The daily Post

The number of vacation rentals in San Francisco that reduce affordable housing stock might surprise you.

Airbnb guest was sexually assaulted after Airbnb refused to assist the guest. Since Ron Conway, a major investor in Airbnb, contributes a lot of money to local political candidates, you can support candidates not funded by Airbnb (such as Aaron Peskin) and measures to stop the abuses by Airbnb.

Come celebrate Ted’s birthday with us on August 20th at the Uptown bar on 200 Capp Street and 17th Street. Share stories with friends and colleagues. Ted was the director of the Tenants Union for over 25 years and was vital to the current tenants rights movement that is erupting!

Gabriel Metcalf, Director of San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR), claims progressives caused the housing crisis. Tim Redmond explains why this isn’t true in his article on www.48hills.org.

On July 24, SF Tenants Union spokesperson Scott Weaver debated a pro-developer representative on the November ballot measure for a moratorium on luxury housing development in the Mission District. The Mission is currently going through what is called hyper-gentrification, and affordable housing is being lost at a rate that not seen since that last tech boom. The SF Tenants Union supports this legislation and, as member of the Plaza 16 Coalition, believes that the City must be given the chance to develop a plan to address the housing crisis in ways that are accountable to the working-class and people of color that have historically lived in the Mission. The City must both protect existing rent-controlled housing and build more affordable housing than it currently is. Building more luxury housing will not solve this eviction and displacement crisis. That is why we support the Mission moratorium ballot initiative.

Video below:

Supervisor Jane Kim amended Supervisors Christensen’s and Wiener’s original proposals for construction of new in-law units. Christensen’s and Wiener’s proposals would not have required the new in-laws to be rental housing instead of condos or hotel rooms even after tenants had been evicted. Kim’s amendments would help prevent displacement of tenants for development of the property into condos or hotel rooms.

Supervisor Julie Christensen introduced amendments that made a bad law for Airbnb worse, and with support from Supervisors London Breed, Malia Cohen, Mark Farrell, Katy Tang, and Scott Wiener passed a set of rules that will make it easier for landlords to take rental housing off the market and turn it into hotel rooms. Real enforcement of Airbnb will be on the ballot this November with an initiative measure and where Christensen will be running against pro-tenant former President of the Board of Supervisors Aaron Peskin.

Mark Farrell (San Francisco Supervisor for Cow Hollow, Laurel Heights, Marina, Pacific Heights, Presidio, parts of Russian Hill, and Sea Cliff) opposed the money going to organizations that fight illegal evictions. He also opposes tenant organizing over the Mission moratorium as well as other recent organizing. Read the article here.

The Berkeley City Council voted to restrict short-term rentals to up to 14 days and includes regulations to minimize the impact on neighbors. Maybe the difference between Berkeley and San Francisco is that many San Francisco Supervisors and the Mayor are supported by Airbnb’s Ron Conway? Tell your pro-Airbnb Supervisors (London Breed, Malia Cohen, Mark Farrell and Scott Wiener) and Mayor Lee that you support restrictions on short-term rentals that are removing affordable housing.

An amendment to the relocation payment providing a rental payment differential is not currently being enforced by the City of San Francisco because the City believes the new rental payment differential is included in the ruling of Levin v. City and County of San Francisco.