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What Are My Rights as a Tenant?

The laws are constantly changing and can be quite complex. Pursuant to the Oakland Ordinance, landlords can only evict tenants living in a rent ordinance protected unit for one of eleven reasons or “just causes.” Before a landlord can evict a tenant they must provide them with a notice and allege one or more “just causes.” To learn more about your rights as a tenant in Oakland, contact our attorneys.

50+

years of experience in representing tenants.

Oakland Rent Adjustment Program (RAP)

The RAP covers all properties utilized for residential rental housing. However, there are several exceptions. These exemptions include but are not limited to:

  1. Units subsidized by federal or local government;
  2. Units built after January 1, 1983;
  3. Single-family homes and condominiums are exempt under the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act (Cal. Govt. C. §1954.50, et seq.).

Just Causes for Eviction

In the City of Oakland, landlords can only evict tenants living in a rent ordinance-protected unit for one of eleven reasons or “just causes.” Before a landlord can evict a tenant, they must provide them with a notice and allege one or more “just causes. These are as follows:

  • Failure to pay rent;
  • Breach of a material lease term;
  • Refusal/failure to sign a materially similar or identical lease upon expiration of the existing lease;
  • Waste/damage: where a tenant has substantially damaged the unit and refused to stop damaging it or repair;
  • Nuisance;
  • Illegal use;
  • Refusing to allow a landlord access as required by state law;
  • Owner Move-in Eviction* where the owner seeks in good faith, without ulterior motive, to occupy the unit as their principal residence where he or she has previously occupied the rental unit as his or her principal residence and has the right to recover possession for his or her occupancy as a principal residence under a written rental agreement with the current tenants.”
  • Owner or relative Move-in Eviction*
  • Ellis Act eviction*
  • Temporary eviction for substantial repairs*

*Just causes 8, 9, 10, 11 are considered no-fault evictions. If you believe you have been wrongfully evicted, schedule a consultation with a tenant attorney in Oakland.

Schedule a Consultation with an Oakland Tenant Attorney

Understanding your rights as a tenant can be overwhelming. Get the help you need by contacting an Oakland tenant lawyer from Wolford Wayne LLP. During an initial consultation, we can help you understand your options.

Oakland tenants have many of the same tenant’s rights as tenants living in San Francisco. However, there are key differences that Oakland tenants need to be aware of. Oakland has its own Rent Ordinance, Measure EE.

Be sure to consult with an experienced Oakland tenant lawyer or tenant’s rights advocate to understand how these rules apply to your housing situation. For more information, contact our team at Wolford Wayne LLP today.

$2 Million

Recovered on behalf of a South Bay Family after an apartment fire caused severe burns to a minor due to the lack of fire safety equipment.

$ 1.56 Million

Recovered on behalf of a group of 30 tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco who were living with horrendous conditions in their rent controlled apartments, including rodents, bedbugs, mold, water leaks, and harassment.

$1.3 Million

Recovered on behalf of a group of tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco dealing with negligent management, pest infestations and poor living conditions.

$1 Million

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family who were forced out of their long term home due to toxic mold and bad living conditions.

$ 850,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who suffered personal injuries and was forced to vacate his home of fifteen years after dealing with many months of environmental contamination and disruptive and nuisance construction conditions.

$ 800,000

Recovered on behalf of an Oakland tenant who suffered a serious injury due to her landlord’s negligent maintenance of her home.

$ 750,000

Recovered on behalf of a couple living in a rent-controlled home in the outer Sunset neighborhood. Our clients were forced to vacate after the landlord served them with an Owner Move-In Eviction Notice. After the landlords failed to move into the property, our clients filed suit for wrongful eviction.

$ 700,000

Recovered for a long-term tenant in San Francisco. Our client was forced to move out of his apartment as a result of extreme landlord harassment.

$ 575,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco couple who were forced to give up their home of over twenty years after their landlord’s dog attacked and killed their dog.

$ 575,000

Recovered on behalf of an elderly, disabled San Francisco tenant who was forced to move out of her rent-controlled San Francisco apartment of 50 years after the landlord/owner failed to resolve numerous building code violations that remained outstanding for over a decade.

$ 560,000

Recovered on behalf of two San Francisco tenants who were wrongfully evicted via a fraudulent owner move-in eviction where the owner failed to occupy the property as their principal place of residence.

$ 550,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who was forced to vacate his home as a result of ongoing, disruptive construction and the owner’s refusal to provide him with alternative housing.

$ 525,000

Recovered on behalf of a tenant living in an illegal unit who was wrongfully evicted. Our client was forced to vacate under false pretenses while her landlord undertook supposedly necessary construction and then was never allowed to return.

$ 450,000

Recovered for a San Francisco tenant who was injured when her stairway railing collapsed.

$ 450,000

Recovered in action for a group of tenants forced to vacate their San Francisco apartment due to severe habitability defects, including mold and water leaks.

$ 395,000

Recovered on behalf of two long term San Francisco tenants who were fraudulently evicted from their home of over twenty years under the pretext of an owner move-in eviction.

$ 375,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family that was constructively evicted from their home in the Richmond District as a result of unlawful rent increases, defective conditions, and tenant harassment.

$ 375,000

Recovered on behalf of an elderly long-term tenant who was forced to vacate her long San Francisco apartment as a result of her landlord’s refusal to address longstanding defective conditions, including lack of heat, mold, rodent infestations, and defective plumbing.

$ 325,000

Recovered on behalf of seven tenants living in a makeshift boarding house in East Palo Alto.

$ 300,000

Recovered on behalf of three families living in a building in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood who were forced to live with substandard conditions for years as a result of their landlord’s negligence, including issues with lack of heat, lack of hot water, and cockroach/rat infestations.

$ 300,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant in Russian Hill. The tenant was forced to vacate her illegal apartment in retaliation for reporting unlawful rent increases to the San Francisco Rent Board. Our client was forced to vacate after her landlord served our client with a series of eviction notices and told her the apartment was unsafe to live in.

$ 300,000

Recovered on behalf of three long-term tenants in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood who were constructively evicted due to noise and nuisance conditions created by their downstairs neighbors, which the owner refused to address.

Awards & Associations

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For more information or to discuss your legal situation, call us today at (415) 649-6203 for a phone consultation or submit an inquiry below. Please note our firm can only assist tenants residing in the Bay Area.