San Jose tenants protest rent hikes, poor management at developer’s affordable housing complexes

Margarito Gomez and his household have lived in the identical San Jose one-bedroom house for 17 years, struggling to afford their house amid frequent lease will increase and rare upkeep fixes. On Friday, they joined about 50 protesters searching for consideration for the situations and prices of their low-income housing.

They carried posters saying “Housing is a human proper!” and “No extra lease enhance!” as they marched across the Orchard Glen Residence housing advanced, focusing their consideration on the low-income house complexes owned by actual property developer KDF Communities.

The protesters demanded lease rollbacks to June 2022 charges, up to date home equipment, renovation of frequent areas, higher high quality repairs and improved safety. They despatched a letter to KDF Communities with their calls for and mentioned they might take their protest to Metropolis Corridor on Aug. 11 if they don’t obtain a response inside two weeks.

Gomez, 64, who’s retired from development work, lives within the house along with his spouse, a custodian, and two daughters, ages 21 and eight. The household already struggles to make lease, and in August will face a $92 month-to-month enhance to $1,938, he mentioned. Final yr, the lease jumped by $138 month-to-month.

It appears like quite a bit to pay when “every little thing is dangerous within the house,” he mentioned in Spanish. “The kitchen and toilet cupboards are damaged, for instance. We’ve filed upkeep requests and so they say they’re coming however they by no means present up.”

Bertha Espinosa, who has lived in the identical advanced for 11 years, mentioned there was as soon as a 3-foot gap in her ceiling by which she may see the sky. “I reported it to administration and so they didn’t repair it for every week,” she mentioned. “We pay 80% of our earnings in lease, we deserve higher situations.”

Primarily based in Newport Seaside, California, KDF Communities, a developer targeted on inexpensive housing, owns greater than 15 properties within the Bay Space. Amanda Valderrama, regional supervisor at KDF’s property supervisor VPM Administration, mentioned the corporate has “been in communication with and continues working with the tenant associations in San Jose.”

Tenants in inexpensive models whose family earnings was 60% or much less of the world medium earnings, adjusted for household measurement, obtained lease will increase of as much as 7.5% enhance this yr, Valderrama mentioned.

Throughout Friday’s protest, tenants complained about mould and cockroach-infested flats, and ignored upkeep requests. The KDF Tenants Affiliation was joined by organizers from the Regional Tenant Organizing Community and the group group Latinos United for a New America.

“The CEO ought to sit with the tenants and communicate to them about lease hikes and the way their calls for will be supported,” mentioned Gabriel Manrique, tenant organizer at Latinos United.

Final yr, KDF sought to lift lease at considered one of its low-income house complexes, Valley Palms in San Jose, by as a lot as 24% however tenants organized to scale back it to 10%, mentioned James Huynh, director of the Regional Tenant Organizing Community.

“This yr, many tenants have obtained lease hikes within the 7-to-17% vary,” he mentioned. “KDF will increase rents yearly and so they don’t even have to elucidate themselves.”