=2~gallery~27\">Bay Area listings\u003c/a> for homes with three or more people already sharing the space — and of course, some San Franciscans are even paying $700 per month for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12080289/700-a-month-sleeping-pods-make-sf-more-affordable-but-at-what-cost\">a bunk bed\u003c/a> in a room with 30 other adults.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>But even in a very crowded home, state law requires minimum physical requirements for those inhabitants. The ceiling height must be at least 7 feet, 6 inches. “You have to be able to stand up straight without bumping your head,” said Prochovnick.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12058552\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/012_SanFrancisco_Housing_07292021_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A for-rent sign hangs outside of an apartment building in San Francisco’s Nob Hill on July 29, 2021. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>State law also \u003ca href=\"https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/paloalto/latest/paloalto_ca/0-0-0-87716\">dictates\u003c/a> that every dwelling must be a minimum of 70 square feet, she said — which includes bedrooms. And if you’re renting just a bed in a room that’s shared with other people, the room where you all sleep in must be bigger than 70 square feet.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>You also have a right to privacy within the space that you are paying for. Even if you are renting a room in a friend or family member’s home, they cannot enter your bedroom without a proper reason and proper notice, Prochovnick said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>One of those reasons could be that you have invited your landlord to enter your room, or there’s an emergency. Otherwise, your landlord can \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=1954.&lawCode=CIV\">come in only\u003c/a> to:\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Make necessary or agreed-upon repairs.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Inspect the room’s condition at the start or end of your lease.\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>Show the space to a potential tenant.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>And if any of these conditions apply, your landlord still needs to let you know — in writing — that they’ll be entering at least 24 hours in advance.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Knowing what the state requires can help you understand what your privacy would look like in any rental home you’re looking at.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Think ahead of time: What will be your private space?” said Prochovnick. If you’ve rented only a bedroom in the landlord’s home, your right to privacy applies \u003cem>only \u003c/em>to that bedroom, she added. “The landlord doesn’t have to give you notice if they’re coming in the garage or the stairway.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If you feel that a home you’re looking to rent already has a lot of people living in it, have a clear understanding of who you have a lease with — is it the landlord or another tenant? If it’s another tenant, check what the main (or “original”) lease says about the maximum number of occupants in the home, Prochovnick advised.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might feel like bringing in a roommate is just bringing in a roommate,” she said. “But legally that’s subletting, and that could be a violation of your lease if you’re not doing it with prior written consent from the landlord.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "san-francisco-housing-group-files-lawsuit-opposing-marina-safeway-project",
"title": "San Francisco Housing Group Files Lawsuit Opposing Marina Safeway Project",
"publishDate": 1789594843,
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"headTitle": "San Francisco Housing Group Files Lawsuit Opposing Marina Safeway Project | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Opponents of a high-rise housing and commercial building proposal on the footprint of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092328/can-wealthy-san-francisco-residents-stop-a-massive-housing-redevelopment-project\">Marina District’s Safeway\u003c/a> have filed a lawsuit against \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, their latest effort to stop the controversial development.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The YesAND Foundation, a new housing nonprofit in the city, along with four Marina District residents, allege that the city is unlawfully pushing the proposal through a streamlined approval process under a state housing law, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923146/these-california-affordable-housing-bills-could-create-more-than-a-million-apartments-if-labor-unions-can-agree-on-terms\">Assembly Bill 2011\u003c/a>, that it is not eligible to use. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Federal Court last week, also contends that the city exempted the project’s developer, Align Real Estate, from performing hazardous-waste assessments on the site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Neighborhood organizations followed the established process first,” said Lori Brooke, a member of YesAND and NeighborsUnited SF, a coalition of neighborhood businesses and organizations that also joined the suit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1186\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092738\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED-1536x911.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Safeway at 15 Marina Blvd. in San Francisco, where developer Align Real Estate has proposed 848 apartments. \u003cbr> (Courtesy of Arquitectonica)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brooke said that residents have written to the planning and public health departments, and they spent months asking for an environmental assessment, all without success. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They turned to a legal suit after the city decided in August that the building plans from Align could move forward for approval through a ministerial process that skirts public hearings and environmental reviews, as long as certain criteria are met. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We were not asking for a veto,” she said. “We were asking for proper review and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. When both are denied, the courts become the only option left.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last December, Align applied to demolish the Safeway at 11 and 15 Marina Blvd. and replace it with a two-tower mixed-use commercial and housing development. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposal was met with swift opposition from neighbors and has split local officials, some of whom say it would tower over the surrounding neighborhood and could obstruct Bay views. The 18-plus-story glass towers, right on the waterline of the affluent Marina District, would be especially stark. Erin Roach, the president of the Marina Community Association, previously told KQED that the building would be “roughly six times taller than anything around it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, who represents the area, have both previously opposed the project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sherrill and a coalition of residents asked the city in June to find the site ineligible for development under AB 2011, arguing that the law requires at least 75% of the site’s perimeter to adjoin to parcels developed with “urban uses,” while they said Fort Mason and another city-owned parcel surrounding the Safeway are restricted for maritime and recreational use.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The planning department wrote in response that it considers the site surrounded by urban uses. Planning Director Sarah Dennis Phillips also wrote in a July 20 letter that the property is not on a list of hazardous waste sites in the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other city supervisors, along with state Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, both of whom worked on AB 2011, have expressed support for the project, which would provide more than 800 new residential units, including 86 affordable homes — as the city races to meet lofty state goals to build \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/news/2025-03-19/why-and-where-san-francisco-needs-allow-more-homes-housing-element-primer\">82,000 housing units\u003c/a> by 2031.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The streamlined approval process created by the law exempts projects from Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors votes, as well as a California Environmental Quality Act review. The project also uses California’s “density bonus” law that lets developers override local zoning requirements and build taller, so long as they include affordable units.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The plaintiffs are asking a judge to reverse the city’s streamlining decision and require Align to comply with and complete all health and safety requirements before the project can move forward. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Blue trucks with 'pg and e' logo on them sit parked in a lot with the white and black blurry pattern of a fence in the foreground\" class=\"wp-image-11943199\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">PG&E trucks sit inside a Mission District facility owned by the utility. (Sheraz Sadiq/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The legal challenge also accuses the city and PG&E, which operated a manufactured gas plant and steam electric plant on the site, of creating a public nuisance. It furthermore alleges negligence for failing to fully investigate or remediate contamination as a result of its former facilities’ operations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The suit names Align, the city’s Planning and Public Health departments, PG&E and Safeway parent company Albertson’s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the city attorney’s office said it would review the complaint and respond in court once the office was served. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>PG&E said in a statement that it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city is expected to make its final administrative determination on Align’s proposal next month.\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The YesAND Foundation, a new housing nonprofit in the city, along with four Marina District residents, allege that the city is unlawfully pushing the proposal through a streamlined approval process under a state housing law, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923146/these-california-affordable-housing-bills-could-create-more-than-a-million-apartments-if-labor-unions-can-agree-on-terms\">Assembly Bill 2011\u003c/a>, that it is not eligible to use. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Federal Court last week, also contends that the city exempted the project’s developer, Align Real Estate, from performing hazardous-waste assessments on the site.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092738\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED-1536x911.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Safeway at 15 Marina Blvd. in San Francisco, where developer Align Real Estate has proposed 848 apartments. \u003cbr>\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Courtesy of Arquitectonica)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Brooke said that residents have written to the planning and public health departments, and they spent months asking for an environmental assessment, all without success. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>They turned to a legal suit after the city decided in August that the building plans from Align could move forward for approval through a ministerial process that skirts public hearings and environmental reviews, as long as certain criteria are met. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We were not asking for a veto,” she said. “We were asking for proper review and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. When both are denied, the courts become the only option left.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last December, Align applied to demolish the Safeway at 11 and 15 Marina Blvd. and replace it with a two-tower mixed-use commercial and housing development. