Contact: Libby Schaaf, Council President Ignacio De La Fuente's Office
Phone: (510) 238-7005; Pager: (510) 716-8579

Oakland, CA (June 15, 1999) -- Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La

Fuente today announced the creation of a Decent Housing Task Force in Oakland. Flanked by City Manager Robert Bobb, City Attorney Jayne Williams and Building Services Director Calvin Wong, De La Fuente unveiled plans to bring key City staff and housing advocates together to address Oakland's housing crisis.

"I want Oakland landlords to have fair warning," De La Fuente said Tuesday. "Today, I want to send a clear message to landlords: You have 90 days to clean up your properties, because in October, we’ll be coming at you with everything we’ve got. I’m going to say this again in July, August and September, so there’ll be no excuses come October."

The Task Force's work will culminate in October with Decent Housing Month - including a massive crack down on landlords guilty of code violations and substandard conditions in low-income rental properties. Additionally, the Task Force will name and publicize Oakland's "Dirty Dozen" -- the twelve worst slumlords in Oakland.

The Council President's Task Force will meet approximately twice a month through November. A primary goal of the Task Force will be to create a more educated tenant population – with particular outreach to non-English-speaking tenants – who will continue to advocate for their right to decent housing and use the City’s enforcement mechanisms long after October’s Decent Housing Month has passed.

Specifically, the Task Force’s goals are to:

1. Develop a prioritized list of potential new City policies and practices that could promote Decent Housing in Oakland. Select one or more practices to pilot during Decent Housing Month. Potential practices might include (1) referring initial complaints to a landlord-tenant mediation non-profit, as is done in San Francisco, or (2) managing an escrow account for tenant rent until substandard property is brought into legal compliance, as is done in Los Angeles.

2. Conduct a Landlord Education Campaign regarding maintenance responsibilities, the consequences of the Decent Housing Month crack down, and City resources available for rehabilitation work. Potential activities include a flier on Landlord Responsibilities (including Oakland’s Rent Control Ordinance) to be mailed out with Garbage Bills and a free Landlord Workshop presented by the Oakland Police’s Beat Health Unit.

3. Conduct a multi-lingual Tenant Education Campaign regarding the right to habitable living conditions, the City's complaint procedure, Oakland’s Rent Ordinance and participation in Decent Housing Month. Target outreach to low-income and non-English-speaking tenants.

4. Identify "The Dirty Dozen" -- twelve worst slumlords in Oakland -- and publicize their misconduct through signs posted on their property, identification to community groups and publicizing their misconduct in the media.

5. Prioritize tenant complaints within Code Enforcement during October (Decent Housing Month). Target large, low-income housing complexes for code inspections. Move additional staff and resources to investigating tenant complaints, relocation assistance and pursuing maximum penalties.

De La Fuente announced the following individuals – all key players in both the City of Oakland and nonprofit housing advocates community -- as his first appointments to the Decent Housing Task Force:

Robert Bobb, City Manager

Jayne Williams, City Attorney

Calvin Wong, Building Services Director/CEDA

Ray Derania, Code Compliance & Inspection Building Services Manager/CEDA

Roy Schweyer, Housing and Community Development Director/CEDA

Rae Mary, Community Housing Services Manager/CEDA

Russell Jueng, Oak Park Tenants Association

Victor Ochoa, Executive Director, Centro Legal de la Raza

Bernida Reagan, Executive Director, East Bay Community Law Center

Anne Omura, Executive Director, Eviction Defense Center

Tom Ethan, Executive Director, Rental Housing Association of Northern Alameda Co.

Mona Breed, Executive Director, Sentinel Fair Housing

De La Fuente stated, "I’m particularly excited to gather together our top City

officials with leaders from community-based housing organizations. Combining the ideas and resources of these individuals is sure to produce positive results for Oakland tenants. I expect this Task Force to not just execute the one-month crackdown in October, but to make some fundamental changes that will permanently improve the City’s ability to maintain decent housing conditions in all of Oakland’s neighborhoods."

De La Fuente was moved to create the Task Force to help tenants such as those in the Oak Park Apartments where the City has documented numerous code violations and substandard conditions.

"Families should not have to live with leaking roofs, moldy walls and overflowing toilets -- it isn’t decent," stated De La Fuente. "We need to educate the tenants on how to report these types of violations to the City. We need to educate -- and if necessary scare -- the landlords into maintaining decent conditions in these properties. Then we need to aggressively seek out, pursue and punish any landlord who tries to subject tenants to substandard living conditions.

"Right now, Oakland has only a 1% rental vacancy rate -- and those vacant units are getting more expensive," he added. "As affordable rentals become scarce, landlords have less incentive to fix problems because they know tenants have no where else to go. This is why we need to crack down on Oakland slumlords now more than ever."

For more information on supporting the Decent Housing Task Force or Decent Housing Month activities, call the Council President’s office at (510) 238-7005.

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