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Tenant advocates tell Planning Commission foreclosures are creating hidden renter crises
Summary
Advocates told the San Francisco Planning Commission that the 2008 foreclosure surge has significant effects on renters — utility shutoffs, loss of landlord contact, and confusion about tenant protections — and urged coordinated city outreach and notice programs to protect affected households.
Dean Preston, director of Tenants Together, and Sarah Short, executive director of the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, told the Planning Commission on Jan. 22 that tenants are frequently overlooked victims of the foreclosure crisis and urged stronger citywide outreach and coordination.
"Tenants truly are, innocent victims of the foreclosure crisis," Preston said, describing statewide and local data showing sharp increases in foreclosures in 2008 and estimates that 25–38 percent of those properties are tenant occupied. He said some large San Francisco landlords deeded properties back to banks rather than undergoing formal foreclosure, affecting roughly 1,500 units in one case and complicating tenants' ability to…
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