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The proposal was met with swift opposition from neighbors and has split local officials, some of whom say it would tower over the surrounding neighborhood and could obstruct Bay views. The 18-plus-story glass towers, right on the waterline of the affluent Marina District, would be especially stark. Erin Roach, the president of the Marina Community Association, previously told KQED that the building would be “roughly six times taller than anything around it.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, who represents the area, have both previously opposed the project. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sherrill and a coalition of residents asked the city in June to find the site ineligible for development under AB 2011, arguing that the law requires at least 75% of the site’s perimeter to adjoin to parcels developed with “urban uses,” while they said Fort Mason and another city-owned parcel surrounding the Safeway are restricted for maritime and recreational use.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The planning department wrote in response that it considers the site surrounded by urban uses. Planning Director Sarah Dennis Phillips also wrote in a July 20 letter that the property is not on a list of hazardous waste sites in the state. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Other city supervisors, along with state Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, both of whom worked on AB 2011, have expressed support for the project, which would provide more than 800 new residential units, including 86 affordable homes — as the city races to meet lofty state goals to build \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/news/2025-03-19/why-and-where-san-francisco-needs-allow-more-homes-housing-element-primer\">82,000 housing units\u003c/a> by 2031.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Other city supervisors, along with state Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, both of whom worked on AB 2011, have expressed support for the project, which would provide more than 800 new residential units, including 86 affordable homes — as the city races to meet lofty state goals to build \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/news/2025-03-19/why-and-where-san-francisco-needs-allow-more-homes-housing-element-primer\">82,000 housing units\u003c/a> by 2031.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The streamlined approval process created by the law exempts projects from Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors votes, as well as a California Environmental Quality Act review. The project also uses California’s “density bonus” law that lets developers override local zoning requirements and build taller, so long as they include affordable units.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The streamlined approval process created by the law exempts projects from Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors votes, as well as a California Environmental Quality Act review. The project also uses California’s “density bonus” law that lets developers override local zoning requirements and build taller, so long as they include affordable units.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The plaintiffs are asking a judge to reverse the city’s streamlining decision and require Align to comply with and complete all health and safety requirements before the project can move forward. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Blue trucks with 'pg and e' logo on them sit parked in a lot with the white and black blurry pattern of a fence in the foreground\" class=\"wp-image-11943199\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">PG&E trucks sit inside a Mission District facility owned by the utility.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Sheraz Sadiq/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The legal challenge also accuses the city and PG&E, which operated a manufactured gas plant and steam electric plant on the site, of creating a public nuisance. It furthermore alleges negligence for failing to fully investigate or remediate contamination as a result of its former facilities’ operations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The suit names Align, the city’s Planning and Public Health departments, PG&E and Safeway parent company Albertson’s.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the city attorney’s office said it would review the complaint and respond in court once the office was served. \u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The new nonprofit is asking a judge to stall a controversial 800-unit planned development ahead of a city decision on the project next month.",
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"title": "San Francisco Housing Group Files Lawsuit Opposing Marina Safeway Project | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Opponents of a high-rise housing and commercial building proposal on the footprint of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12092328/can-wealthy-san-francisco-residents-stop-a-massive-housing-redevelopment-project\">Marina District’s Safeway\u003c/a> have filed a lawsuit against \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>, their latest effort to stop the controversial development.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The YesAND Foundation, a new housing nonprofit in the city, along with four Marina District residents, allege that the city is unlawfully pushing the proposal through a streamlined approval process under a state housing law, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11923146/these-california-affordable-housing-bills-could-create-more-than-a-million-apartments-if-labor-unions-can-agree-on-terms\">Assembly Bill 2011\u003c/a>, that it is not eligible to use. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Federal Court last week, also contends that the city exempted the project’s developer, Align Real Estate, from performing hazardous-waste assessments on the site.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Neighborhood organizations followed the established process first,” said Lori Brooke, a member of YesAND and NeighborsUnited SF, a coalition of neighborhood businesses and organizations that also joined the suit. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1186\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12092738\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED-160x95.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/07/260727-MARINA-SAFEWAY-05-KQED-1536x911.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Safeway at 15 Marina Blvd. in San Francisco, where developer Align Real Estate has proposed 848 apartments. \u003cbr> (Courtesy of Arquitectonica)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Brooke said that residents have written to the planning and public health departments, and they spent months asking for an environmental assessment, all without success. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>They turned to a legal suit after the city decided in August that the building plans from Align could move forward for approval through a ministerial process that skirts public hearings and environmental reviews, as long as certain criteria are met. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We were not asking for a veto,” she said. “We were asking for proper review and a meaningful opportunity to be heard. When both are denied, the courts become the only option left.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Last December, Align applied to demolish the Safeway at 11 and 15 Marina Blvd. and replace it with a two-tower mixed-use commercial and housing development. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The proposal was met with swift opposition from neighbors and has split local officials, some of whom say it would tower over the surrounding neighborhood and could obstruct Bay views. The 18-plus-story glass towers, right on the waterline of the affluent Marina District, would be especially stark. Erin Roach, the president of the Marina Community Association, previously told KQED that the building would be “roughly six times taller than anything around it.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Mayor Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Stephen Sherrill, who represents the area, have both previously opposed the project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Sherrill and a coalition of residents asked the city in June to find the site ineligible for development under AB 2011, arguing that the law requires at least 75% of the site’s perimeter to adjoin to parcels developed with “urban uses,” while they said Fort Mason and another city-owned parcel surrounding the Safeway are restricted for maritime and recreational use.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The planning department wrote in response that it considers the site surrounded by urban uses. Planning Director Sarah Dennis Phillips also wrote in a July 20 letter that the property is not on a list of hazardous waste sites in the state. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other city supervisors, along with state Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, both of whom worked on AB 2011, have expressed support for the project, which would provide more than 800 new residential units, including 86 affordable homes — as the city races to meet lofty state goals to build \u003ca href=\"https://www.spur.org/news/2025-03-19/why-and-where-san-francisco-needs-allow-more-homes-housing-element-primer\">82,000 housing units\u003c/a> by 2031.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The streamlined approval process created by the law exempts projects from Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors votes, as well as a California Environmental Quality Act review. The project also uses California’s “density bonus” law that lets developers override local zoning requirements and build taller, so long as they include affordable units.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The plaintiffs are asking a judge to reverse the city’s streamlining decision and require Align to comply with and complete all health and safety requirements before the project can move forward. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Blue trucks with 'pg and e' logo on them sit parked in a lot with the white and black blurry pattern of a fence in the foreground\" class=\"wp-image-11943199\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/03/RS34908_P1100952-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">PG&E trucks sit inside a Mission District facility owned by the utility. (Sheraz Sadiq/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The legal challenge also accuses the city and PG&E, which operated a manufactured gas plant and steam electric plant on the site, of creating a public nuisance. It furthermore alleges negligence for failing to fully investigate or remediate contamination as a result of its former facilities’ operations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The suit names Align, the city’s Planning and Public Health departments, PG&E and Safeway parent company Albertson’s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for the city attorney’s office said it would review the complaint and respond in court once the office was served. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>PG&E said in a statement that it had not yet reviewed the lawsuit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The city is expected to make its final administrative determination on Align’s proposal next month.\u003cbr>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "desperate-tenants-in-sf-face-scams-substandard-rentals",
"title": "Desperate Tenants in SF Face Scams, Substandard Rentals",
"publishDate": 1789552800,
