After Tenderloin Apartment Fire, Rent-Controlled Tenants Fear They're Being Pushed Out | KQED

"Some tenants Tuesday expressed concerns that they didn't qualify for relief based on their income and assets, while others said documentation they needed to complete the applications like driver's licenses, passports and other identification is still inaccessible in their apartments. Mahmood said that the city was permitting digital documentation to ease that concern and had extended the deadline to apply for relief multiple times."

"Representatives from the Human Services Agency were present at the meeting Tuesday to help residents complete individual applications. Katia Padilla, the chief operating officer of the Latino Task Force, said the building's monolingual Spanish speakers have also struggled to get sufficient translation services. In the meeting with Supervisor Mahmood, there were no translation services and nobody from either the [city] or Mosser [Companies] there to support those communities that cannot speak the language, she told reporters. I had to translate."

"Residents on Tuesday also expressed concerns about security at the building. During the meeting, some said that they believe property they left behind has been removed from their apartments or perhaps stolen. Leeman said people saw via Find My iPhone that their devices had been taken out of the building and accessed off-site, and photos of the building's roof show that it has been uncovered. Residents have been unable to retrieve their property because authorities have deemed the building unsafe to enter."

Tenants reported ineligibility for relief because of income and asset rules and inability to access identification stored in their apartments. The city permits digital documentation and has extended the application deadline multiple times while Human Services Agency representatives assisted with applications. Monolingual Spanish speakers encountered insufficient translation and lacked institutional support, requiring community members to translate. Residents raised security concerns over missing or removed belongings, devices tracked off-site, and roof damage. Authorities declared the building unsafe, preventing property retrieval. City offices are facilitating police reports and expediting repair permits and elevator repairs to restore safe access and schedule appointments for residents.

Read at www.kqed.org