Updated Thursday, 11 a.m.
In the living room of the house at 2928 Magnolia Street, a big paper sign advises visitors to remove their shoes. Large black letters identify the space as a "Baby Zone."
Dominique Walker’s 1-year-old has been learning to walk in the carpeted living room of the West Oakland dwelling. The family has been settling in since Walker, 34, and her co-occupant Sameerah Karim, 41, entered the house without permission in November. The property is owned by a real estate investment company in Redondo Beach, California.
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The two mothers, both homeless, occupied the house to not only find shelter but also draw attention to the vast number of properties in Oakland that currently stand vacant — often because of real estate speculation — amid the city's housing crisis. This comes as a recent federal report found a 2.7% increase in homelessness nationwide, driven almost "entirely" by a 16.4% increase in California.
Since occupying the house, the two women have done their best to make it a home in time for the holidays. Their Christmas tree is decorated, and Walker said they plan to make a gingerbread house.
But their stay here may be short-lived. In early December, Walker and Karim received an eviction notice from Wedgewood LLC, which owns the investment company that owns the house.
The women were dealt a blow on Tuesday when Alameda County Superior Court Judge Patrick McKinney issued a tentative ruling in favor of Wedgewood that said “the claims do not appear to provide a basis for a valid claim of right to possession and instead contend only that the claimants have a right to occupy the subject premises."
Tenants rights attorney Leah Simon-Weisberg said her clients still plan to make their case.
"We'll be talking about why housing is a human right and why that is a basis for the court to interject itself and say, 'Yes, they can stay,' " said Weisberg. “The fact that the judge wants to hear what we have to say is encouraging."