Of all the current housing bills in the state legislature, four stand out with the potential to provide meaningful protections to tenants. To write in support of these bills, follow these steps so that your organizational/individual position will be recorded before their respective committees. 

Steps to Submit Organizational Positions on Senate and Assembly Bills: 

STEP ONE: If you have not yet done so, please create an advocate account with the state legislature. It is a free and relatively brief process. Creating an account is now a necessary step for all organizations to go on record in support or opposition to any legislation. Note: it is NOT the same as registering as a lobbyist. Please go to https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/faces/index.xhtml to create an advocate account.

STEP TWO: Once you have logged on to the state ‘advocate’ portal you can then go on record to support SB/AB __. Select the bill from the main menu, direct your message to the respective committee, and select your position ("support", in the case of these bills).

Find the bills we support and their respective committees in our description below.

*The Senate Judiciary Committee is not using the Advocates portal at this time. Details on who to email about your position are listed below.

Protect Tenants Right to Organize!

While tenants work two, three jobs to pay the rent, landlords have the power to evict without cause and raise the rent however much they want. The imbalance of power is clear. Landlords have more time, money, and lobbyists than renters. How do we correct that imbalance? We organize. Renters across California and the US are banding together against rent hikes, poor quality of life conditions, and mass evictions by forming tenants' associations. But there's a huge risk: tenants can face retaliation and eviction by their landlords, simply for organizing.

It happened to Betty Gabaldon, who founded the 1127 Virginia Lane Tenants Association in Concord, and was evicted from her home of eight years with her nine-year-old daughter. Betty believes her property manager retaliated against her after she questioned why a neighbor received a 60-day notice. The manager's response: “In Concord, there is no ‘just cause’ policy. I do not have to give you a reason.” Because tenants in most California municipalities can be evicted "without cause," tenants like Betty have no recourse when they are punished for organizing with their neighbors and communities.

With California State Senate Bill 529, sponsored by Tenants Together and Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), tenants can organize with their buildings and communities for safe, affordable housing, without fear that they will be wrongfully displaced.

Click here to tell your state senator that California tenants deserve to organize without fear.