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"headTitle": "Desperate Tenants in SF Face Scams, Substandard Rentals | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s AI boom is making the rental market more competitive than ever. Prospective tenants face intense pressure to stand out, leaving them susceptible to substandard living conditions or outright scams. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-megaphone wp-block-embed-megaphone\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6264762819\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Part 1: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12099253/as-ai-booms-daniel-lurie-declares-rent-emergency-in-san-francisco\">As AI Booms, Daniel Lurie Declares ‘Rent Emergency’ in San Francisco \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095536/after-the-18000-scam-how-can-bay-area-renters-protect-themselves\">After the $18,000 Scam, How Can Bay Area Renters Protect Themselves? | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Episode transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Beyond Deng is packing up the Mission District apartment he’d been living in for the last few years. He has yet to find his next landing spot, but he’s got a big deadline looming over him. On Friday, he’ll have to be out of this apartment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>I wake up every single morning in my bed that’s now on the floor because we did it to sell our bed frame. And I think I’m just, damn, where am I going to be next week?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Earlier this summer, Deng’s landlord announced that they were selling the apartment building, throwing Deng and everyone else in the building into San Francisco’s crazy rental market.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>So the last month and a half, we’ve been through this whole tedious, arduous journey on learning more about how we can project ourselves as tenants to now try to face this brutal landscape of the rental market.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The AI boom has injected even more money into an already competitive rental market. So renters like Deng are now facing a desperate situation. Some are willing to pay extra, others are accepting substandard living conditions, and some are even falling for scams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t, in these circumstances. It’s making renters more vulnerable. This is a landlord’s market right now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 1: \u003c/strong>What makes San Francisco special is being threatened right now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daniel Lurie:\u003c/strong> When San Franciscans sit down at the kitchen table at night, many are asking another question. Can I still afford to live here?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 2: \u003c/strong>The listings are pretty sparse to begin with.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 3: \u003c/strong>I really hope we’re not being priced out of our move to the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 4: \u003c/strong>It was so competitive that we’re moving to the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, in part two of the Bay’s series on San Francisco’s AI-fueled rental crisis, KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí tells us about how far some renters are willing to go to stay in San Francisco. I wonder if you can just tell me about like the range of crazy things that you’re hearing renters settle for in this rental market right now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s not a new thing that you find someone in San Francisco or the Bay Area who has four, five, six roommates. But things start getting a little strange when you start hearing folks having to visit places with no kitchen, no bathroom, no sunlight. On Reddit, one user shared that he went to visit a spot. He walked around the room and then he’s like, where am I supposed to go use the restroom? And the landlord was like, oh, well, there’s a gym down the street. You should get a membership.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Oh my god. San Francisco has always been a very expensive place to live, a difficult place to rent in, and we talked in our last episode of The Bay about how this is just a unique moment in the city because of just the sheer wealth that is being injected into the city with the AI boom, but how is this competition and this pressure in the rental market right now changing renters’ behavior?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>We know that in San Francisco, there’s always been a market for living spaces that offer the minimum. But now we’re seeing people who are, you know, have full-time jobs, who are professionals, who let’s say would be in most other places in the country in very comfortable circumstances, having to then also compete for the same exact spaces. As a renter, you don’t have any guarantee that a landlord’s even going to look at message right on Zillow or Craigslist, whatever. One way to stand out is to offer more. You know, if the listing was, hey, this is for 4,000, you’re gonna have some people emailing the landlord being, hey, I’m willing to pay 5,000. If I set my homie up in a closet, they might say, oh, this good, man, I’ll settle here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>People feel desperate and sometimes just think any four walls and ceiling and a floor is worth it and they’ll put up with a lot of problems.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>As part of my reporting, I spoke to Ora Prochovnick. She is the Director of Litigation at the San Francisco Eviction Defense Collaborative. This is a renter’s rights group. She’s seen how in this tight market, people are making desperate choices to find a home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>The escalating anxiety around, if you find a place that’s at all desirable and within your ballpark about what you can afford, you know that in one afternoon, at least 20 other tenants are gonna be putting in their applications to compete with yours.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, people are desperate. People are desperate to stay here and find a way to make it work here in San Francisco. And so, I mean it sounds like people are kind of not just going through crazy lengths in order to stay there, but are also more vulnerable, as you say. And another part of your reporting too is that folks have been more susceptible to scams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>When competition is this intense, this is both anecdotal and this is something that I’ve seen again and again, especially on Craigslist, are scams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to see the listing because it was a two bed, one and a half bath. And that was exactly what my roommate and I were looking for.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>I spoke to Alvin Tran who lives in San Francisco and he got a 10% rent increase. You know, with his bestie, he starts looking for a new spot and they’re looking everywhere and they find a spot on Craigslist.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>Photos and the description, the place looks huge. There’s a lot of sunlight and it was in an ideal location. It was within our top three neighborhoods that we were looking for and it within our budget.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He emails the contact on Craigslist. The person on Craiglist who put up the listing says, fantastic, why don’t you come to the open house?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>So when I arrived at the open house, I saw that there were around six or seven other parties there and people have already mentioned that they have already applied online on Zillow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He sees the competition and he’s like, okay, obviously, you know, he’s proactive as soon as they get home, let me email the person I’ve been talking to on Craigslist, makes his interest very clear. He says, hey, I’m ready to put money down.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was feeling a little bit pressured on how do I make myself stand out? How do I be able to kind of secure this apartment?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He and his roomie were asked to put down $18,000 together. It was $6,000 for the first month of rent, another $6000 for last month of the rent, and an additional $6k for a deposit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to finally get confirmation that we were approved and that lease included a signed signature. So I assumed that everything went well and this is the end.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Of a journey. And it turns out that the person he sent the money to on Craigslist was not the landlord. What this scammer had done was, you know, he had seen other listings on Zillow and other places and created a fake one on Craigslist and sent Alvin to the open house that the real landlord was doing. So he intercepted what would otherwise been a regular normal interaction between Alvin and the real landlord.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I tried texting the number that I had. I tried calling and emailing. I even tried knocking on the door, but never got any response.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The person he sent the money to just disappeared, blocked Alvin, you know, stop taking his calls, stop responding his emails, but obviously he was able to like keep the money, right? Because it was done through a bank wire, bank transfer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was just shocked and floored that it turned out to be a scam. And then that sadness turned into frustration and then devastation because I then now realized that I have wired a big chunk of money to the wrong person and to a scammer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So Alvin lost $18,000 through this scam. And I think maybe some people might hear this, Carlos, and have very little empathy for Alvin, because, I mean, Craigslist scams are not new, but also $18000 is a lot of money. I mean what stands out to you about his situation?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Yeah, yeah. Alvin told me, he’s like, what was his blind spot? And what he shared was like, if he had just, maybe at the open house, talked with the landlord and was like hey, wanna confirm? Is this your email or is this your phone number? This wouldn’t have happened. But his mind was elsewhere. His mind, as he told me was to get this place soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I know that in my case, when I was there in person, I had already been texting and emailing who I thought was the property owner. So I didn’t think to confirm or ask for his contact information in person. But I think had I just done that and gone the extra mile to verify this whole scam would have fallen apart.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The incentive for scammers to get involved in the Bay Area rental market is huge. They’re hearing that people in San Francisco are willing to put down 18,000, 20,000 25,000 right? You know, with deposit, everything. Scammers are gonna be so like, they love that. They’re like, what, I can just do this and I get this huge payload. So that’s scary. And then the second thing is that, point out that if folks who are better off are getting this amount of pressure, are getting screwed over by this rental market, That is not good news for everyone else.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>We’ll have more with KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí right after this break. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you on the bay, consider supporting the work we do by becoming a KQED Sustaining Member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org/podcasts. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I wanna transition Carlos into what this means for people who are in the rental market right now and how to go about navigating this what feels like an impossible situation. So are your only options basically to pay 4,000 for a one bedroom, accept a bad living situation or get scammed?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>That’s something really important to have in mind right now, that no matter how desperate you have, the state of California guarantees you basic rights as tenants. Any place that you’re paying for, you, ECG, my landlord in this situation, are legally required to provide these things to me as your tenants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> What are those things? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí:\u003c/strong> Right, so these are some things that sound incredibly basic, but for example, a sink, a working heating system, a toilet. And as of this year, California also updated the set of rules to include a fridge and a stove. So if I’m paying rent for an apartment for a room, you need to guarantee that that I have access to a fridge and a stove. Something super super important that I think it seems like a you know for some people I mentioned to you know they even laugh when I say this but sunlight, natural sunlight you need access to natural sunlight. And the fact that this is in California’s legal code represents decades and decades of tenant activism. You know, that could be for a later story, but there’s a huge significance to mental health to just basic wellbeing, knowing that you wake up and if you want, you can raise the curtains or you can just open the window and have access to fresh air and sunlight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So landlords owe you basic things as a tenant, but what about how to avoid scams like Alvin’s situation?