SAN DIEGO — Fighting to keep a roof over their heads, dozens of renters packed Tuesday's San Diego Housing Authority meeting, demanding rent control as they now face massive rent hikes.
Many of them are senior citizens who are worried they could end up homeless. Tenants who spoke out live in an affordable housing community in Del Sur, where they say they're facing rent increases amounting to hundreds of dollars more every month: a rent hike they say they simply can not afford.
"We don't know what to do," said one tenant. "We are going to be homeless like everybody else in downtown San Diego. "I am speaking for all of us!"
Tenant after tenant, many living in the Fairbanks Commons affordable housing community, packed Tuesday's Housing Authority Meeting.
"We're not million dollar people," said one of them. "We are old, we're 'Social Security' people."
"We're not asking for charity," added another. "We're just asking that our rent be in line with what's fair."
Many of them are senior citizens who say their social security check can not keep up with this hike in housing costs.
"With this rent increase, I will have $301 left in my Social Security after I pay my rent," one tenant shared. "Sorry guys, that's just not enough to live on... Not here in San Diego!"
"I can try to go get another job," said Josie Thornton, "but somebody who's 75 or 80, they don't have that luxury."
Last month, tenants staged a rally at Fairbanks Commons in Del Sur.
"Some of the people here are terrified that they are going to end up homeless," said Rafael Bautista, director of San Diego Tenants Union."That is the reality that many people face, many people in the working class are paycheck to paycheck, they can't afford a thousand dollar emergency, and this is essentially a threat to their lives."
For its part, the developer, Chelsea Investment Corporation, previously told CBS 8 that they understand that a rent hike may cause a burden for some tenants, encouraging residents to reach out to onsite managers for additional help.
They added in a statement, "Covid impacts were mitigated for several years during the pandemic by waiving annual rent increases. Unfortunately, with today's economic challenges impacting all sectors, we have been faced with operating budgets that are no longer sustainable in the current environment."
During Tuesday's Housing Authority meeting, there was some hope, as City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert offered some possible help.
"I'll take your names and see if I can get you any assistance with Chelsea," she said. "We are waiting to talk with you."
Many tenants said they'll accept any assistance they can get.
"We just need help," added one. "We need something to be done, the sooner the better."
Along with rent control, the San Diego Tenants Union, which organized the protest, is also calling for voters to pass Prop 33 on the November ballot, which would make it easier for cities in California to impose new rent control limits on more types of housing.
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