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by PNN Staff
Last Tuesday, the Housing and Social Policy
Committee of the SF Board of Supervisors conducted
a hearing on "musical rooms". This is the illegal
practice of many residential hotel operators who
routinely force their residents to leave for an evening,
only to check back into a different room the next day.
"Musical rooms" is a violation of California Civil
Code 1940.1 which states that no landlord is allowed
to force a resident to move before a period of 30 days
in order to prevent that resident from gaining tenant
rights.
"Musical rooms" has caused much hardship for
hundreds of San Franciscans trying to stabilize their
housing. Sandra James and her son, Isaiah, lived at
the Hotel Sunrise on Valencia Street for a year,
moving out every three weeks. "I didn1t even realize
what they were doing to me and my son was illegal. I
just figured that I had to do it just to keep a roof over
our head." Tony Hester was forced out of his room at
the All Star Hotel on 16th Street over a period of 4
months. "It created great instability and turmoil. I
didn1t know from one week to the next where I
would be living. Being disabled and a recovering
alcoholic, getting kicked out of the hotel was another
obstacle placed in front of me. It created the inability
to formulate plans of action to further myself in life."
(top of article)
The practice of "musical rooms" not only disrupts the lives
of individual hotel residents, it also wrecks havoc on hotels
in general. The practice increases rent as weekly rates tend
to be higher than monthly rates and as rents' increase
without the protection of rent control. The practice of
"Musical rooms" also works to deteriorate hotel conditions
as owners shirk responsibility without permanent tenants
there to hold them accountable. Moreover, "musical
rooms" is a big contributor to homelessness in San
Francisco.
Last month several tenant and housing organizations sent a
letter to the City Attorney raising the issue of "musical
rooms". They asked for a meeting with the City Attorney
to talk about a strategy to deter "musical rooms".
Unfortunately, the City Attorney never responded.
Although the City Attorney has filed one lawsuit regarding
"musical rooms", the tenants and housing advocates such
as Mission Agenda believe they need to launch a flurry of
lawsuits in order to curb this practice.
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