Yes2TOPA

Berkeley, like the rest of the Bay Area, faces a housing crisis, one driven by rising rental prices and a hot housing market. With 75% of the city’s low-income census tracts at risk of or undergoing displacement and a continued loss of thousands of Black households, Berkeley desperately needs anti-displacement strategies that prioritize low income renters and communities of color. One of those strategies is the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

TOPA prevents displacement by empowering tenants with choices for their future housing when the owner of a rental property decides to sell (learn how it works here ...

Berkeley, like the rest of the Bay Area, faces a housing crisis, one driven by rising rental prices and a hot housing market. With 75% of the city’s low-income census tracts at risk of or undergoing displacement and a continued loss of thousands of Black households, Berkeley desperately needs anti-displacement strategies that prioritize low income renters and communities of color. One of those strategies is the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

TOPA prevents displacement by empowering tenants with choices for their future housing when the owner of a rental property decides to sell (learn how it works here!). In Washington, DC, TOPA has helped preserve over 3500 units of affordable housing since 2002, and those numbers continue to grow.

Berkeley’s TOPA policy is designed to:

Prevent displacement of low-income communities of color and marginalized tenants
Create permanently affordable housing
Create pathways to ownership for tenants and promote democratic residential control
Stabilize housing for existing tenants
Give tenants choice and voice regarding their housing
Protect rental housing from speculative investment by keeping them in the community

Now is the time for Berkeley to pass a TOPA policy that helps meet Berkeley’s housing crisis and needs.

We can’t do this without you. Raise your voice for TOPA today!

SIGN OUR PETITON TO PASS TOPA NOW

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Support Berkeley TOPA!

We need to get as many emails to Berkeley Councilmembers as possible voicing support for TOPA in Berkeley. Send an email, tell your friends/neighbors, and then tell some more!

Remember to come to the City Council meeting on September 30th at 6pm to voice your support of TOPA!

For Berkeley residents, please write in below whether you are a rentner or owner, as well as which District you live in (you can verify here: https://www.cityofberkeley.info/CouncilDistrictSearch.aspx).

Please think about how TOPA will affect you and your neighbors and write a short sentence or 2 after the first sentence "Please support the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

Compose your email

Name

Email

Subject:

Dear Mayor Arreguín and Members of Berkeley City Council:

Please support the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA)! Everyone, particularly families that have called Berkeley home for generations, deserves the opportunity to stay here even if their building is going to be sold.

TOPA is a critical tool keep our communities stably housed, create more affordable housing, and protect tenants and property owners alike from outside, predatory speculators. It gives renters in Berkeley a path to realizing their dream of owning a home in Berkeley, and it incentivizes property owners to invest in their communities.

Now is the time to move TOPA forward! Passing the policy now for implementation next year will allow Berkeley to make the most of state and regional funds that can be leveraged to help tenants purchase their homes and move them into permanent affordability.

Berkeley faces a massive displacement and housing crisis. As our city grows, we must preserve the affordable housing we already have so that new housing does not add to the housing crisis we are experiencing by displacing low-income tenants. We need to act now to stabilize our communities and create more affordable housing for the next generation so that we and our children can remain here and thrive.

Please vote to move this important policy forward.

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