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East Palo Alto residents have organized to demand better housing conditions and rent control, particularly at an apartment complex on East Okeefe Street owned by developer Sand Hill Property.
At the Peninsula 360 Press mobile home, East Palo Alto tenant and neighbor Raquel Rodriguez said the conditions they live in are unsustainable, with mold and structural problems having been a constant for at least the past seven years, and while they have requested support for repairs, they have been ignored.
"We pay rent for houses that are not in good condition and we have had this problem for a long time, where we have been asking for repairs and they don't make them or they simply ignore us," said the native of Michoacán, Mexico.
During the program For the Free, with Manuel Ortiz, the tenant said that the East Palo Alto Tenants Association is supporting neighbors with problems of this nature so that they know their rights as tenants, including, given the poor conditions in which they live, they could even request a rent reduction or refunds.
Raquel pointed out that some homes are worse than others, however, mold has become a calamity in most of these properties that, due to their age or poor maintenance, do not have the sanitary conditions to be a decent home.
Added to this are appliances that do not work as they should, affecting the daily lives of tenants.
Raquel has been living in the apartment she rents for 10 years and "everything has gone from bad to worse," she said, noting that, over that period, there have been three owners of that set of apartments, the latest being Sand Hill Property.
"Since they came in, we have been ignored when we need repairs, while the rents keep increasing every year and we don't care, they don't look into improving our living conditions in our units," he stressed.
Although several tenants have made requests to this real estate developer, they have not been attended to as they should have been, so now, with greater knowledge of their rights, they will formally sue this company to address their requests.
"We are already doing it formally with them. Before, it was just a matter of going to the office to leave something for them and months or years would go by and they wouldn't come to repair anything. With these requests that we are making in writing directly to them or to the offices of the apartment owners, I feel that we have been listened to a little more. At least they have the attention to come and look, although they haven't fixed much, but they already have the initiative," he explained.
The high cost of housing in the area is not an unknown issue. Raquel explained that she pays more than two thousand dollars for a one-bedroom apartment, while the cost of living and the price of rents increase every year.
"What we are asking the owners for are improvements, that they work, that they come and make our repairs, we are only demanding our rights," he said.
She also said that their demands include a discount on rent, as they have been dealing with these problems for a long time and have to spend money out of their own pockets to fix them.
"They don't understand and we need these arrangements. We are not receiving any reimbursement from them, but because of our rights we can receive rent reductions and refunds. We have been here, in these conditions, for many years and no longer," he added.
Finally, Raquel called on her neighbors who live in the same situation to not be afraid to demand their rights and speak out against the injustices of landlords.
"It is very important that you do not let yourselves be intimidated by someone filing a report or raising your voice to demand your rights. Do not be intimidated, come, let us help and support each other as tenants and neighbors that we are. Do not think that they are going to retaliate against us or remove us from our units just for making these types of requests."
Aníbal Maciel joined Raquel in her complaint. He is a tenant in East Palo Alto and a volunteer assistant for the Tenants Association in the same city. He has lived in the area for more than 17 years and is fully aware of this problem, because, he said, it has been like this for a long time.
The conditions include old carpets and walls, plumbing problems, mold in various spaces and the odor it causes, and poor maintenance.
?Many of the maintenance problems we have fixed individually due to lack of attention. Based on my experience as a tenant, there was a lot of mold in the bathroom and we expressed the urgency of the problem. There was also a liquid on the bathroom ceiling that turned into mold throughout the bathroom. I don't know if the problem was also due to the ventilation of the apartment, but it got to the point where it became a lot and every time we woke up in the morning there was a strong smell of mold.?
Unity is strength
The residents of buildings 201, 245 and 301 have realized that individually they are not heard, but now that they have united they are taken into account.
"When we do it individually it is a little difficult to make changes, but when all the tenants come together they make the change, there is a lot of power in making those changes. What we have seen is that when all the tenants of a building form their associations they are solving problems much faster, if they make a complaint about anything, they come and send a message. There is more power in several than in one," he explained.
Aníbal said that anyone who lives in these buildings and has problems of the same nature and wants to join the demands can contact him at 650 613 81 77.
In order to join forces, it is not only important for tenants to unite, but also for organizations that are willing to support their causes.
Ofelia Bello is a member of Young People United for Community Action (YUCA), which offers technical support to these tenants, whether it be helping them send emails, printing out the petition forms that the tenants need, or even helping them translate and explain complicated and cumbersome terms.
"It's all about technical support, which is sometimes a barrier for our Latino, African-American and Pacific Islander communities. We are here to support them," she said.
"These are still documents that are long, complex, have words that are very technical, so we make sure to help explain what they mean, how all that paperwork can be filled out."
For Ofelia Bello, there is a desire on the part of the residents to carry out these requests, "there is no doubt that this is one of the results of being united among neighbors, among people who support their efforts, like YUCA. We hope that their requests are received seriously, that they are taken into account and that they are resolved in a very efficient manner and as soon as possible."
Bello announced that she is running for a seat on the East Palo Alto City Council this year, where, if she wins, she will continue her nearly nine-year fight to support the city's residents.
"If I am elected, this is work that I can assure you I will continue to do, and even if I am not elected, I will continue to do this work. I hope to continue to support my community in any way I can, and beyond November as well," she concluded.
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