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>There’s a few small things that you can do to just kind of immediately spot a scam. And in Alvin’s case, the $18,000 that he was asked for, that should have been the first red flag. And Ora had a lot to say about that.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>California limits the amount of money that landlords are allowed to charge at the start of a tenancy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Landlords, especially, you know, at the big level where they own multiple properties, they can’t charge you more than one month of rent and then a deposit. And in Alvin’s case, it was $6,000 for first month of rental, $6000 for last month of rent, and then $6K for an additional deposit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So if they ask you for any more than that?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Red flag because it’s well one it’s illegal so it’s either you have a landlord that doesn’t read the law which is okay that’s already a problem or two a scammer that doesn’ know anything about California rental law and something that everyone I spoke to told me is avoid a wire transfer which is unfortunately what Alvin you know ended up doing he sent the $18,000 via wire transfer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>It’s never a good idea to do, unfortunately, what was done in this case. Don’t wire money, don’t use crypto, don’t us those digital apps that we’ve all come to love like Venmo and Zelle because you’re not protected when you use those tools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Once you send that money out, there’s no way for you to get it back, versus if I sign you a check, or even if I pay you through my credit card, I still have a chance to be able to cancel that and get that money back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, one thing I’m struggling with here, Carlos, is the fact that I think you could be as aware of your rights as a tenant as possible. You could be read up on California state law, but it sounds like there are enough renters in the market right now who are willing to settle for less. I mean what advice would you give to people right now on how to navigate San Francisco’s rental market?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>We’ve been in a landlord’s market before. There’s a lot of circumstances, right, out of our control where the AI boom goes next. But we have to also remember that individual actions add up to a collective result. You know, like we normalize landlords charging $4,000, $5,000. We’re putting ourselves in a position where we as tenants collectively will have less power. You gotta make these rights worth it somehow, right? Like you gotta fight for them if they’re not, you know, rights are only there if you fight for them, if you stand up for them, if you use them, if you work them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, Carlos, thank you so much for sharing your reporting. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Thank you ECG.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, a community reporter for KQED. By the way, this episode is the first in a series of stories we’re doing here on the Bay about how AI is affecting the Bay Area’s rental crisis. We’ll leave a link to the first episode in our show notes. This episode was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. Gabriela Glueck is our producer. She scored this episode and added all the tape. Music courtesy of Audio Network. If you wanna get in touch with us here at The Bay, feel free to send us an email. We’re at thebayatkqed.org. Support for The Bay is provided in part by the Osher Production Fund. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Peace.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Beyond Deng is packing up the Mission District apartment he’d been living in for the last few years. He has yet to find his next landing spot, but he’s got a big deadline looming over him. On Friday, he’ll have to be out of this apartment.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Beyond Deng is packing up the Mission District apartment he’d been living in for the last few years. He has yet to find his next landing spot, but he’s got a big deadline looming over him. On Friday, he’ll have to be out of this apartment.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>I wake up every single morning in my bed that’s now on the floor because we did it to sell our bed frame. And I think I’m just, damn, where am I going to be next week?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>I wake up every single morning in my bed that’s now on the floor because we did it to sell our bed frame. And I think I’m just, damn, where am I going to be next week?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Earlier this summer, Deng’s landlord announced that they were selling the apartment building, throwing Deng and everyone else in the building into San Francisco’s crazy rental market.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Earlier this summer, Deng’s landlord announced that they were selling the apartment building, throwing Deng and everyone else in the building into San Francisco’s crazy rental market.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>So the last month and a half, we’ve been through this whole tedious, arduous journey on learning more about how we can project ourselves as tenants to now try to face this brutal landscape of the rental market.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>So the last month and a half, we’ve been through this whole tedious, arduous journey on learning more about how we can project ourselves as tenants to now try to face this brutal landscape of the rental market.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The AI boom has injected even more money into an already competitive rental market. So renters like Deng are now facing a desperate situation. Some are willing to pay extra, others are accepting substandard living conditions, and some are even falling for scams.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The AI boom has injected even more money into an already competitive rental market. So renters like Deng are now facing a desperate situation. Some are willing to pay extra, others are accepting substandard living conditions, and some are even falling for scams.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t, in these circumstances. It’s making renters more vulnerable. This is a landlord’s market right now.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t, in these circumstances. It’s making renters more vulnerable. This is a landlord’s market right now.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 1: \u003c/strong>What makes San Francisco special is being threatened right now. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daniel Lurie:\u003c/strong> When San Franciscans sit down at the kitchen table at night, many are asking another question. Can I still afford to live here?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daniel Lurie:\u003c/strong> When San Franciscans sit down at the kitchen table at night, many are asking another question. Can I still afford to live here?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, in part two of the Bay’s series on San Francisco’s AI-fueled rental crisis, KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí tells us about how far some renters are willing to go to stay in San Francisco. I wonder if you can just tell me about like the range of crazy things that you’re hearing renters settle for in this rental market right now.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, in part two of the Bay’s series on San Francisco’s AI-fueled rental crisis, KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí tells us about how far some renters are willing to go to stay in San Francisco. I wonder if you can just tell me about like the range of crazy things that you’re hearing renters settle for in this rental market right now.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s not a new thing that you find someone in San Francisco or the Bay Area who has four, five, six roommates. But things start getting a little strange when you start hearing folks having to visit places with no kitchen, no bathroom, no sunlight. On Reddit, one user shared that he went to visit a spot. He walked around the room and then he’s like, where am I supposed to go use the restroom? And the landlord was like, oh, well, there’s a gym down the street. You should get a membership.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s not a new thing that you find someone in San Francisco or the Bay Area who has four, five, six roommates. But things start getting a little strange when you start hearing folks having to visit places with no kitchen, no bathroom, no sunlight. On Reddit, one user shared that he went to visit a spot. He walked around the room and then he’s like, where am I supposed to go use the restroom? And the landlord was like, oh, well, there’s a gym down the street. You should get a membership.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Oh my god. San Francisco has always been a very expensive place to live, a difficult place to rent in, and we talked in our last episode of The Bay about how this is just a unique moment in the city because of just the sheer wealth that is being injected into the city with the AI boom, but how is this competition and this pressure in the rental market right now changing renters’ behavior?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Oh my god. San Francisco has always been a very expensive place to live, a difficult place to rent in, and we talked in our last episode of The Bay about how this is just a unique moment in the city because of just the sheer wealth that is being injected into the city with the AI boom, but how is this competition and this pressure in the rental market right now changing renters’ behavior?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>We know that in San Francisco, there’s always been a market for living spaces that offer the minimum. But now we’re seeing people who are, you know, have full-time jobs, who are professionals, who let’s say would be in most other places in the country in very comfortable circumstances, having to then also compete for the same exact spaces. As a renter, you don’t have any guarantee that a landlord’s even going to look at message right on Zillow or Craigslist, whatever. One way to stand out is to offer more. You know, if the listing was, hey, this is for 4,000, you’re gonna have some people emailing the landlord being, hey, I’m willing to pay 5,000. If I set my homie up in a closet, they might say, oh, this good, man, I’ll settle here.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>We know that in San Francisco, there’s always been a market for living spaces that offer the minimum. But now we’re seeing people who are, you know, have full-time jobs, who are professionals, who let’s say would be in most other places in the country in very comfortable circumstances, having to then also compete for the same exact spaces. As a renter, you don’t have any guarantee that a landlord’s even going to look at message right on Zillow or Craigslist, whatever. One way to stand out is to offer more. You know, if the listing was, hey, this is for 4,000, you’re gonna have some people emailing the landlord being, hey, I’m willing to pay 5,000. If I set my homie up in a closet, they might say, oh, this good, man, I’ll settle here.\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>People feel desperate and sometimes just think any four walls and ceiling and a floor is worth it and they’ll put up with a lot of problems.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>As part of my reporting, I spoke to Ora Prochovnick. She is the Director of Litigation at the San Francisco Eviction Defense Collaborative. This is a renter’s rights group. She’s seen how in this tight market, people are making desperate choices to find a home.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>The escalating anxiety around, if you find a place that’s at all desirable and within your ballpark about what you can afford, you know that in one afternoon, at least 20 other tenants are gonna be putting in their applications to compete with yours.