Let me explain about the Ellis Act. It started out as a simple way of protecting private senior landlords. But its just like the favorite phrase goes, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Why do I say this? Well, it started in 1989 when San Francisco had a total of 300 major landlord agencies, better known as holding companies. Nowadays these 300 holding companies have been swallowed up by big business into 10. These 10 found a loophole inside the Ellis Act that says you can evict tenants if you agree to stop being a landlord. This is what the companies are doing: they are converting them to tenancies in common where they own the mortgages of the tenancies in common and also become the buildings' managing companies. Each tenant owns a part of the building. It is like a condominium but too complicated to explain in this article.
With the Ellis Act they are kicking out tenants that have been there 20, 30 or more years. Some of the landlords do not go through the courtesy of the eviction process. They use harassment fraud and the whole kit and caboodle. Most of these seniors worked hard all their lives. They were not doctors, lawyers or college graduates. These are the day to day people that built the city you are living in today, your grandmothers, grandfathers and mothers or fathers. They get nervous with big fancy-titled lawyer’s envelopes in their mailboxes which offer $5,000 or more to move out. Meanwhile the average rent of a studio is $1,000 to $1,500 in the City of San Francisco. These rent-control tenants do not know the real value their apartment until they move out and look for a new place. They will sign under duress.
The ones that try to fight it, they may get more money. Most elders, including my wife, held out and their health issues took over. Her feet were the size of an elephant's hoof. Other elders had heart problems and nervous ticks from the greedy behavior of the landlords. If I signed a contract for a TV set at Sears and the sales person acted that way to sell me something I didn’t need, he would have been arrested.
There should be 2 amendments written on the Ellis Act if they're not going to repeal it. 1. No senior or disabled resident can be Ellis Acted; 2. You must own the property at least 5 to 6 years before you use the Ellis Act . This time period will give you some vestment in the community. This is the best I can do under legal terms in the present condition. This will keep away speculators from making profits on the backs of the elderly and the poor.
To any reader that thinks I am a communist or socialist: I am a anarchist. If you make comments below, put that as a comment I am not a communist or a socialist because that system doesn’t work, and I am not a capitalist.
Thank you, this is Bad News Bruce signing out.