We, the undersigned residents of Berkeley, urge the City of Berkeley to adopt an emergency ordinance granting tenants the Right of First Refusal and access to city-backed financing to collectively purchase and take over rental properties where landlords have demonstrated a pattern of neglect, illegal harassment, or violation of housing codes.

THE PROBLEM
Berkeley is facing a severe housing crisis, but the problem is not just a lack of units—it is the hoarding and neglect of existing housing stock by irresponsible landlords.

Across our city, tenants are living in deplorable conditions while landlords continue to collect rent. These landlords knowingly fail to address:

• Chronic mold, pest infestations, and water leaks;
• Lack of heating or essential safety systems;
• Illegal rent hikes and "no-fault" eviction attempts used to displace long-term communities;
• Violations of the Berkeley Rent Ordinance and California State habitability laws.

When a landlord treats a building as a cash cow rather than a home, they degrade the safety of our neighborhoods and destabilize the lives of working families. Currently, the city’s fines are often treated by bad landlords as merely "the cost of doing business," and tenants are forced to endure a lengthy, expensive legal battle just to get the repairs they are legally owed.

THE SOLUTION
We propose a "Tenant Ownership and Community Stewardship" initiative. If a landlord is found to be in chronic violation of health and safety codes, or is found guilty of harassing tenants, the tenants should have the power to take ownership of the building.

We demand the City Council and Rent Board explore and implement the following:

• Tenant Right of First Refusal (TOPA) for Neglected Properties: If a landlord wants to sell a property that has a history of code violations, the tenants must be given the first right to purchase it before it is sold to a third party.
• Eminent Domain for Chronic Neglect: The City of Berkeley should utilize its power of eminent domain to seize properties from chronic violators where the landlord has refused to bring units up to code. These properties should then be transferred to a cooperative ownership model or a Community Land Trust (CLT), managed by the tenants.
• The "Berkeley Tenant Equity Fund": Establish a municipal fund or partnership with local credit unions to provide low-interest loans and grants to tenant groups seeking to purchase their buildings, turning them into Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives. This keeps housing permanently affordable and off the speculative market.
• Code Enforcement as a Trigger for Transfer: Make "habitability" a requirement for ownership. Landlords who refuse to maintain their properties should lose the privilege of owning them.

WHY THIS MATTERS
Berkeley has a history of pioneering tenant rights. We were the first city in the US to enact rent control. Now, we must be the first to truly empower tenants to own their homes.

Stability: Tenant ownership prevents displacement and preserves the diversity of our community.
Maintenance: When tenants own the building, they make the repairs. They have a vested interest in the quality of their home.

Accountability: This proposal stops landlords from profiting off of misery.
If a landlord won't take care of a building, the people who live there should be given the chance to save it.

SIGNED,

Joshua H. Landerfelt