Rent is causing anger

Oaklands rent has gone up too high over the years and has become less affordable and is getting people evicted from their homes. Also, the rent changes has made people have to get more than one job to be able to pay their rent and sometimes people might even end up homeless because they no longer can afford rent. This affects our communities heavily because some people can’t afford the high rent and end up having to move somewhere else.It’s not fair that someone has to move out of what they once called “Home”.

First ,Rent has skyrocketed over the years in Oakland . As one  can see, in the table below made by National Association of Realtors who are a North American trade association for those who work in the real estate industry.

Year since 2010 Avg rent (2 Bed)

  This table rent is the change of rent in a span of 8 years from 2010 to 2018 has gone up and down but in 2018 its the highest that it has ever been which is $3,247. The people who work minimum wage jobs might not have enough money to even pay the rent let alone they have other expenses to also worry about like putting food on the table for their family. In an article called Oakland’s housing crisis: “I’m the last one here. I don’t know if I can stay or go.” by Nate Berg, they talk about a woman seeing everyone in her neighborhood move out and she’s the last one to go but in the article they say “Roughly 60% of the city’s residents are renters with a median annual income of about $36,000. Oakland is now the fourth most expensive rental market in the country”(Berg) They are saying they make $36,000 a year and if the math is done,   $3,247 (rent in 2018) times 12 ( number of months) it comes out to a total of $38,964 for only rent and  that is more than what they make a year; that is outrageous.In an interview with Aleah a Oakland resident who is new to Oakland and teaches here in Oakland at Life Academy High School. She it also troubled by the rising rent and states,  “It is way too expensive no one should have to sleep outside unless they wanted to”(Aleah). Another interview with Edgar Diaz an Oakland resident who has lived here in Oakland for many years and an undocumented l immigrant feels that he is “ afraid I will no longer be able to live here in Oakland because of the high rent and it makes it harder for me to pay it and I have to work two jobs”(Diaz). The quote is clearly showing us that rent change has put people in a position where they have to work two jobs and working two jobs can be a lot.

This outrageous change to the community and rent has to be fought for. Based on research, protesting is the answer. In a article called “ Oakland residents rally to change rent control law”,  by Carlos Saucedo who works for ABC 7 News a trustworthy news source that has been around for years. In this article they say “Hundreds of tenants rallied in Oakland, Los Angeles and Sacramento on Monday in support of a ballot initiative they say would slow skyrocketing rents in cities across the state. With signs that read “rent is too damn high,” housing affordability advocates rallied in the front steps of Oakland City Hall to call for an end to California’s rent control law.” (Saucedo) From this quote, it states residents of Oakland that are tired of the high rent prices are getting together to protest and make a change. Protesting is the way because it gets people’s attention and it has gotten a Oakland  councilmember Rebecca Kaplans attention because she has even spoke out about it, “Our communities are facing incredible rates of displacement. People are pushed out and some of them end up homeless,”(Kaplan). From this quote the reader can get that it is a  problem and it is acknowledged by people who have power in Oakland.

On the other hand high rent in Oakland is good because that money can go to different causes for example more money for schools because OUSD the school district for Oakland is in debt and owes a lot of money. Therefore schools don’t have a lot of money for supplies etc. Another thing the money can be used for is cleaner streets cleaners parks because here in Oakland their really is no nice park like real maintained park .

However, right now it is important to focus on the renting crisis because even if some changes happen for the positive, who will enjoy them?

Work Cited

Aleah. “Blog Interview .” Dec. 2018. This interview was about a series of questions about rent and the change of it.I choose to interview Aleah because she is new to Oakland but also is a teacher here in Oakland.As well because I know her and she speaks nothing but the truth.One of the questions the interviewee was asked was “Do you think rent should be cheaper if so why?” She responded with “Yessss.It is way to expensive.No one should have to sleep outside unless they wanted to”(Aleah). From her response you can get that a lot of people have a mutual feeling about rent and that it should be cheaper.Another interview with

Berg, Nate. “Oakland’s Housing Crisis: ‘I’m the Last One Here. I Don’t Know If I Can Stay or Go’.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 21 Apr. 2016, www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/apr/21/oakland-housing-crisis-rising-rents-evictions. In this article they tell us about a story of a woman who has seen everyone in her neighborhood have to move out because of the rent changes.As well they talk about statistics like how much people make.This article is credible because this is something that is really going on and it’s a true story.

Diaz , Edgar. “Blog Interview .” 11 Dec. 2018. This interview was about rent and the effect it has on our community.I choose to interview Edgar Diaz due to him being a long time resident of Oakland and he knows the struggle of having to pay high rent.

“Quick Real Estate Statistics.” Www.nar.realtor, National Association of Realtors, 11 May 2018, www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/quick-real-estate-statistics. In this article it talks and shows us about how rent has changed over the years.Also, they show us a T-Table of the different prices throughout the years from 2010 to 2018.This source is credible because it is recent it was posted in 2018.

Saucedo, Carlos, and KGO. “Oakland Residents Rally to Change Rent Control Law.” ABC7 San Francisco, ABC 7 News, 24 Apr. 2018, abc7news.com/politics/oakland-residents-rally-to-change-rent-control-law/3382785/. This article they talk about rent change.As well what it has caused for example people protesting so they can change the rent control law.This article is credible because they are a news source that has been around for a long time and the article is recent it was made in 2018.

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