On October 21, the City Council unanimously approved updates to the City's Nuisance Eviction Ordinance proposed by my Office.
The law, which has been on the books for ten years, was designed to protect Oakland renters by allowing the City to remove problem tenants in commercial or residential properties who pose a danger to or create serious quality of life problems for their neighbors.
Previously, the ordinance allowed evictions for violent activity, drug activity and possession of illegal weapons. The City has used this ordinance selectively, on average 10-12 times a year. About half of the evictions have involved guns or violence in residential properties, and about half have involved commercial properties where a store or business is involved in the drug trade. The amendments approved in October add illegal gambling, possession of illegal ammunition and pimping/prostitution to the list of activities that threaten the health, safety and welfare of Oaklanders, and therefore could result in eviction.
The purpose of including pimping and prostitution in the ordinance is to aid the City's efforts to curb the sexual exploitation of minors and young adults, which is at crisis levels in Oakland other communities in California.
I previously went to trial asking the court to shut down two hotels that were operating as centers of prostitution and child prostitution in Oakland; the court ordered closure of both hotels for the maximum period of one year allowed by law. One of hotels reopened with a new name, under new management and very strict operating conditions; the other was permanently closed.
Based on evidence from Oakland police and community activists, we know that adults who engage in human trafficking often use hotel rooms or apartments to exploit and abuse women and girls, and that those women and girls are often the victims of horrific and violent crimes. This change to the City's Nuisance Eviction law won't end these crimes, but it gives us an additional tool to reduce the number of places where these crimes can take place.
This change in the law has generated some controversy. A number of advocates who represent sex workers advised our Office of their concerns that the City will use the Nuisance Eviction Ordinance to evict adult sex workers who are not creating a danger or a nuisance to their neighbors, simply based on their status; or that the City will evict tenants based only on the suspicion that they are involved in prostitution.
Oakland has some of the strongest tenant protection laws in the country, and this law does not change the eviction protections that tenants enjoy. In Oakland, tenants can challenge an eviction if they believe it is unwarranted and have a jury trial before an eviction takes place.
In any event, an eviction must be based on evidence, for example an arrest. In fact, no one can be evicted in Oakland based on their status as a prostitute. The Nuisance Eviction Ordinance only applies when a tenant's actions pose a danger or a severe nuisance to other tenants, and when there is convincing evidence documenting those actions.
Landlords have the primary responsibility to address tenants' nuisance activity. Oakland's law allows the City to inform the landlord that a tenant is engaging in illegal activity, and then cite the landlord for maintaining a nuisance if the landlord fails to bring an eviction action. However, landlords who have a basis to fear retaliation by a problem tenant against the landlord or other tenants may assign the eviction cause of action to the City.
Regardless of where tenants live in our City, they have the right to humane and decent living conditions. Many tenants don't have the option of moving to escape a dangerous situation or a serious nuisance created by the actions of a neighbor - and they shouldn't have to.
Of course, this law cannot end human trafficking and other crimes in rental properties. But it is one tool that may help to remove a danger or a nuisance that is undermining the quality of life for Oakland tenants.
More information:
Campaign cracks down on Oakland child sex trafficking LA Times
Info & resources from the Alameda County District Attorney's Office
'There is no such thing as a child prostitute' East Bay Express
Read the updated Nuisance Eviction Ordinance