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Housing advocates press DBI to restore $200,000 for HUD outreach as tenants report unsafe conditions
Summary
Housing advocates and tenant outreach groups urged the Building Inspection Commission to press the mayor and DBI to release $200,000 left out of the final budget for HUD building outreach, citing mold, pest infestation and heating failures in HUD properties and the need for sustained tenant outreach and repairs.
Housing advocates addressed the Building Inspection Commission on Oct. 16 to press DBI and city officials to ensure that $200,000 budgeted for HUD-building outreach and tenant assistance is released and used to sustain tenant outreach services.
Fred Sherburn Zimmer of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco said the HUD outreach program that his group administers was at risk despite supervisor approval and that outreach and casework help tenants document repair requests and pursue DBI enforcement when necessary. "Some of these buildings are in really horrid positions with tenants going over and over asking for repairs," he said, citing collapsed ceilings and repeated maintenance failures.
Speakers representing Giant Town Community Development Center, the Code Enforcement Outreach Program and an SRO collaborative said tenants in HUD buildings continue to face mold, rodent infestations, sewage backups and inadequate heat. One speaker said the community had recovered some restored funding but that $200,000 intended for HUD outreach remained missing from the mayor's final budget and asked DBI to advocate for its release.
"We just ask that you advocate for the mayor to actually release that $200,000 that was left on the table," said a representative of the Housing Rights Committee during remote public comment.
Advocates said consistent outreach is critical because many HUD tenants do not trust government agencies after repeated delays, and that outreach teams help residents prepare repair requests and follow cases through DBI and other agencies. They named specific HUD properties where they said problems persist and said the missing funds would be used for casework, tenant education and targeted outreach to buildings with high need.
Commissioners accepted the public input and later added a request during future agenda planning for the department to provide a written response by Nov. 1 regarding accusations about permit extensions raised at public comment. The transcript shows commissioners agreed to seek departmental follow-up on budget and procedural questions raised by commenters.
The record does not include an immediate departmental commitment to release the $200,000; advocates asked the commission to press for full funding and for DBI to continue collaborating with outreach partners to improve habitability in HUD buildings across the city.
