With COVID-19 worsening an existing housing crisis in San José — and more families than ever on the verge of displacement — we worked with allies to push forward local policy responses to the housing crisis this year.

After working with tenant rights advocates, non-profit organizations, and city leaders for over a year, we proposed a comprehensive plan to prevent displacement in San José. In September, the Council adopted the plan with a commitment to explore a variety of strategies — including immediate protections for families at risk of eviction, new rights for renters looking to collectively purchase buildings before they are sold to corporate landlords, and stronger legal aid for renters.

We also worked with tenant rights and housing partners to win a San José “commercial linkage fee” that requires developers of new commercial projects to fund affordable housing. Our coalition organized a car caravan delivering invoices for the housing needs created by new office projects, created a viral video of a San José college student fighting to keep her family in their longtime home, and other creative tactics to bring hundreds of new people into the fight for housing justice.

Unfortunately, the Mayor and his allies on the council bowed to pressure from corporate developers and passed a much lower fee than our communities need — but we know the fight to make corporations pay for their housing impacts is far from over.

Next, we will continue to organize with our allies to ensure that housing justice and community stabilization are central in development decisions. As the threat of eviction looms larger than ever for hundreds of thousands of families across California, we will mobilize with our local and state partners to push for stronger protections for renters, and we will push for implementation of San José’s anti-displacement plan in the strongest form possible. Across our campaigns, we will continue to organize so that big tech companies and corporate developers do their part to create sorely needed affordable housing for our communities.