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"I didn't
realize what they were doing to me and my son was illegal"
Tenants Protest illegal practice of "Musical Rooms"
By (PNN staff)
Last Tuesday, the Housing and Social Policy Committee of the SF Board
of Supervisors conducted a hearing on "musical rooms". This is the illegal
practice of many residential hotel operators who routinely force their
residents to leave for an evening, only to check back into a different
room the next day. "Musical rooms" is a violation of California Civil
Code 1940.1 which states that no landlord is allowed to force a resident
to move before a period of 30 days in order to prevent that resident from
gaining tenant rights.
"Musical rooms" has caused much hardship for hundreds
of San Franciscans trying to stabilize their housing. Sandra James and
her son, Isaiah, lived at the Hotel Sunrise on Valencia Street for a year,
moving out every three weeks. "I didnšt even realize what they were doing
to me and my son was illegal. I just figured that I had to do it just
to keep a roof over our head." Tony Hester was forced out of his room
at the All Star Hotel on 16th Street over a period of 4 months. "It created
great instability and turmoil. I didnšt know from one week to the next
where I would be living. Being disabled and a recovering alcoholic, getting
kicked out of the hotel was another obstacle placed in front of me. It
created the inability to formulate plans of action to further myself in
life."
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The practice of "musical rooms" not only disrupts the lives of individual
hotel residents, it also wrecks havoc on hotels in general. The practice
increases rent as weekly rates tend to be higher than monthly rates and
as rents' increase without the protection of rent control. The practice
of "Musical rooms" also works to deteriorate hotel conditions as owners
shirk responsibility without permanent tenants there to hold them accountable.
Moreover, "musical rooms" is a big contributor to homelessness in San
Francisco.
Last month several tenant and housing organizations sent a letter to
the City Attorney raising the issue of "musical rooms". They asked for
a meeting with the City Attorney to talk about a strategy to deter "musical
rooms". Unfortunately, the City Attorney never responded. Although the
City Attorney has filed one lawsuit regarding "musical rooms", the tenants
and housing advocates such as Mission Agenda believe they need to launch
a flurry of lawsuits in order to curb this practice.
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