San Jose city officials are responding to the troubling trend of 'vanlording,' where individuals unlawfully rent dilapidated and unsafe vans to homeless residents. The city has identified various instances, including listings on platforms like Facebook Marketplace, where rent prices reach up to $1,300 a month. Councilmember David Cohen emphasized the need for regulations to protect vulnerable tenants, asserting that these 'vanlords' evade tenant protection laws. A proposed ordinance aims to curb these exploitative practices and ensure the safety of those seeking affordable housing solutions.
We know there are bad actors out there that put dilapidated, nonworking van trailers or RVs out there, and then manipulate our unsheltered residents to rent these places in unsafe conditions.
These rentals use city property to take advantage of vulnerable tenants without having to follow tenant protections for rental properties that protect the safety and financial well-being of lower income people.
By creating an ordinance to outlaw these rentals, we set an expectation of appropriate behavior. Our goal is to prevent this crisis from worsening, by shining some light on the situation.
This is a problem that flies under the radar, but my office has heard directly from residents about exploitative vanlords taking advantage of desperate renters searching for affordable housing.
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