Berkeley Property Owners Association

Berkeley’s eviction moratorium expired the end of April and entered its transition period, which will last until Aug. 31.

Garbage cans outside of student housing were overflowing as the semester came to a close, much like in previous years. With little time to pack after final exams and before move-out dates, students find themselves throwing away items in good condition because they do not have space in their car ride home or simply lack proper storage accommodations.

The city of Berkeley’s COVID-19 eviction moratorium expired yesterday and is now entering its “Transition Period.”

A state appeals court ruled Monday that Berkeley will be able to subject a property which the owner had bought in order to repair into new housing to rent control, as first reported by the SF Chronicle. 

In a special meeting of Berkeley’s City Council Monday, the council passed a motion to extend the covered period of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Ordinance for 60 days past the expiration of the Local Emergency declaration. 

During this year’s move-out season, I have hope that we can collectively mobilize behind the Cooperative Reuse program to redistribute thousands of furniture items and leave Berkeley a more sustainable place.

Under a bill being considered by California lawmakers, landlords would need to own a property for at least five consecutive years before they can invoke the Ellis Act to evict sitting tenants from the property.

When a Berkeley tenant’s roommate, a student at UC Berkeley, left the city a month before the pandemic unfolded, the tenant decided to renew the lease on their rent-controlled apartment. The tenant said they thought they could find another roommate, and they reckoned it would be hard to find a cheaper place to live.

The Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board passed two policies Friday that would reduce disincentives for landlords to lower rent and respond to the state emergency.

Soulmaz Panahi, a real estate agent at Red Oak Realty, is running for a position on the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board.