Berkeley Tenants Union

Call Directions Website

Berkeley Tenants Union We defend and advance tenants’ rights through grassroots organizing, outreach, and policy advocacy. Housing for people, not profit.

We believe housing is a human right and rent stabilization is Berkeley’s most effective affordable housing program. We will empower and educate tenants to preserve their right to stable, quality housing, because Berkeley is a better place to live when people from all walks of life can afford to make Berkeley their home. We are currently working on:
Short-Term Rentals
How Short-Term Rentals affect us
• Decreases available housing units in Berkeley for residents
• Raises housing prices / drives up rents
• Motivates evictions
• Noise and safety issues for neighbors
• Less neighbors with whom to build community

The Other Side
• A megacorp that built its multibillion dollar business on knowingly breaking the law, which now "consults" with local governments on
legalizing it, and "grassroots" organizes its employees to apply pressure
• Landlords trying to increase their profits with disregard for the community and the law
• Profit is not "sharing" and rising rents are not "affordability"

Present Situation
• All short-term rentals

Help us get the word out to tenants about our endorsements! Email pac@berkeleytenants.org to help put-up flyers or dona...
10/13/2026

Help us get the word out to tenants about our endorsements! Email [email protected] to help put-up flyers or donate at pac.berkeleytenants.org to help us pay for more flyers!

Vote for tenants' rights and affordable housing with our official voter guide!
10/05/2026

Vote for tenants' rights and affordable housing with our official voter guide!

Join East Bay DSA and the Berkeley Tenants Union on Sunday for a mixer with our slate of candidates running for City Cou...
09/19/2026

Join East Bay DSA and the Berkeley Tenants Union on Sunday for a mixer with our slate of candidates running for City Council and Rent Board in Berkeley.

RSVP here: tinyurl.com/btudsamixer

Join us this Monday for a Know Your Rights training hosted by our tenant organizing task force! We'll be coming together...
08/27/2026

Join us this Monday for a Know Your Rights training hosted by our tenant organizing task force! We'll be coming together at the Berkeley Public Library (2090 Kitteridge St) from 6-7:30 PM to get trained on the right to organize a tenants union in your building!

Join us tomorrow at the Grassroots House (2022 Blake) from 4-5:30 PM for our endorsement meeting for local and statewide...
08/22/2026

Join us tomorrow at the Grassroots House (2022 Blake) from 4-5:30 PM for our endorsement meeting for local and statewide elections!

Sunday, July 19th, the Berkeley Tenants Union is hosting a candidate forum for the Berkeley City Council district 1 elec...
07/16/2026

Sunday, July 19th, the Berkeley Tenants Union is hosting a candidate forum for the Berkeley City Council district 1 election in November. Members will have the chance to vote in our endorsement through July 25.
We are also recruiting for our steering committee! Apply to run by Saturday July 18th at tinyurl.com/btusteeringjuly26

This: “The only way we can do this is by working together,” said Mari Lopez Ruiz, of the Central Valley Empowerment Alli...
06/22/2026

This:
“The only way we can do this is by working together,” said Mari Lopez Ruiz, of the Central Valley Empowerment Alliance in California, at a town hall at the Bethel Gospel Assembly Church in Harlem. “We recognize we don’t have the money [of Big Real Estate], but we have people power.”

At a conference in New York City, housing activists say a unified people-power movement is needed to pass rent control and other tenant rights.

Celebrate Juneteenth with the Berkeley Tenants Union on Sunday, June 21 at the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival!BTU’s genera...
06/18/2026

Celebrate Juneteenth with the Berkeley Tenants Union on Sunday, June 21 at the Berkeley Juneteenth Festival!

BTU’s general meeting has been rescheduled to June 28.

On Sunday, May 17, BTU will be hosting a ballot party. Bring your ballots to the Grassroots House for a discussion on th...
05/12/2026

On Sunday, May 17, BTU will be hosting a ballot party. Bring your ballots to the Grassroots House for a discussion on this season’s elections!

05/03/2026

The 2026 Berkeley Rent Board Convention is officially over! We are pleased to announce that Berkeleyans have nominated Avery Arbaugh, Nathan Mizell, Ida Martinac, Vylma Ortiz, and Derek Rodriguez as the progressive, pro-tenant slate for Berkeley's Rent Board! Jon Toussaint is the official alternate candidate should someone drop out before the close of filing. Now the hard work begins, including getting these folks elected in November!

We'd also like to extend a big thanks to the Black Repertory Theatre for hosting us this year, all the Convention co-sponsors, the 7 candidates, and the Berkeleyans who voted in this year's Convention.

Sincerely,
The 2026 Berkeley Rent Board Convention Planning Committee

Address

2022 Blake Street
Berkeley, CA
94704

Telephone

5109826696

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Berkeley Tenants Union posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category