Emergency rental, utility assistance available in Concord

Bill aims to protect California tenants

Here in our corner of the Bay Area, we are bearing the brunt of California’s ongoing housing and affordability crisis.

Right now in Sacramento, I’m fighting for policies to tackle some of California’s biggest issues through efforts to build more housing that’s affordable, to ensure that taxpayer money is used appropriately to fund road repairs and to support workforce development training to increase access to good paying jobs.

A lot of these solutions will take time. Meanwhile, families are at immediate risk of losing the roofs over their heads. This is why I have joint-authored Assembly Bill 1482 to finally provide real stability and security to Californians through historic tenant protections.

Last year, NBC Bay Area reported on a survey that found that in Concord, the largest city in my district, three-quarters of residents live in fear of being evicted from their homes. When a family is living paycheck to paycheck, a sudden, unexpected and unjust eviction can drive them into poverty, homelessness and devastation.

In California, you cannot be evicted from your home because of your marital status, the color of your skin or if you are a victim of domestic violence. However, there is a loophole in the law that allows a landlord to evict you for no reason at all.

By putting “no cause” on eviction paperwork, bad landlords could force even the best of tenants out of their homes and leave them without legal recourse to challenge the eviction in court. This was the case for a woman who lived nearly 20 years in Concord and recently shared her story.

She and other tenants in her building organized to advocate for better conditions. Shortly thereafter, her landlord refused to continue her lease and offered no explanation for doing so. She had to move from the community where she had spent the last two decades in order to find a new home that she could afford.

My bill, AB 1482, strikes the right balance to ensure that we are protecting both the families who rent and the families who are renting their properties out to them. Landlords will still be able to evict tenants who fail to pay rent, conduct illegal business out of the property or otherwise break the terms of a lease. This is about the unscrupulous landlords – the ones we would all agree are acting immorally, such as those who would rather evict a family than deal with their complaints about dangerous mold.

I’ve heard many stories like the ones above from friends and neighbors in our community who have taken the time to call my office and share their experiences. Just cause eviction protections are badly needed in this moment of crisis in our state, and for the first time in our state’s history, we are close to providing them.

AB 1482 passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it still has more hurdles ahead before becoming law. To voice your support of this bill or to discuss other legislation of interest of you, please call my Concord office.

Reach Assemblyman Tim Grayson at (925) 521-1511. Visit or write the district office 2151 Salvio Street, Suite P, Concord, CA 94520

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