San Jose neighborhood improvement program is back

A popular San Jose neighborhood improvement initiative that strengthens tenant rights and encourages better relationships with landlords has returned.

The Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI) took a two-year hiatus after funds for the program ran out. The city is providing $250,000 for one year to fund the program, which is hosted under the umbrella of Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County. Within a few weeks of restarting last month, the program has already received dozens of calls from residents needing help resolving noise, substandard housing and landlord issues. After one year, the city will reevaluate the program to see if the funding should be continued.

“The city is chronically underfunded,” Andres Solomonoff, a case manager with RLEI, told San José Spotlight. “A lot of people are lacking city services, and I’m really looking forward to filling in that role that the city should perform, making our community better.”

RLEI fills a necessary gap in police and code enforcement. Code enforcement writes citations and fines landlords for creating health and safety hazards, but landlords can pay the fine without fixing the property. With law enforcement, officers respond to crime, but they don’t help neighbors resolve civil conflict.

The program helps residents resolve issues they face on their block — from unruly tenants and group homes where neighbors suspect abuse to addressing suspicious activity or absentee landlords who aren’t taking care of the property. It equips them with tools regarding their rights, and also helps them organize a case to take to court.

The initiative is able to help people facing unjust evictions, and can also assist tenants living in rent-stabilized homes if the landlord is increasing rent past San Jose’s allowed limit — something the program wasn’t focused on before.

Resident Mike Zarate-Razo said the support and education RLEI provides is invaluable. He got connected with the program after a new owner took over his rent-controlled building and began unpermitted construction on the bottom floor for three months until midnight, he said. RLEI gave him the tools to advocate and navigate his situation.

“There’s a lot of people (who) are older (who) don’t have the ability to advocate for themselves,” Zarate-Razo, 65, told San José Spotlight. “RLEI is an indispensable tool, and they actively help people.”

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said landlords have a responsibility to keep their properties safe and well-maintained for the tenants and surrounding neighbors.

“Our partnership with Catholic Charities gives residents and community leaders another practical tool to address persistent problems, engage property owners and improve quality of life across San Jose,” Mahan told San José Spotlight.

A memo published in 2017 by then-San Jose Housing Director Jacky Morales-Ferrand helps illustrate the impact of RLEI for the city. In a study that examined three cases RLEI took on, calls for service to those neighborhoods dropped from 99 incidents to nine after RLEI resolved the matter.

“Based on the hourly cost of city staff, the amount of time spent on each call for service, and the reduction in calls for service, the city realizes a (return on investment) of $1.28 for every $1.00 spent (on the program),” the memo reads.

However, the funding from the city comes with a caveat— the program can only assist residents who live in or around a rent-stabilized home, mobile home park residents or people who fall under the city’s tenant protection policy, where multiple residents with separate leases live in one home.

As such, RLEI plans to focus more on independent living homes, Program Supervisor Janette Rosales said. These are unlicensed homes that house multiple tenants who are often transitioning back into society after receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital or other treatment facilities.

Many of these homes are also in shoddy conditions, with multiple people packed into a room and in the basement. Unlike licensed residential care homes which are monitored by the state Department of Social Services to ensure cleanliness and a standard of care, independent living homes are not required to be licensed.

“The things that we see are deplorable, and it’s just out of control,”Rosales told San José Spotlight. “If we can even make a small dent, I will be so happy.”

Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.