San Diego Tenants Union Lawsuit To Protect Tenants From Illegal Rent Hikes Continues
Voucher Tenants and Tenant Organizers Are Fighting to Stop San Diego Housing Commission’s Unlawful Practices That Divert Critical Government Funding to Private Landlord Profits
SAN DIEGO, CA—After engaging in efforts to resolve legal claims through a settlement conference, a lawsuit tenants brought to stop illegal rent hikes is back in active litigation. For years, the San Diego Housing Commission approved private landlords’ requests for exorbitant rent increases and subsidized those increases with limited Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) funds, resulting in far fewer tenants in the San Diego area getting the support they needed to stay stably housed. This has led to increased homelessness and housing discrimination. While the Commission is now reviewing increases for compliance with the state rent cap, the Commission continues to approve rent increases that violate state notice requirements. The plaintiffs are demanding the Commission fully comply with state law and end the excessive diversion of voucher funds from the program to private landlords.
“We filed this lawsuit to stop the Housing Commission from squandering limited voucher funds on illegal rent increases,” said community organizer and plaintiff Francine Maxwell. “The Commission continues to subsidize private landlords’ illegal rent increases and force the City’s lowest income renters to pay more in rent, while paying two private law firms to defend itself in court. The Commission is also withholding public records showing how much it spent on these illegal increases over the last five years, which forced us to file yet another lawsuit against the Commission for violating the California Public Records Act.”
“By disregarding state law and imposing illegal rent increases on voucher holders, the Commission is not only jeopardizing the housing stability of the lowest income renters, but the Commission is also handing private landlords a windfall in profits at the taxpayers’ expense,” said Director of San Diego Tenants Union, a plaintiff, Rafael Bautista.
“Whether we rent or own, we all deserve a safe and stable place to call home. However, the San Diego Housing Commission denied tenants that freedom by unlawfully greenlighting rent hikes and syphoning critical Housing Choice Voucher funds from housing for families in poverty into private landlords’ wallets,” said National Housing Law Project Director of California Advocacy and plaintiffs’ attorney Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi. “The public has a right to know how much the Commission spent on exorbitant rent increases over the last five years. Our clients demand release of public records and full compliance with the law.”
The National Housing Law Project represents Francine Maxwell and San Diego Tenants Union, an organizational plaintiff, in the lawsuit.
Read the full text of the complaint here.