On April 5, 2021, long-time Oakland tenants living in a run-down six-unit apartment building filed a lawsuit against their landlord, Michael You, calling for the immediate repair of unlawful, dangerous conditions that are widespread throughout the apartments, threatening the health and safety of residents, including children. The building is located on 28th Avenue in the heart of Oakland’s Fruitvale District.

Conditions include missing or expired fire extinguishers and smoke detectors; rodent and cockroach infestation and mold; lack of hot water and inadequate water pressure; heaters, stoves, refrigerators and plumbing systems that don’t work; broken locks on doors and windows, and extensive damage to ceilings and floors that results in leaks.

The residents, all Spanish-speaking immigrants who have been organizing themselves to demand that repairs be made to their homes, are represented by Public Advocates’ Staff Attorney Ruby Acevedo, attorney David Levin of DML Law Offices and Jackie Zaneri,  Staff Attorney at ACCE (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment). The complaint also alleges massive violations of Oakland’s Tenant Protection Ordinance and state health and safety laws.

Represented in the lawsuit are families that moved into the property at various times between 1998 and 2012.

The landlord, Michael You of BYLD 2 LLC, has continually failed to reasonably address the tenants’ appeals for repairs. Instead, he has attempted to evict all the tenants by issuing 15-day notices demanding that tenants either pay rent or move out of their units. Mr. You, who purchased the building in 2018 has also harassed the tenants by making frequent in-person visits to the units, asking tenants to move out, and constantly demanding rent payments either by letter, phone, or in person—even after they filed COVID-related declarations that protect them from losing their homes during the pandemic for rent issues.

Plans for a remodel of the building show the landlord’s intent to upgrade the building substantially for much higher-paying renters. All six units are two-bedroom units, and the contract rent for each unit ranges from approximately $1,050 to $1,450 per month.

The attorneys for the tenants, in a demand letter launching the complaint in December of 2020, asked that the landlord make the needed repairs and stop harassment and retaliatory actions against the residents, but to no avail.