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KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area: Santa Clara evictions increase after pandemic protections expire
July 24, 2024—KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area’s Arundathi Nair quotes Public Advocates’ Senior Staff Attorney Suzanne Dershowitz and covers the record increase of evictions in Santa Clara County following the expiration of tenant protection policies created during the pandemic. Last year, Santa Clara County recorded more than 3,100 evictions – which is the highest it’s been since 2014.
One of the non-profits working to help provide support to renters is Public Advocates. The group has compiled a fact sheet explaining tenant’s rights, how to identify unlawful evictions, and other organizations with relevant resources.
In an interview with the San José Spotlight, the senior staff attorney for Public Advocates, Suzanne Dershowitz, said: “The situation today looks more like the (pre-pandemic) status quo, where tenants have a very short timeline to respond to an eviction notice and fight for their rights or fight an unlawful eviction.”
She added, “Many tenants don’t know where to begin when they receive a notice, oftentimes tenants will just move out and do what we call ‘self evict.’”