Advertisement
Homes Not Jails was formed in 1992, long before the tech boom turned San Francisco's rents into the most expensive in the country. The organization emerged out of the activist groups Food Not Bombs and the San Francisco Tenants Union, and committed to housing homeless people through direct action.At the heart of the organization is the belief that housing is an inalienable right. Homes Not Jails believes that prisons are the only form of public housing the government has truly invested in over the past five decades, and so as long as there are people living on the street, they will break into unused buildings to turn them into temporary housing."A produce tie wrapped around a door or gate is very effective: see if it's broken when checking back to determine if someone has been inside." —Steve, Homes Not Jails
Advertisement
It's made up of people like Brian (not his real name), whose unemployment benefits were about to run out and who needed to find housing in the priced-out renters market. On a recent evening, I tagged along with Brian and Steve (also not his real name), one of Homes Not Jails' volunteer activists, to scout out potential buildings for Brian to squat in. Before we left, we stopped by Homes Not Jails' headquarters to pick through labeled boxes filled with all the necessities a squatter needs to secure a San Francisco property: crowbars, lock cutters, dead bolts, screwdrivers, tape, nails, lock pickers, sleeping bags, car batteries for electricity, flashlights."Monday and Tuesday nights are ideal times to look for places—people usually go to bed early," stated Steve as we walked along the silent streets of the Mission district. "The best time is after 11 PM."Though it's risky to occupy a building that someone else owns, police can't take action to remove the squatters unless a property owner files an unlawful detainer lawsuit and signs a form to give them authority. The legal consequences usually result in a citation. Even then, the charges are seldom more than a "suspicion of trespassing" misdemeanor. If property is damaged in the process—like breaking a window or cutting a deadbolt—there could also be a vandalism charge, which is why Homes Not Jails prefers sneaking in through open windows or other unobtrusive means. Building owners will sometimes make cash offer to squatters to evict them, rather than bothering with the lengthy hassles of the legal process.Read: Visiting the Last Remnants of San Francisco's Low-Income Apartment Buildings
Advertisement
Advertisement
With one month left in her sublease agreement, the senior executive professional in the world of technology was angered when I told her it wouldn't be possible to stay two additional two months as stated on our agreement because I was moving back to San Francisco; she was now going to take action to make sure she stayed even longer; threatening to rat on me to my landlord—which would cause me to get evicted—or having me pay her the difference in rent.The number of no-fault evictions in San Francisco soared from 664 in 2012 to 1,432 in 2013. That's a 216 percent jump in one year.
Advertisement
Advertisement
In the end, I lost my San Francisco rent-controlled apartment. My subletter submitted an application to take over my apartment, but once she found out that rent was going to be 300 percent more, she moved to a less expensive neighborhood.The landlord won; raising the rent higher than a kite powered by Google when I moved out. I never moved back to San Francisco, where Brian still lives, hoping he can keep a roof over his head.Follow Harmon Leon on Twitter.