Justice
Oakland Can Now Order Landlords to Evict Sex Workers
A revised city ordinance claims to protect tenants from "nuisance" and crime. But it opens a suspiciously short and strategic path to evicting sex workers with little evidence, notice, or recourse.
Residents and reporters in Oakland watched closely on Tuesday night as the Oakland City Council took up legislation designed to protect tenants from landlords seeking higher rents. Against the backdrop of rapidly rising housing costs as well as stories of Ellis Act–style evictions creeping in from across the Bay, the Oakland City Council passed the Tenant Protection Ordinance.
Yet before the debate began over tenant protections, the Council granted the city broad new powers to evict residents over certain illegal "nuisance" activities, including prostitution. By unanimous vote, the Oakland City Council passed a bill that gives the city the power to evict sex workers "associated" with a property—and to require their landlords to do the same.