United Caltrans Tenants Advocacy Group Releases 2020 List of Demands

An advocacy group that supports tenants living in hundreds of Caltrans-owned properties in the 710 Corridor has released its list of 2020 demands.

The United Caltrans Tenants (UCT) is calling on the state transportation agency to “keep people in their homes and house those in need” by stopping rent raises, fixing issues with the Affordable Rent Program, canceling odious debt, fixing and renting its vacant houses and more.

UCT is also supporting Reclaiming Our Homes, a group of homeless mothers and other housing advocates who have occupied at least a dozen vacant Caltrans houses in El Sereno in the past week. So far, Caltrans has not removed those “reclaimers,” but several California Highway Patrol cars have been sitting in the driveways of other vacant houses in the area to prevent more homes from being occupied.

On Saturday, the LA Times Editorial Board called on Caltrans to immediately make all of its vacant homes available for housing during this public health crisis.

Caltrans owns about 460 properties in the 710 Corridor, which they acquired in order to tear down and build a since-defeated freeway, making the properties surplus. At least 163 of those houses are vacant. Over the past few years, Caltrans has been raising rents, neglecting repairs and evicting mostly low-income tenants over technicalities so they could sell the houses at market rate, rather than the affordable rate required by state law.

UCT is also calling for Gov. Gavin Newsom to order a “rent freeze for all California tenants until the COVID-19 threat is over. Due to the ‘stay home’ order, many are unable to work and earn an income. That’s why we’re advocating for a statewide rent freeze until people are able to go back to work.”

Here is the list of UCT’s 2020 demands:

Stop all rent raises: Caltrans rent increases of 10-22% a year are the highest of any housing agency, outpacing county and state rates. Tenants saw rents raised by 300%. One tenant went from $860 to $2,456 a month.

Roll back rents: Increases have gouged tenants for the last seven years, well beyond rates seen anywhere. Rolling the rents back to 2013 rates would bring justice, compensate for years of immoral rent increases, and avoid tenants being priced out of their homes.

Rectify Affordable Rent Program process: The faulty, unethical, and unprofessional administration of the Affordable Rent Program has subjected numerous affordable renters to illegal egregious rent increases, and continues to wreak havoc today.

Cancel all illicit debt: Erroneous actions by Caltrans has resulted in false and trumped up debts which should be completely canceled and tenants should be restored to good standing. All tenants should receive monthly rent receipts listing all payments, balance and fees, as well as annual full financial account records.

Fix, rent, sell affordable now: All properties should be repaired, rented and/or sold affordable. All empty homes should be immediately rented to affordable renters with priority to former tenants, the homeless and disabled. As all homes are now surplus, they should be sold immediately to tenants who are ready and want to buy.

Contract local HRE: New legislation should fund a local housing related entity, of the tenants’ choosing, to facilitate all of the home and property sales.

Bring net equity home: New legislation should transfer all equity resulting in the affordable home sales from CalHFA to a state certified local nonprofit housing related finance entity, with tenants serving as board members. The community should utilize the collective net equity to support local affordable housing projects.