Berkeley, Calif. – The Berkeley Tenants Union, a local advocacy group representing around 70 tenants, is escalating its dispute with the Berkeley Property Owners Association (BPOA) by lodging formal complaints to municipal and state election watchdogs over alleged inappropriate campaign practices and financial disclosures. The union accuses the BPOA of obfuscation in its recent initiatives on the city’s ballot, particularly in relation to campaign contributions linked to the National Association of Realtors.
The bone of contention largely centers on the campaigning for Measure CC in the November 5 election, which was defeated after securing only 34.8% of the vote. Conversely, the city council-authored Measure BB, which the Berkeley Rent Board also contributed to, passed with 55.7% approval. The union alleges that BPOA’s promotional efforts for Measure CC were misleading, positioning it falsely as supportive of rent control.
Matthew Lewis, spokesperson for the Berkeley Tenants Union, also indicated plans to take their grievances to higher authorities, including the District Attorney and the California Attorney General. The union is calling for an investigation into both the BPOA and the National Association of Realtors, and their associated political action committees, for what it alleges are breaches of campaign finance regulation.
In response, Krista Gulbransen, executive director of the BPOA, denied all allegations made by the Tenants Union. She defended the association’s actions and criticized the union for disparaging landlords in Berkeley. Gulbransen emphasized the absence of any legal actions naming the BPOA as a defendant in matters related to price gouging or similar abuses, and accused the Tenants Union of perpetuating baseless claims, notably concerning its supposed involvement in a Department of Justice case regarding RealPage.
RealPage, a software utilized by some landlords in Berkeley, employs artificial intelligence to help set rent levels and manage property occupancy, and has attracted scrutiny in other cities for its role in housing market dynamics.
Furthermore, the contested Measure CC sought to limit the Berkeley Rent Board’s participation in legal proceedings and alter its operational mandate, including a proposal to remove stipends for commissioners while maintaining their health benefits. Measure BB, which passed, modifies existing renter protections. Significant changes include enabling tenants to form associations if they represent at least 50% of the occupied units in a building, reducing the maximum permissible annual rent increase from 7% to 5%, and withdrawing a previous exemption for nonprofit senior housing from tenant organization rights.
Leah Simon-Weisberg, Chair of Berkeley’s Rent Board, highlighted that Measure BB aims to enhance tenant-landlord communications and accountability. According to Simon-Weisberg, if landlords fail to engage constructively with tenant associations, affected tenants could now seek rent reductions from the rent board.
This escalating conflict between tenants and property owners in Berkeley underscores broader tensions in urban housing markets, as communities grapple with balancing landlord interests and tenant protections amidst an evolving landscape of corporate property ownership and technological intervention in rental practices.
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