Tenant Protection Measures in Marin

Marin’s housing shortage continues to inflict severe hardships on families and local workers struggling to maintain their access to schools, jobs, and other important resources.  Behind statistics describing the long-standing housing crisis for Bay Area renters are their stories about painful damage inflicted by our regional shortage of affordable housing:

• A single mom needs affordable options to remain in San Rafael close to her children’s elementary school and the office where she works.
• A senior desperately searches for a new rental opportunity after the owner decides to sell.
• A renter with disabilities pushed out by rent increases can’t find options near her medical services.

Despite some signs the rental market has temporarily cooled slightly in the Bay Area, local renters continue to face daunting challenges to their housing security.  According to a new 2024 report “Out of Reach:  The High Cost of Housing,” Marin County represents the country’s second most expensive jurisdiction (Eight of the 10 most expensive U.S. housing markets are in California.). This study found that the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Marin County requires an hourly wage of $66.40 – far above the wage most renters can secure with local jobs. For context, the Marin minimum wage is $18 per hour — even full time employment would not suffice to cover minimal rent. The discrepancy between housing costs and incomes results in insurmountable obstacles for Marin renters.

The income/housing gap poses extreme hardships for families, people with disabilities, and local workers struggling to maintain housing security in Marin. Demonstrably inadequate housing accessibility for all segments of Marin’s population can – and does –  produce disastrous effects. Even market-rate housing is a huge financial stretch except for those fortunate folks at the top end of the economic ladder. Marin’s history of opposing new housing has resulted in people having to double-up in overcrowded rental units, and has led to more severe segregation, ever-increasing traffic congestion, and the signs of homelessness that we see in our neighborhoods. 

When faced with loss of their housing, too many renters have only few options:

1. Leave the community and begin commuting in and out of Marin daily, contributing to our traffic problem, or worse, leave Marin’s workforce altogether
2. Move in with another household, increasing the levels of overcrowding in the county
3. Fall into homelessness

In order to combat the devastating effects of pricing-out, overcrowding, and homelessness, Marin must act on two fronts:  fund and construct more affordable housing, and protect those most at risk of losing their housing security.

Here are two examples of practices that could be remedied, at least in part, with good public policy:

• Marin’s last pockets of affordable housing for local workers and retired people can still be found in our limited number of mobile home parks, but these remain under intense financial pressure from owners and investors eager to transform them into richer sources of cash. 
• Investment companies have been seeking opportunities in properties held for many years by the same owner who hasn’t relentlessly increased rents over time; when properties are sold, however, long-time renters face severe pressure when new owners sharply increase rental rates.

Although the state has increased numerical allocations for more affordable housing in local jurisdictions, this has not yet resulted in significant improvements. For example, Marin County’s Annual Housing Element Progress Report shows the county planned only 16 units for people with extremely low incomes in 2023, but with an eight-year allocation of 550 units the county fell far short with less than one-quarter the production rate required to meet the needs of these renters. MEHC summarizes Progress Report results here>>

The below chart of the housing plans for all 12 Marin jurisdictions during the current eight-year housing element planning cycle shows that unincorporated Marin County and all the other cities and towns aside from Larkspur are falling woefully short of their current planning goals, with the average performance far below the state’s required benchmark after the first year of our current cycle. For housing to meet the 8-year cycle targets, each jurisdiction must produce 12.5% of its goal every year to be on track. Clearly, Marin is barely off the starting line at this point.

MEHC is a working member of the Housing For All Marin coalition to educate Marinites on affordable housing and the need for more funding. The coalition is focusing efforts on Proposition 5. The passage of Prop 5 is necessary to pave the way for affordable housing bond measures in the future. 

We invite you to attend the Housing For All Marin Community Forum on Tuesday Sept. 10, 2 – 4 pm at North Marin Community Services (680 Wilson Ave, Novato) to learn more and get involved. Register here >>

You can be a part of MEHC’s important work by reading and sharing our monthly PERSPECTIVE newsletters, joining our weekly COMING UP IN HOUSING email (signup forms here>>), participating in our advocacy campaigns, and also, if you can, by making a donation to help defray our expenses. Thank you.