Yes2TOPA

During a time when local jurisdictions struggle to finance and build new sources of affordable housing, **A will establish a process where cities and counties can create affordable housing through acquisition and rehabilitation faster than through new construction.

Will T**A prevent me from giving my property to my heirs?

"No. T**A does not interfere with transfers of property to one’s heirs upon the death of the owner." https://yes2topa.org/faqs-for-landlords

**A will create ownership opportunities during a time when homeownership is out of reach for the majority of residents throughout the Bay Area.

Does T**A force me to sell my rental property before I want to sell it?

"No, T**A does not force an owner to sell before they are ready. When you choose to sell, T**A provides a process for existing tenants to remain in the property they have been renting from you by purchasing it themselves or assigning their purchase rights to a qualified organization. If tenants/qualified organizations do not respond or waive their purchase rights, the owner can proceed to sell the property on the market." https://yes2topa.org/faqs-for-landlords

Berkeley’s T**A policy is designed to:

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

Now is the time for Berkeley to pass a T**A policy that helps meet Berkeley’s housing crisis and needs! https://yes2topa.org/

**A will empower tenants to lead on housing solutions!

https://yes2topa.org/

TOMORROW! We need your help and support! Please join us at a T**A RALLY, tomorrow, April 11th at 5pm at Berkeley City Hall (Virtual & School District Board Room-1231 Addison Street). We need your support at City Hall to advocate for the Berkeley Mayor and City Council to add the T**A budget referral into the next year's budget. Now is the time to move forward funding for T**A's administration and other anti-displacement programs!

We need your help! Please join us at a T**A RALLY, Tuesday, April 11th at 5pm at Berkeley City Hall (Virtual & School District Board Room-1231 Addison Street). We need your support at City Hall to advocate for the Berkeley Mayor and City Council to add the T**A budget referral into the next year's budget. Now is the time to move forward funding for T**A's administration and other anti-displacement programs!

"Tenant and Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (T**A and COPA) policies are being proposed around the country, with potentially substantial impacts on housing affordability, community stability and power, and tenant quality of life." Julia Duranti-Martínez & David M. Greenberg

Read the full article here - https://www.lisc.org/our-resources/resource/tenant-community-opportunity-purchase-policies/

During a time when local jurisdictions struggle to finance and build new sources of affordable housing, **A will establish a process where cities and counties can create affordable housing through acquisition and rehabilitation faster than through new construction.

https://yes2topa.org/

What is the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Acts (T**A)?

We are proud to support SB 225 and work with our T**A partners to advocate for $500M from the state to . 🙌

TLDR: Sign-on to the letter in support of CAPP today! bit.ly/SignOnCAPP 🖊️🚨

The Community Acquisition & Preservation Program (CAPP) is essential for an equitable recovery. Acquiring & preserving unsubsidized housing means we can prevent 🛑low-income Californians from displacement & homelessness & increase ⬆️our supply of affordable homes! ✅ CAPP would provide statewide resources for this work for the 1st time, and could fund T**A purchases!

Now is the time to use our state resources to invest in this place-based strategy to prevent displacement & increase the supply of affordable housing in communities across California! 🫶💖🏘️

Have you heard of a Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act? Learn more and find out how an T**A can work in your community to address the housing crisis. Learn more at https://yes2topa.org/.

Berkeley residents say **A - “T**A expresses the heart of what Berkeley is about.” Berkeley made a name for itself for its contribution to the free speech, civil rights, and anti-war movement. If Berkeley were to adopt T**A, it could then lead the state towards a movement for housing for all.

Prevent displacement today. Create affordable housing for the future. Thank you Senator Caballero and Assemblymember Haney for championing SB 225 to create the Community Anti-Displacement & Preservation Program (CAPP) and a $500 million budget request to begin acquiring and preserving affordable homes in communities across California!

T**A is NOT eminent domain. The government is not seizing property nor compelling property owners to sell. A rental property owner is free to sell whenever they’d like and the price of the property will be set by the market. https://yes2topa.org

Thank you, Mari Mendonca for your support and leadership for pushing affordable housing !

Berkeley made a name for itself for its contribution to the free speech, civil rights, and anti-war movement. If Berkeley were to adopt T**A, it could then lead the state towards a movement for housing fBerkeley made a name for itself for its contribution to the free speech, civil rights, and anti-war movement. If Berkeley were to adopt T**A, it could then lead the state towards a movement for housing f **Aor all.

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Happy Black History Month!

Did you know that T**A has racial equity policy goals?
"By opening up pathways to ownership for tenants, T**A represents an opportunity to reduce barriers to homeownership. Barriers to homeownership, like redlining (see Berkeley’s redlining map), have led to the racial wealth gap. And this wealth gap is clear in Berkeley’s homeownership numbers: 52% of Berkeley’s white households own a home, but only 29% of Black households here are homeowners, and only 28% of Latinx households (American Community Survey, 2019). T**A represents one part of a strategy to confront this racial wealth gap." https://yes2topa.org/racial-equity-faqs

Mayor Arreguin let’s move T**A together with a budget referral in February!