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, people are desperate. People are desperate to stay here and find a way to make it work here in San Francisco. And so, I mean it sounds like people are kind of not just going through crazy lengths in order to stay there, but are also more vulnerable, as you say. And another part of your reporting too is that folks have been more susceptible to scams.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, people are desperate. People are desperate to stay here and find a way to make it work here in San Francisco. And so, I mean it sounds like people are kind of not just going through crazy lengths in order to stay there, but are also more vulnerable, as you say. And another part of your reporting too is that folks have been more susceptible to scams.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>When competition is this intense, this is both anecdotal and this is something that I’ve seen again and again, especially on Craigslist, are scams.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>When competition is this intense, this is both anecdotal and this is something that I’ve seen again and again, especially on Craigslist, are scams.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to see the listing because it was a two bed, one and a half bath. And that was exactly what my roommate and I were looking for.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to see the listing because it was a two bed, one and a half bath. And that was exactly what my roommate and I were looking for.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>I spoke to Alvin Tran who lives in San Francisco and he got a 10% rent increase. You know, with his bestie, he starts looking for a new spot and they’re looking everywhere and they find a spot on Craigslist.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>I spoke to Alvin Tran who lives in San Francisco and he got a 10% rent increase. You know, with his bestie, he starts looking for a new spot and they’re looking everywhere and they find a spot on Craigslist.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>Photos and the description, the place looks huge. There’s a lot of sunlight and it was in an ideal location. It was within our top three neighborhoods that we were looking for and it within our budget.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>Photos and the description, the place looks huge. There’s a lot of sunlight and it was in an ideal location. It was within our top three neighborhoods that we were looking for and it within our budget.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He emails the contact on Craigslist. The person on Craiglist who put up the listing says, fantastic, why don’t you come to the open house?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He emails the contact on Craigslist. The person on Craiglist who put up the listing says, fantastic, why don’t you come to the open house?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>So when I arrived at the open house, I saw that there were around six or seven other parties there and people have already mentioned that they have already applied online on Zillow.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>So when I arrived at the open house, I saw that there were around six or seven other parties there and people have already mentioned that they have already applied online on Zillow.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He sees the competition and he’s like, okay, obviously, you know, he’s proactive as soon as they get home, let me email the person I’ve been talking to on Craigslist, makes his interest very clear. He says, hey, I’m ready to put money down.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He sees the competition and he’s like, okay, obviously, you know, he’s proactive as soon as they get home, let me email the person I’ve been talking to on Craigslist, makes his interest very clear. He says, hey, I’m ready to put money down.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was feeling a little bit pressured on how do I make myself stand out? How do I be able to kind of secure this apartment?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was feeling a little bit pressured on how do I make myself stand out? How do I be able to kind of secure this apartment?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He and his roomie were asked to put down $18,000 together. It was $6,000 for the first month of rent, another $6000 for last month of the rent, and an additional $6k for a deposit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He and his roomie were asked to put down $18,000 together. It was $6,000 for the first month of rent, another $6000 for last month of the rent, and an additional $6k for a deposit.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to finally get confirmation that we were approved and that lease included a signed signature. So I assumed that everything went well and this is the end.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to finally get confirmation that we were approved and that lease included a signed signature. So I assumed that everything went well and this is the end.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Of a journey. And it turns out that the person he sent the money to on Craigslist was not the landlord. What this scammer had done was, you know, he had seen other listings on Zillow and other places and created a fake one on Craigslist and sent Alvin to the open house that the real landlord was doing. So he intercepted what would otherwise been a regular normal interaction between Alvin and the real landlord.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Of a journey. And it turns out that the person he sent the money to on Craigslist was not the landlord. What this scammer had done was, you know, he had seen other listings on Zillow and other places and created a fake one on Craigslist and sent Alvin to the open house that the real landlord was doing. So he intercepted what would otherwise been a regular normal interaction between Alvin and the real landlord.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I tried texting the number that I had. I tried calling and emailing. I even tried knocking on the door, but never got any response.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I tried texting the number that I had. I tried calling and emailing. I even tried knocking on the door, but never got any response.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The person he sent the money to just disappeared, blocked Alvin, you know, stop taking his calls, stop responding his emails, but obviously he was able to like keep the money, right? Because it was done through a bank wire, bank transfer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The person he sent the money to just disappeared, blocked Alvin, you know, stop taking his calls, stop responding his emails, but obviously he was able to like keep the money, right? Because it was done through a bank wire, bank transfer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was just shocked and floored that it turned out to be a scam. And then that sadness turned into frustration and then devastation because I then now realized that I have wired a big chunk of money to the wrong person and to a scammer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was just shocked and floored that it turned out to be a scam. And then that sadness turned into frustration and then devastation because I then now realized that I have wired a big chunk of money to the wrong person and to a scammer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So Alvin lost $18,000 through this scam. And I think maybe some people might hear this, Carlos, and have very little empathy for Alvin, because, I mean, Craigslist scams are not new, but also $18000 is a lot of money. I mean what stands out to you about his situation?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So Alvin lost $18,000 through this scam. And I think maybe some people might hear this, Carlos, and have very little empathy for Alvin, because, I mean, Craigslist scams are not new, but also $18000 is a lot of money. I mean what stands out to you about his situation?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Yeah, yeah. Alvin told me, he’s like, what was his blind spot? And what he shared was like, if he had just, maybe at the open house, talked with the landlord and was like hey, wanna confirm? Is this your email or is this your phone number? This wouldn’t have happened. But his mind was elsewhere. His mind, as he told me was to get this place soon.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Yeah, yeah. Alvin told me, he’s like, what was his blind spot? And what he shared was like, if he had just, maybe at the open house, talked with the landlord and was like hey, wanna confirm? Is this your email or is this your phone number? This wouldn’t have happened. But his mind was elsewhere. His mind, as he told me was to get this place soon.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I know that in my case, when I was there in person, I had already been texting and emailing who I thought was the property owner. So I didn’t think to confirm or ask for his contact information in person. But I think had I just done that and gone the extra mile to verify this whole scam would have fallen apart.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I know that in my case, when I was there in person, I had already been texting and emailing who I thought was the property owner. So I didn’t think to confirm or ask for his contact information in person. But I think had I just done that and gone the extra mile to verify this whole scam would have fallen apart.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The incentive for scammers to get involved in the Bay Area rental market is huge. They’re hearing that people in San Francisco are willing to put down 18,000, 20,000 25,000 right? You know, with deposit, everything. Scammers are gonna be so like, they love that. They’re like, what, I can just do this and I get this huge payload. So that’s scary. And then the second thing is that, point out that if folks who are better off are getting this amount of pressure, are getting screwed over by this rental market, That is not good news for everyone else.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The incentive for scammers to get involved in the Bay Area rental market is huge. They’re hearing that people in San Francisco are willing to put down 18,000, 20,000 25,000 right? You know, with deposit, everything. Scammers are gonna be so like, they love that. They’re like, what, I can just do this and I get this huge payload. So that’s scary. And then the second thing is that, point out that if folks who are better off are getting this amount of pressure, are getting screwed over by this rental market, That is not good news for everyone else.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>We’ll have more with KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí right after this break. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you on the bay, consider supporting the work we do by becoming a KQED Sustaining Member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org/podcasts. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>We’ll have more with KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí right after this break. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you on the bay, consider supporting the work we do by becoming a KQED Sustaining Member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org/podcasts. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I wanna transition Carlos into what this means for people who are in the rental market right now and how to go about navigating this what feels like an impossible situation. So are your only options basically to pay 4,000 for a one bedroom, accept a bad living situation or get scammed?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I wanna transition Carlos into what this means for people who are in the rental market right now and how to go about navigating this what feels like an impossible situation. So are your only options basically to pay 4,000 for a one bedroom, accept a bad living situation or get scammed?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>That’s something really important to have in mind right now, that no matter how desperate you have, the state of California guarantees you basic rights as tenants. Any place that you’re paying for, you, ECG, my landlord in this situation, are legally required to provide these things to me as your tenants. