a letter to a heartless landlord

Kevin Barnard
833 Broderick Suite 5
San Francisco California 94115
vox 415-928-0190
fax 415-931-8363
email kevin@barnardgraphics.com
website www.barnardgraphics.com

Date: October 10 1997

To: Ava Szeto, Whalun Szeto - Landlords
35 Trumbull Court
Novato, CA 94947
P.O. Box 2732
Novato, CA 94948
415-898-8095

Re: Owner Move-In Eviction

On September 17, the day after I received your 30-day notice to terminate
tenancy from my home at 833 Broderick St Suite 5 San Francisco, I sent you
a letter stating "This is the last correspondence you will receive from me directly".
Well, I have changed my mind. I also informed you and your foul-mouthed attorney,
Joseph Sacramento, that I would utilize all resources available to me and vigorously
dispute your eviction attempt.

Let's be perfectly candid here: it is obvious to me that you have no other motive in your
effort to evict me but to profit from the out-of-control rent market in San Francisco.
I'm not some country bumpkin who doesn't see exactly what you and other predacious
landlords are doing to middle-class rental tenants in this city. Are money and profit the
only things you care about? Where is your sense of human decency? Where are your morals?
What kind of ethics are you trying to impose here? Is your master plan to have a
San Francisco reserved only for the rich and famous? What kind of message are you
sending your children? What kind of message are you sending the world?

What you are doing only serves to create even more tension and unrest in an already
highly volatile society we call America.

Your eviction notice has not only disrupted my life, but also the lives of my family, my friends,
my business associates and my clients. Every day I awake with this oppressive anxiety
that the end of the 30-days to "remove from and deliver possession of the premises"
looms ever closer. Does my anxiety amuse you? Does this make you feel powerful sitting there
in your big blue mansion in Novato? And since you have not responded to my request for an
equitable settlement to move out, I have no choice but to seek help in contesting your
callous demands from whatever resources I can.

Let me start with a letter I posted 2 days ago on a community bulletin board on the internet.
SUBJECT - ANOTHER NEW OWNER EVICTION VICTIM:
"I have been living in the same San Francisco flat for 10 years. Unfortunately, the
new owners who took possession of my building on September 2 are now evicting me
because "the landlord seeks to recover possession for the use and occupancy as the
principle residence of the landlord's children." Since this is allowed under the current
immoral and totally unethical SF Administrative Code 37.9(a), I have no choice but to move.

The real reasons I'm being evicted are (1) I have rent control, (2) I have
the top floor flat of a beautiful victorian, (3) I have the largest unit in
the building, (4) I have been here for 10 years, (5) my rent is only
$865.00 and (6) these new owners are just plain greedy and want me out so
they can double the rent for my flat. So, I am looking for a new place.
I am a self-employed graphic designer. I'm the perfect tenant - quiet, clean,
responsible and I always pay my rent on time. Speaking of rent, I can pay
up to $1000/month for a new home. I also need a secure place like a side
alleyway or garage to park my motorcycle. Can someone out there help me
find a new home, and soon?"

Within a few hours I received over 20 responses from people in this
community who are currently, or have recently, gone throught the same
disruptive experience that you are causing me. I followed my initial posting
with a second posting yesterday and cc:'d all of the people who had offered
their support. SUBJECT - THERE'S AN EVICTION EPIDEMIC IN SAN FRANCISCO:
"To all of you kind hearted folks who have responded to my 10-8-97 posting
on craigs-list (and there are a lot of you - more than 20 in less than 24 hours!)
Thank you for your reply and support. I have a lawyer currently negotiating with
the landlord's lawyer, but unfortunately the way the law is written, if you really
want to get serious about fighting and suing and checking on the landlord's "good faith"
as it is written in the code, the entire procedure will eat your life savings through attorney fees.

This entire "use and occupancy as the principle residence of the landlord's
children" section of the SF Administrative Code should be abolished.
It's as if someone came up behind you and hit you with a baseball bat and
you could do nothing because there is a law stating people can carry baseball
bats and how they use them is up to their own discretion. How can people
who rent fight this bullshit? I have paid the October rent, but as of
today, the landlord hasn't cashed the cheque. But if they do, it means they
are honoring the month-to-month rental contract. My understanding is that
once they honor the contract by cashing your rent check, the entire
eviction process has to start over. Keep me informed of your situation
related to eviction. I'm documenting all of the responses I get, and my
next step is seeking help from the Tenants Union at 558 Capp Street in
San Francisco (415-282-6622 if you need to call), and anywhere else I can find
support. It seems that having only one lawyer is not going to put
sufficient pressure on my heartless landords. Maybe if enough "eviction
victims" can all get together, we could have a voice in changing this
dehumanizing law."

As of 10:00am today, I have received over 50 responses to my second posting
on the internet. The main problem with this entire exercise is that it is
consuming inordinate amounts of my time and taking my attention away from
earning a living. I've had to put a lawyer on retainer. Many of my bills
are going to be paid late because of what you are putting me through. I am
now operating entirely in "survival mode".

Your eviction attempt has drawn me to a much higher calling now. I can't
imagine that you have any religious or spiritual inclinations, but what is
unfolding before me is a sense of community, friendship, purpose and
dignity. I sincerely doubt that you have the slightest comprehension of
what I'm talking about. Well, to put it in simple terms any landlord could
understand, there is a very large number of people from all walks of life,
young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick, who are making their San
Francisco eviction experiences heard. I am just one small person among
literally thousands who's lives have been disturbed by heartless people
like you.

If I've kept your attention this far, that's a good thing. Because what I'm
doing now will no doubt grasp the attention of many more people.
People in public office. People in the media. And other tenants just like me.

Here's a few people I've told my story to:
1 The Tenant's Union. Registered on the "owner move-in" database.
They've got their eyes on you.
2 The Eviction Defense Network.
3 The Rent Board. Lodged a formal complaint.
4 The Tenderloin Housing Clinic.
5 Barbara Kaufman, President, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
6 Tom Ammiano, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
7 Amos Brown, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
8 Jose Medina, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
9 Mabel Teng, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
10 Sue Bierman, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
11 Leslie Katz, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
12 Susan Leal, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
13 Gavin Newson, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
14 Michael Yaki, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
15 Leyland Yee, San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
16 The Office of the Mayor, Willie Brown.
17 The Office of the Governor, Pete Wilson.
18 KGO 7 On Your Side.
19 KQED Channel 9.
20 The Editors of The Bay Guardian.
21 The Editors of The Chronicle and Examiner.
22 The Editors of The SFWeekly.
23 The Editors of The Independent.

In closing, I am requesting, once again, that you immediately rescind the
September 16 1997 eviction notice. I will go so far as to send you eleven
post-dated rent cheques for the ensuing year's rental of this apartment.
Is there any way we can reach a compromise? I do not want to move from
this apartment. I love it here.

Kevin Barnard

P.S. The wooden fire escape stairs in the back are beginning to dislodge
from the building. You should shore them up before they collapse, possibly
injuring someone. You don't want to risk a negligence lawsuit. I do care.






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©1997 Kevin Barnard