Oakland Will Now Force Landlords to Evict Sex Workers (xpost from Calif.)

[KamaAina]

http://m.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2014/10/23/oakland-will-now-force-landlords-to-evict-sex-workers

Oakland can now force landlords to evict sex workers from their homes under new changes to an existing Oakland law. ...

But the City Council is has now expanded its eviction powers to include "prostitution-related crimes," gambling, and the possession of certain ammunition. If the city orders an eviction, the landlord must pay for it — and can be cited by the city for maintaining a nuisance if he or she does not move to evict the tenant.

Troubling as it is, the law does not specify whether a tenant must be convicted or merely accused of a prostitution-related offense, stripping Oaklanders of due process. City officials rely on police records to determine which tenants to evict, meaning a tenant may have been arrested for a prostitution-related crime but never convicted. In a letter to the City Council regarding the amendments to the ordinance, Parker acknowledged that, previously, her office would have to seek a court order to demand that a landlord evict a tenant. The amended ordinance eliminates court oversight....

In today's rental market, tenants need all the due process they can get. But Oaklanders are getting a little less.

One hopes that at least "prostitution-related crimes" includes pimping.

[Wella]

1. If you really want to stop prostitution, you arrest (or publicly shame) the Johns.

Attacking prostitutes doesn't stop the practice.

[KamaAina]

2. Or evict them!

partial

[Wella]

3. Not sure what you mean here.

Maybe I'm just not getting it?

[KamaAina]

4. If this new eviction law were applied to johns and pimps as well as sex workers,

you could hear the public outcry all the way down here in San Jose. But it would only be fair.

[Wella]

5. Ah, very good!

Having a slow brain day, today. Thanks.