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>That’s something really important to have in mind right now, that no matter how desperate you have, the state of California guarantees you basic rights as tenants. Any place that you’re paying for, you, ECG, my landlord in this situation, are legally required to provide these things to me as your tenants. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> What are those things? \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> What are those things? \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí:\u003c/strong> Right, so these are some things that sound incredibly basic, but for example, a sink, a working heating system, a toilet. And as of this year, California also updated the set of rules to include a fridge and a stove. So if I’m paying rent for an apartment for a room, you need to guarantee that that I have access to a fridge and a stove. Something super super important that I think it seems like a you know for some people I mentioned to you know they even laugh when I say this but sunlight, natural sunlight you need access to natural sunlight. And the fact that this is in California’s legal code represents decades and decades of tenant activism. You know, that could be for a later story, but there’s a huge significance to mental health to just basic wellbeing, knowing that you wake up and if you want, you can raise the curtains or you can just open the window and have access to fresh air and sunlight.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí:\u003c/strong> Right, so these are some things that sound incredibly basic, but for example, a sink, a working heating system, a toilet. And as of this year, California also updated the set of rules to include a fridge and a stove. So if I’m paying rent for an apartment for a room, you need to guarantee that that I have access to a fridge and a stove. Something super super important that I think it seems like a you know for some people I mentioned to you know they even laugh when I say this but sunlight, natural sunlight you need access to natural sunlight. And the fact that this is in California’s legal code represents decades and decades of tenant activism. You know, that could be for a later story, but there’s a huge significance to mental health to just basic wellbeing, knowing that you wake up and if you want, you can raise the curtains or you can just open the window and have access to fresh air and sunlight.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So landlords owe you basic things as a tenant, but what about how to avoid scams like Alvin’s situation?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So landlords owe you basic things as a tenant, but what about how to avoid scams like Alvin’s situation?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>There’s a few small things that you can do to just kind of immediately spot a scam. And in Alvin’s case, the $18,000 that he was asked for, that should have been the first red flag. And Ora had a lot to say about that.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>There’s a few small things that you can do to just kind of immediately spot a scam. And in Alvin’s case, the $18,000 that he was asked for, that should have been the first red flag. And Ora had a lot to say about that.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>California limits the amount of money that landlords are allowed to charge at the start of a tenancy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>California limits the amount of money that landlords are allowed to charge at the start of a tenancy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Landlords, especially, you know, at the big level where they own multiple properties, they can’t charge you more than one month of rent and then a deposit. And in Alvin’s case, it was $6,000 for first month of rental, $6000 for last month of rent, and then $6K for an additional deposit.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Landlords, especially, you know, at the big level where they own multiple properties, they can’t charge you more than one month of rent and then a deposit. And in Alvin’s case, it was $6,000 for first month of rental, $6000 for last month of rent, and then $6K for an additional deposit.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So if they ask you for any more than that?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So if they ask you for any more than that?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Red flag because it’s well one it’s illegal so it’s either you have a landlord that doesn’t read the law which is okay that’s already a problem or two a scammer that doesn’ know anything about California rental law and something that everyone I spoke to told me is avoid a wire transfer which is unfortunately what Alvin you know ended up doing he sent the $18,000 via wire transfer.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Red flag because it’s well one it’s illegal so it’s either you have a landlord that doesn’t read the law which is okay that’s already a problem or two a scammer that doesn’ know anything about California rental law and something that everyone I spoke to told me is avoid a wire transfer which is unfortunately what Alvin you know ended up doing he sent the $18,000 via wire transfer.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>It’s never a good idea to do, unfortunately, what was done in this case. Don’t wire money, don’t use crypto, don’t us those digital apps that we’ve all come to love like Venmo and Zelle because you’re not protected when you use those tools.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>It’s never a good idea to do, unfortunately, what was done in this case. Don’t wire money, don’t use crypto, don’t us those digital apps that we’ve all come to love like Venmo and Zelle because you’re not protected when you use those tools.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Once you send that money out, there’s no way for you to get it back, versus if I sign you a check, or even if I pay you through my credit card, I still have a chance to be able to cancel that and get that money back.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Once you send that money out, there’s no way for you to get it back, versus if I sign you a check, or even if I pay you through my credit card, I still have a chance to be able to cancel that and get that money back.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, one thing I’m struggling with here, Carlos, is the fact that I think you could be as aware of your rights as a tenant as possible. You could be read up on California state law, but it sounds like there are enough renters in the market right now who are willing to settle for less. I mean what advice would you give to people right now on how to navigate San Francisco’s rental market?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, one thing I’m struggling with here, Carlos, is the fact that I think you could be as aware of your rights as a tenant as possible. You could be read up on California state law, but it sounds like there are enough renters in the market right now who are willing to settle for less. I mean what advice would you give to people right now on how to navigate San Francisco’s rental market?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, a community reporter for KQED. By the way, this episode is the first in a series of stories we’re doing here on the Bay about how AI is affecting the Bay Area’s rental crisis. We’ll leave a link to the first episode in our show notes. This episode was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. Gabriela Glueck is our producer. She scored this episode and added all the tape. Music courtesy of Audio Network. If you wanna get in touch with us here at The Bay, feel free to send us an email. We’re at thebayatkqed.org. Support for The Bay is provided in part by the Osher Production Fund. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Peace.\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>San Francisco’s AI boom is making the rental market more competitive than ever. Prospective tenants face intense pressure to stand out, leaving them susceptible to substandard living conditions or outright scams. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-megaphone wp-block-embed-megaphone\">\u003cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\nhttps://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6264762819\n\u003c/div>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>Part 1: \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12099253/as-ai-booms-daniel-lurie-declares-rent-emergency-in-san-francisco\">As AI Booms, Daniel Lurie Declares ‘Rent Emergency’ in San Francisco \u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\n\n\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12095536/after-the-18000-scam-how-can-bay-area-renters-protect-themselves\">After the $18,000 Scam, How Can Bay Area Renters Protect Themselves? | KQED\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Episode transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra, and welcome to The Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. Beyond Deng is packing up the Mission District apartment he’d been living in for the last few years. He has yet to find his next landing spot, but he’s got a big deadline looming over him. On Friday, he’ll have to be out of this apartment.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>I wake up every single morning in my bed that’s now on the floor because we did it to sell our bed frame. And I think I’m just, damn, where am I going to be next week?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Earlier this summer, Deng’s landlord announced that they were selling the apartment building, throwing Deng and everyone else in the building into San Francisco’s crazy rental market.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Deng: \u003c/strong>So the last month and a half, we’ve been through this whole tedious, arduous journey on learning more about how we can project ourselves as tenants to now try to face this brutal landscape of the rental market.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The AI boom has injected even more money into an already competitive rental market. So renters like Deng are now facing a desperate situation. Some are willing to pay extra, others are accepting substandard living conditions, and some are even falling for scams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t, in these circumstances. It’s making renters more vulnerable. This is a landlord’s market right now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 1: \u003c/strong>What makes San Francisco special is being threatened right now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Daniel Lurie:\u003c/strong> When San Franciscans sit down at the kitchen table at night, many are asking another question. Can I still afford to live here?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 2: \u003c/strong>The listings are pretty sparse to begin with.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 3: \u003c/strong>I really hope we’re not being priced out of our move to the city.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Speaker 4: \u003c/strong>It was so competitive that we’re moving to the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, in part two of the Bay’s series on San Francisco’s AI-fueled rental crisis, KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí tells us about how far some renters are willing to go to stay in San Francisco. I wonder if you can just tell me about like the range of crazy things that you’re hearing renters settle for in this rental market right now.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>People are accepting things that they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s not a new thing that you find someone in San Francisco or the Bay Area who has four, five, six roommates. But things start getting a little strange when you start hearing folks having to visit places with no kitchen, no bathroom, no sunlight. On Reddit, one user shared that he went to visit a spot. He walked around the room and then he’s like, where am I supposed to go use the restroom? And the landlord was like, oh, well, there’s a gym down the street. You should get a membership.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Oh my god. San Francisco has always been a very expensive place to live, a difficult place to rent in, and we talked in our last episode of The Bay about how this is just a unique moment in the city because of just the sheer wealth that is being injected into the city with the AI boom, but how is this competition and this pressure in the rental market right now changing renters’ behavior?