Support the Movement for the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act
The Issue
Join us in supporting the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) in Berkeley.
The San Francisco Bay Area is among the top most expensive places to live in the U.S. According to Zillow, the current median home value in Berkeley is nearly $1.4 million dollars, compared to around $930,000 for Alameda County overall. Since 2000, adjusting for inflation, single-family home values in Berkeley have increased 225%, compared to a 200% increase in Alameda County overall (Zillow, 2020). The rapid rate of Bay Area home sales and high offers from investors has resulted in bidding wars that privilege cash offers and put buyers who use conventional financing at a disadvantage. These challenges place low- and moderate-income tenants, first-time homebuyers, and affordable housing developers such as community land trusts, at a severe disadvantage when trying to purchase property in the Bay Area. TOPA is a policy tool uniquely equipped to level the playing field through rights for tenants and timelines that make it feasible for tenants and affordable housing developers to purchase.
TOPA is designed to:
- Prevent displacement of low-income communities of color, long-term residents, and other marginalized renters.
- Preserve and generate much-needed permanently affordable housing for future generations.
- Curb speculation and level the playing field for tenants and affordable housing developers.
- Create pathways to home ownership for tenants and promote democratic-residential control of housing.
- Provide rental security for tenants who wish to stay and rent at an affordable rate.
We've devoted over five years to developing a meaningful tenant-centered policy, while also addressing essential funding and support needs, with City leaders and community advocates that courageously and proactively levels the real estate playing field so that the preservation of affordable housing is not only a stated goal but also a lived reality. And everything was going smoothly until real-estate interests both local and nationwide began to distort the conversation. To this day, they've purposely spread misinformation, targeted Black churches, and most recently spent a pretty penny on mailers to dissuade residents of Berkeley from supporting TOPA. We CANNOT let them win.
Lets show elected leaders that there is a peoples' movement behind TOPA. So, we ask from the bottom of our hearts, for anyone (even non-Berkeley residents) to please share and sign this petition to demonstrate your support for TOPA.
Learn more at yes2topa.org.
180
The Issue
Join us in supporting the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) in Berkeley.
The San Francisco Bay Area is among the top most expensive places to live in the U.S. According to Zillow, the current median home value in Berkeley is nearly $1.4 million dollars, compared to around $930,000 for Alameda County overall. Since 2000, adjusting for inflation, single-family home values in Berkeley have increased 225%, compared to a 200% increase in Alameda County overall (Zillow, 2020). The rapid rate of Bay Area home sales and high offers from investors has resulted in bidding wars that privilege cash offers and put buyers who use conventional financing at a disadvantage. These challenges place low- and moderate-income tenants, first-time homebuyers, and affordable housing developers such as community land trusts, at a severe disadvantage when trying to purchase property in the Bay Area. TOPA is a policy tool uniquely equipped to level the playing field through rights for tenants and timelines that make it feasible for tenants and affordable housing developers to purchase.
TOPA is designed to:
- Prevent displacement of low-income communities of color, long-term residents, and other marginalized renters.
- Preserve and generate much-needed permanently affordable housing for future generations.
- Curb speculation and level the playing field for tenants and affordable housing developers.
- Create pathways to home ownership for tenants and promote democratic-residential control of housing.
- Provide rental security for tenants who wish to stay and rent at an affordable rate.
We've devoted over five years to developing a meaningful tenant-centered policy, while also addressing essential funding and support needs, with City leaders and community advocates that courageously and proactively levels the real estate playing field so that the preservation of affordable housing is not only a stated goal but also a lived reality. And everything was going smoothly until real-estate interests both local and nationwide began to distort the conversation. To this day, they've purposely spread misinformation, targeted Black churches, and most recently spent a pretty penny on mailers to dissuade residents of Berkeley from supporting TOPA. We CANNOT let them win.
Lets show elected leaders that there is a peoples' movement behind TOPA. So, we ask from the bottom of our hearts, for anyone (even non-Berkeley residents) to please share and sign this petition to demonstrate your support for TOPA.
Learn more at yes2topa.org.
Petition Updates
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Petition created on May 27, 2021