Why is T**A Necessary?
"Responding to the current crisis: Now is an ideal time to prioritize T**A; if there are property owners who choose to get out of the rental market, those sales can be opportunities to help tenants stay in place and potentially become homeowners - instead of representing displacement risk as happened in the last market downturn, or massive transfer of rental property ownership from local owners to outside investors and corporations as took place in Oakland and many cities after the last recession. Many places - including Oakland, Los Angeles County, Minneapolis, New York State, and Massachusetts - are turning to opportunity to purchase policies as a means of ensuring a more equitable recovery from the pandemic."https://yes2topa.org/overall-faqs **A

T**A provides permanent affordability!

"The first proposed policy required permanent affordability (via recorded deed resale restrictions) on all T**A purchases. The revised proposal removes this permanent affordability (PA) requirement for tenant purchases financed without public subsidies. While T**A’s PA requirements remain unchanged for Qualified Organization purchasers, for tenant-purchased properties PA requirements will now be dictated by the terms of applicable subsidies or limited equity ownership models." https://yes2topa.org/overall-faqs

Why T**A is Necessary?
"Now is an ideal time to prioritize T**A; if there are property owners who choose to get out of the rental market, those sales can be opportunities to help tenants stay in place and potentially become homeowners - instead of representing displacement risk as happened in the last market downturn, or massive transfer of rental property ownership from local owners to outside investors and corporations as took place in Oakland and many cities after the last recession." https://yes2topa.org/overall-faqs

T**A can be layered with a ‘right of return’ preference policy being developed in the City of Berkeley. While T**A will initially benefit current Berkeley residents, future vacancies in T**A buildings could give preference to past Berkeley residents who have been displaced.
For more info go to https://yes2topa.org/what-is-topa-1
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"Starting in 2019 -The East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), Northern California Land Trust, and Bay Area Community Land Trust worked closely with Mayor Jesse Arreguin, and consulted with tenants, tenant advocates, lending institutions, real estate brokers and others, to develop a T**A policy tailored for Berkeley – one that stays true to Berkeley’s vision of democratic, community controlled affordable housing."

Thank you Bay Area Community Land Trust for your continuing support! If you want to add your name to the growing list of endorsers of the YES2T**A campaign, go to https://yes2topa.org/endorsers.

"Starting in 2019 -The East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), Northern California Land Trust, and Bay Area Community Land Trust worked closely with Mayor Jesse Arreguin, and consulted with tenants, tenant advocates, lending institutions, real estate brokers and others, to develop a T**A policy tailored for Berkeley – one that stays true to Berkeley’s vision of democratic, community controlled affordable housing."

Thank you Bay Area Community Land Trust for your continuing support! If you want to add your name to the growing list of endorsers of the YES2T**A campaign, go to https://yes2topa.org/endorsers.

"Alameda County is one of the least affordable housing markets in the country. The rapid rate of home sales coupled with cash offers, results in bidding wars that privileges all-cash investors over buyers who use conventional financing. T**A levels the playing field with timelines that make it possible for tenants and QOs to organize, negotiate a contract, secure financing, and close a deal."

General 1 — YES TO T**A What is T**A? T**A empowers tenants with options when the property they live in is going to be sold (see 3/16/21 Berkeleyside Op-ed). Tenants can purchase the property or assign rights to a qualified organization (QO), such as a community land trust, nonprofit housing developer or cooperative. Tenan...

"T**A will provide critical opportunities for tenants to become homeowners; fostering stable and healthy communities. T**A will empower tenants to fight against the trends of corporate landlords driving up rents and gentrification displacing communities of color in Berkeley."

- Erik Hagstrom, Cal YDSA Communications Secretary

Thank you for your support!

If you want to add your name to the growing list of endorsers of the YES2T**A campaign, go to https://yes2topa.org/endorsers.

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"Show love, be love, and Yes2T**A!" Former D2 Councilmember Cheryl Davila

"T**A exempts transfers, even when money is offered, between immediate family members, including spouses, domestic partners, parent and child, siblings, grandparent and grandchild. T**A also does not interfere with transfers of property to one’s heirs upon the death of the owner." https://yes2topa.org/racial-equity-faqs

If you want to add your name to the growing list of endorsers of the YES2T**A campaign, go to https://yes2topa.org/endorsers.

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"The displacement is real, it's happening and it's happening now" Paola Laverde . Paola, supports T**A because she knows that T**A prevents displacement and promotes community stability .

If you want to add your name to the growing list of endorsers of the YES2T**A campaign, go to https://yes2topa.org/endorsers.

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