The tenants at 1921 Walnut St. in downtown Berkeley, CA are facing eviction and displacement from their rent-controlled apartments and unwittingly find themselves in a “David v's Goliath” struggle with the University of California and billionaire heiress and landlord Jacklyn Safier. The University has purchased the rent-controlled building and has notified tenants their intent is to evict all tenants from the property and permanently destroy this affordable housing stock in order to further develop the entire block of Walnut St.

California and the San Francisco Bay Area are in a serious affordable housing crisis. The University of California, who receives public funding, and billionaire landlord Jacklyn Safier should not be allowed to displace long-term, rent-controlled tenants and permanently destroy affordable housing stock in downtown Berkeley, or in any other community where they have a campus. Berkeley should be livable for everyone, not just students and people able to pay sky-high rents. The rent control laws need to be honored, respected and maintained. Rent-controlled housing should not be subject to elimination by the privileged.

This struggle will have potentially devastating consequences for the tenants personally, many of whom have lived here for over a decade, and for affordable/rent-controlled housing across California. The Walnut St. tenants first became aware of this forced displacement via a letter sent to them at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. UC Berkeley may not be subject to local zoning and rent stabilization jurisdiction, and it is not known what their commitment to making the tenants "whole" would be. In addition to permanently displacing long-term tenants, there may be far reaching implications for the City of Berkeley and other cities across California if UC continues along this path. Will UC be allowed to purchase, demolish and permanently remove affordable/rent controlled housing stock across the State of California, regardless of local regulations? Many believe Senate Bill 330, also known as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019, codified the need to preserve, protect and build new affordable housing across California. Should UC still be allowed to displace vulnerable residents and permanently destroy affordable/rent controlled housing stock, ignoring local rent ordinances and tenant protections? Or should UC recognize the values, the voters’ wishes and the existing tenant protections that Berkeley has built over the years and be a respectful member of the Berkeley community? 1921 Walnut St in downtown Berkeley is the epicenter of this question. 

Learn more at https://www.save1921walnut.org/

Save 1921 Walnut St and Affordable Housing California.