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>We know that in San Francisco, there’s always been a market for living spaces that offer the minimum. But now we’re seeing people who are, you know, have full-time jobs, who are professionals, who let’s say would be in most other places in the country in very comfortable circumstances, having to then also compete for the same exact spaces. As a renter, you don’t have any guarantee that a landlord’s even going to look at message right on Zillow or Craigslist, whatever. One way to stand out is to offer more. You know, if the listing was, hey, this is for 4,000, you’re gonna have some people emailing the landlord being, hey, I’m willing to pay 5,000. If I set my homie up in a closet, they might say, oh, this good, man, I’ll settle here.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>People feel desperate and sometimes just think any four walls and ceiling and a floor is worth it and they’ll put up with a lot of problems.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>As part of my reporting, I spoke to Ora Prochovnick. She is the Director of Litigation at the San Francisco Eviction Defense Collaborative. This is a renter’s rights group. She’s seen how in this tight market, people are making desperate choices to find a home.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>The escalating anxiety around, if you find a place that’s at all desirable and within your ballpark about what you can afford, you know that in one afternoon, at least 20 other tenants are gonna be putting in their applications to compete with yours.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, people are desperate. People are desperate to stay here and find a way to make it work here in San Francisco. And so, I mean it sounds like people are kind of not just going through crazy lengths in order to stay there, but are also more vulnerable, as you say. And another part of your reporting too is that folks have been more susceptible to scams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>When competition is this intense, this is both anecdotal and this is something that I’ve seen again and again, especially on Craigslist, are scams.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to see the listing because it was a two bed, one and a half bath. And that was exactly what my roommate and I were looking for.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>I spoke to Alvin Tran who lives in San Francisco and he got a 10% rent increase. You know, with his bestie, he starts looking for a new spot and they’re looking everywhere and they find a spot on Craigslist.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>Photos and the description, the place looks huge. There’s a lot of sunlight and it was in an ideal location. It was within our top three neighborhoods that we were looking for and it within our budget.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He emails the contact on Craigslist. The person on Craiglist who put up the listing says, fantastic, why don’t you come to the open house?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>So when I arrived at the open house, I saw that there were around six or seven other parties there and people have already mentioned that they have already applied online on Zillow.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He sees the competition and he’s like, okay, obviously, you know, he’s proactive as soon as they get home, let me email the person I’ve been talking to on Craigslist, makes his interest very clear. He says, hey, I’m ready to put money down.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was feeling a little bit pressured on how do I make myself stand out? How do I be able to kind of secure this apartment?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>He and his roomie were asked to put down $18,000 together. It was $6,000 for the first month of rent, another $6000 for last month of the rent, and an additional $6k for a deposit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was super excited to finally get confirmation that we were approved and that lease included a signed signature. So I assumed that everything went well and this is the end.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Of a journey. And it turns out that the person he sent the money to on Craigslist was not the landlord. What this scammer had done was, you know, he had seen other listings on Zillow and other places and created a fake one on Craigslist and sent Alvin to the open house that the real landlord was doing. So he intercepted what would otherwise been a regular normal interaction between Alvin and the real landlord.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I tried texting the number that I had. I tried calling and emailing. I even tried knocking on the door, but never got any response.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The person he sent the money to just disappeared, blocked Alvin, you know, stop taking his calls, stop responding his emails, but obviously he was able to like keep the money, right? Because it was done through a bank wire, bank transfer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I was just shocked and floored that it turned out to be a scam. And then that sadness turned into frustration and then devastation because I then now realized that I have wired a big chunk of money to the wrong person and to a scammer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So Alvin lost $18,000 through this scam. And I think maybe some people might hear this, Carlos, and have very little empathy for Alvin, because, I mean, Craigslist scams are not new, but also $18000 is a lot of money. I mean what stands out to you about his situation?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Yeah, yeah. Alvin told me, he’s like, what was his blind spot? And what he shared was like, if he had just, maybe at the open house, talked with the landlord and was like hey, wanna confirm? Is this your email or is this your phone number? This wouldn’t have happened. But his mind was elsewhere. His mind, as he told me was to get this place soon.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Alvin Tran: \u003c/strong>I know that in my case, when I was there in person, I had already been texting and emailing who I thought was the property owner. So I didn’t think to confirm or ask for his contact information in person. But I think had I just done that and gone the extra mile to verify this whole scam would have fallen apart.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>The incentive for scammers to get involved in the Bay Area rental market is huge. They’re hearing that people in San Francisco are willing to put down 18,000, 20,000 25,000 right? You know, with deposit, everything. Scammers are gonna be so like, they love that. They’re like, what, I can just do this and I get this huge payload. So that’s scary. And then the second thing is that, point out that if folks who are better off are getting this amount of pressure, are getting screwed over by this rental market, That is not good news for everyone else.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>We’ll have more with KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí right after this break. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you on the bay, consider supporting the work we do by becoming a KQED Sustaining Member. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org/podcasts. We’ll be right back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I wanna transition Carlos into what this means for people who are in the rental market right now and how to go about navigating this what feels like an impossible situation. So are your only options basically to pay 4,000 for a one bedroom, accept a bad living situation or get scammed?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>That’s something really important to have in mind right now, that no matter how desperate you have, the state of California guarantees you basic rights as tenants. Any place that you’re paying for, you, ECG, my landlord in this situation, are legally required to provide these things to me as your tenants. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> What are those things? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí:\u003c/strong> Right, so these are some things that sound incredibly basic, but for example, a sink, a working heating system, a toilet. And as of this year, California also updated the set of rules to include a fridge and a stove. So if I’m paying rent for an apartment for a room, you need to guarantee that that I have access to a fridge and a stove. Something super super important that I think it seems like a you know for some people I mentioned to you know they even laugh when I say this but sunlight, natural sunlight you need access to natural sunlight. And the fact that this is in California’s legal code represents decades and decades of tenant activism. You know, that could be for a later story, but there’s a huge significance to mental health to just basic wellbeing, knowing that you wake up and if you want, you can raise the curtains or you can just open the window and have access to fresh air and sunlight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So landlords owe you basic things as a tenant, but what about how to avoid scams like Alvin’s situation?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>There’s a few small things that you can do to just kind of immediately spot a scam. And in Alvin’s case, the $18,000 that he was asked for, that should have been the first red flag. And Ora had a lot to say about that.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>California limits the amount of money that landlords are allowed to charge at the start of a tenancy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Landlords, especially, you know, at the big level where they own multiple properties, they can’t charge you more than one month of rent and then a deposit. And in Alvin’s case, it was $6,000 for first month of rental, $6000 for last month of rent, and then $6K for an additional deposit.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So if they ask you for any more than that?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Red flag because it’s well one it’s illegal so it’s either you have a landlord that doesn’t read the law which is okay that’s already a problem or two a scammer that doesn’ know anything about California rental law and something that everyone I spoke to told me is avoid a wire transfer which is unfortunately what Alvin you know ended up doing he sent the $18,000 via wire transfer.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ora Prochovnick: \u003c/strong>It’s never a good idea to do, unfortunately, what was done in this case. Don’t wire money, don’t use crypto, don’t us those digital apps that we’ve all come to love like Venmo and Zelle because you’re not protected when you use those tools.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Once you send that money out, there’s no way for you to get it back, versus if I sign you a check, or even if I pay you through my credit card, I still have a chance to be able to cancel that and get that money back.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, one thing I’m struggling with here, Carlos, is the fact that I think you could be as aware of your rights as a tenant as possible. You could be read up on California state law, but it sounds like there are enough renters in the market right now who are willing to settle for less. I mean what advice would you give to people right now on how to navigate San Francisco’s rental market?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>We’ve been in a landlord’s market before. There’s a lot of circumstances, right, out of our control where the AI boom goes next. But we have to also remember that individual actions add up to a collective result. You know, like we normalize landlords charging $4,000, $5,000. We’re putting ourselves in a position where we as tenants collectively will have less power. You gotta make these rights worth it somehow, right? Like you gotta fight for them if they’re not, you know, rights are only there if you fight for them, if you stand up for them, if you use them, if you work them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, Carlos, thank you so much for sharing your reporting. I appreciate it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí: \u003c/strong>Thank you ECG.