Update

Why WE left

This is a personal project. It has grown out of many conversations with those that I am close to about the brutal rental market and displacement of most of my friends in the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco, as they try to make ends meet in the tech boom.

Katherine and Dizzy -Alice St. 

Downtown Oakland. After being priced out of San Francisco's Mission District she and her dog are on the hunt for a place to live in the East Bay, Oakland specifically, but the boom across the Bay has made this increasingly hard and the average cost for a 1 bedroom near BART is $1800.

In San Francisco the average rent hit $3,392 in the the last quarter of 2014, that is a increase of 11% from the same quarter a year ago, according to the San Jose Mercury News in January. 

Josh and Gina - Fell Street

San Francisco - When the maintenance man's key broke in their three bedroom apartment door, the landlord demanded that they produce the original tenant, who was cited on a over 10 year-old lease in order to receive a new key to their home. Even though the rental agency had been accepting money orders from Josh for years. They went to the San Francisco Tenants Union for help and even though Josh and Gina won their rent board appeal the rental agency that operates the building raised the rent from $900 to $4000 per month. Unable to afford the rental increase in addition to the cost of taking their landlord to court, to produce the receipts of payment, Josh and Gina where forced to move into her parents home in San Jose.

Would you like to get involved and share your story? Do you know someone who's struggling with similar rental issues? Email me at ckcphoto@gmail.com

Looking forward to sharing your stories!

Kenya - Harrison Street 

Oakland - Kenya works in San Francisco and moved to Oakland after rents began to raise. Frustrated by what she saw around her in the rental market she started the Facebook group San Francisco Affordable Housing.  She advocates for education of rental and tenant law in her group by linking together folks on Facebook who have rental issues or are looking for affordable rentals in the current Bay Area market.

Chris- Indiana Street

San Francisco -  Chris, a film student at San Francisco Academy of Art, had been sharing a room in Bernal Heights with his good friend he moved to San Francisco with a couple years ago. A full time student with a part time job he knew that he would never be able to have his own space in the current market and choose instead to buy himself a van. Chris built himself a plywood bed frame and moved his world into the van. He has a YMCA membership and uses their facilitates when he needs to shower and freshen-up.

Nick and Michelle -Virginia Street
Vallejo- Musicians and members of Dinner with the Kids had lived in San Francisco's Richmond district. Nick and Michelle, who are newly engaged, wanted a home of their own and they knew that they'd never be able to afford their own space without having roommates in the City. They both work in San Francisco and found that they would rather commute from Vallejo then pay an astronomical amount in rent just for the convince of being close to work.