Berkeley Tenants Union

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!

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!

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

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.

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.

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

04/21/2026

Are you unable to pay rent or having trouble with your landlord? Our next FREE counseling clinic for East Bay tenants is Thursday, April 23 from 3-5pm! The deadline to sign-up at clinic.berkeleytenants.org is this Tuesday, April 21, i.e. two days before the clinic.

***If your landlord threatens to evict you for ANY reason, immediately email [email protected] with the subject line “I AM BEING EVICTED” so we can provide you help ASAP. Because of the extremely unfair legal deadlines for tenants facing evictions, it is crucial for tenants to react very quickly to eviction notices (even for blatantly illegal evictions). Do NOT wait to use our counseling clinic if you are facing an eviction.***

(California tenants living outside Alameda and Contra Costa counties should call Tenants Together at 888-495-8020 for counseling - both for responding to evictions and for general assistance.)

04/16/2026

Rent control and tenant protections are on the chopping block for tenants in nonprofit buildings. Comment in person or over Zoom! https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/city-council/council-committees/4x4-joint-task-force-committee-housing

04/13/2026

The 2026 Berkeley Tenants Convention is on Sunday, April 19! Help select the progressive, pro-tenant Berkeley Rent Board slate. Make sure to RSVP and/or request a ballot at
https://berkeleytenants.org/convention