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, a community reporter for KQED. By the way, this episode is the first in a series of stories we’re doing here on the Bay about how AI is affecting the Bay Area’s rental crisis. We’ll leave a link to the first episode in our show notes. This episode was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. Gabriela Glueck is our producer. She scored this episode and added all the tape. Music courtesy of Audio Network. If you wanna get in touch with us here at The Bay, feel free to send us an email. We’re at thebayatkqed.org. Support for The Bay is provided in part by the Osher Production Fund. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Peace.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>One of the paradoxes facing people whose homes survive a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire\u003c/a> is that they are often still victims of it. Sometimes, they have the least help for restoring their home to how it was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How insurance ought to address the damage caused by heat and smoke, even if the building never caught on fire, has been unclear, leaving survivors fighting to prove their homes were unsafe and to have their claims covered — until now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of legislation into law that establishes the nation’s first enforceable standards for testing and fixing smoke-damaged homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For future fire survivors, they will have peace of mind as well as safety,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the advocacy group Every Fire Survivor’s Network. Her home suffered smoke damage during the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ideally we’ll get some settled science on the question, ‘Is my house safe?’” Chen said. “‘What needs to be done to make it safe?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998770\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles firestorm were among the strongest advocates for changes. More than a quarter of all insurance claims stemming from the fires were for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047275/6-months-after-januarys-fires-recovery-is-just-beginning-for-many\">smoke damage\u003c/a> to homes that didn’t burn, according to estimates from the California Department of Insurance. Smoke-damaged homes can be polluted with lead, asbestos, benzene and other toxic substances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“California will not leave survivors to navigate recovery alone,” Newsom said in a press release. “These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1795\">bill\u003c/a>, AB 1795, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles) and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For too many wildfire survivors, the end of the fire has never meant the end of the disaster. Families have spent months, and sometimes years, fighting over whether their homes were safe while navigating confusing and inconsistent insurance claims,” Lara said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This law closes a dangerous gap that left wildfire survivors without clear standards, clear answers, and often a clear path home.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the California Air Resources Board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control will develop standards for testing, remediating and restoring the lead and asbestos contamination that can come from wildfire smoke. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance companies will have to assume that smoke damage from a wildfire impact zone came from the fire — meaning homeowners will not have to find a way to prove the cause — and will have to pay for the necessary testing, remediation and the living expenses of the household until the home is fixed and safe. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Policyholders will still have the right to select the restoration contractors of their choice. Insurance adjusters will get specialized training for handling smoke-damage claims. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance broker Karl Susman, who lives in Southern California, said what he observed wasn’t so much the problem of claims getting denied, “they just were getting paid so inconsistently.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might have one company that says, ‘We’re going to come in there, clean it all up, and we’re going to pay for you to live somewhere while we’re doing it.’ Another company would come in and say, ‘Yeah, just get a vacuum and you should be good.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other companies, he noted, might say the damage was so bad that everything in the house, including drywall, needed replacing. Each company is following interpretations of their own policies, he said, “but clearly a different outcome.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some industry groups opposed the bill, saying in part that it would increase costs for policy holders. A request for comment to the Personal Insurance Federation of California, one of the registered opponents of the bill, was not responded to by deadline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the LA fires were among the strongest advocates for the new law. The bill is not retroactive, however, so survivors will not in general be able to take care of the newfound clarity around insurance company’s responsibilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Still, the consumer protection win was celebrated by advocates, including Amy Bach, executive director of San Francisco-based advocacy group United Policyholders. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The organization “has been fighting for over a decade to get insurers to routinely test and thoroughly restore wildfire-damaged homes and not mislead residents that their homes are safe to move back into when they aren’t,” Bach said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Governor’s signature on AB 1795 paves the way for better outcomes and fewer disputes going forward. We commend the Commissioner’s team for the countless hours spent with survivors, insurers, scientists, and professionals to craft these protections.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California sets nation’s first standards for smoke-damaged homes.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>One of the paradoxes facing people whose homes survive a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/wildfires\">wildfire\u003c/a> is that they are often still victims of it. Sometimes, they have the least help for restoring their home to how it was. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>How insurance ought to address the damage caused by heat and smoke, even if the building never caught on fire, has been unclear, leaving survivors fighting to prove their homes were unsafe and to have their claims covered — until now. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of legislation into law that establishes the nation’s first enforceable standards for testing and fixing smoke-damaged homes. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For future fire survivors, they will have peace of mind as well as safety,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the advocacy group Every Fire Survivor’s Network. Her home suffered smoke damage during the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Ideally we’ll get some settled science on the question, ‘Is my house safe?’” Chen said. “‘What needs to be done to make it safe?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1998770\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2025/10/240109-CAWindStorm-076_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The remains of a house in Altadena, California, after the Eaton Fire swept through the area northeast of Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the 2025 Los Angeles firestorm were among the strongest advocates for changes. More than a quarter of all insurance claims stemming from the fires were for \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12047275/6-months-after-januarys-fires-recovery-is-just-beginning-for-many\">smoke damage\u003c/a> to homes that didn’t burn, according to estimates from the California Department of Insurance. Smoke-damaged homes can be polluted with lead, asbestos, benzene and other toxic substances. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“California will not leave survivors to navigate recovery alone,” Newsom said in a press release. “These new protections will make insurer obligations clearer and give homeowners more financial flexibility when they need it most.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1795\">bill\u003c/a>, AB 1795, was authored by Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Los Angeles) and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“For too many wildfire survivors, the end of the fire has never meant the end of the disaster. Families have spent months, and sometimes years, fighting over whether their homes were safe while navigating confusing and inconsistent insurance claims,” Lara said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This law closes a dangerous gap that left wildfire survivors without clear standards, clear answers, and often a clear path home.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Under the new law, the California Air Resources Board and the Department of Toxic Substances Control will develop standards for testing, remediating and restoring the lead and asbestos contamination that can come from wildfire smoke. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance companies will have to assume that smoke damage from a wildfire impact zone came from the fire — meaning homeowners will not have to find a way to prove the cause — and will have to pay for the necessary testing, remediation and the living expenses of the household until the home is fixed and safe. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Policyholders will still have the right to select the restoration contractors of their choice. Insurance adjusters will get specialized training for handling smoke-damage claims. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Insurance broker Karl Susman, who lives in Southern California, said what he observed wasn’t so much the problem of claims getting denied, “they just were getting paid so inconsistently.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“You might have one company that says, ‘We’re going to come in there, clean it all up, and we’re going to pay for you to live somewhere while we’re doing it.’ Another company would come in and say, ‘Yeah, just get a vacuum and you should be good.’” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Other companies, he noted, might say the damage was so bad that everything in the house, including drywall, needed replacing. Each company is following interpretations of their own policies, he said, “but clearly a different outcome.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Some industry groups opposed the bill, saying in part that it would increase costs for policy holders. A request for comment to the Personal Insurance Federation of California, one of the registered opponents of the bill, was not responded to by deadline. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Survivors of the LA fires were among the strongest advocates for the new law. The bill is not retroactive, however, so survivors will not in general be able to take care of the newfound clarity around insurance company’s responsibilities. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Still, the consumer protection win was celebrated by advocates, including Amy Bach, executive director of San Francisco-based advocacy group United Policyholders. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The organization “has been fighting for over a decade to get insurers to routinely test and thoroughly restore wildfire-damaged homes and not mislead residents that their homes are safe to move back into when they aren’t,” Bach said in a statement. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The Governor’s signature on AB 1795 paves the way for better outcomes and fewer disputes going forward. We commend the Commissioner’s team for the countless hours spent with survivors, insurers, scientists, and professionals to craft these protections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
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},
"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
},
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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