Apologies for the tongue in cheek title. Just got an email from my landlord trying to evict me and it has me a bit tired. The financial barrier blocking from owning and requiring me to rely on landlord's "services" provided, is a bit exhausting.
Long story short, Landlord has been trying to up my rent for a while now and now that they've found out I have a 2 cats (against lease agreement) they want me to get rid of them or move out.
Short story long, I've been in this city (San Francisco) for 15 years now and this particular apartment for 6. Got it at an affordable rent and it's rent controlled so I can't complain. Wife moved in 5 years ago and when that happened the landlord tried to get me to sign a new lease with a $800 rent increase. I politely ignored it since, from my understanding, you are not allowed to increase rent for the reason of a spouse moving in. I didn't fight it because I didn't want to rock the boat and start a war with the owner of the place I call home.
Things seem quiet. I always pay rent on time. I send batches of 4 months of checks ahead of time to make sure it's always ready for when they need to cash. I never complain about maintenance even though they never maintain the apartment (the landlord only shows up roughly once a year when a tenet moves out/moves in).
Fast forward 2 years of this and a close friend is getting evicted in another part of the city. They are couch surfing while looking for a new place so ask us to cat-sit their cat Chino. (Pic for effect)
He is a great cat and my wife take a liking to him. Having him around even seems to resolve her insomnia. Fast forward a couple of months and the friend's situation doesn't work out and they now need to find a permanent home for Chino or send him to a shelter. Since he had basically become family by this point and we couldn't stand to see him go to a shelter we offered to take him in. We get a note from our psychologist saying that my wife needs Chino and hope we can fall back on that.
Fast forward another 2 years later to early Covid. Landlords either haven't noticed from not being here or have silently accepted Chino being here assumedly as they silently accepted me not signing the $800 rent increase 5 years ago (though I had signed annual rent controlled increases in those years). Chino is very well behaved and has made no bathroom mistakes (cat's are easy maintenance) in the 2 years he's been here. That said he requires a lot of play time to keep from being frustrated. In that case, before things get totally locked down, my wife sees a neighborhood post for a feral stray kitten that the finding person is looking for a permanent home. Looking for a playmate for Chino we take her in. Shots, chip, spay and Mochi is the newest member of our family. (Pic for effect)
(They like shrimp rolling)
Chino and Mochi get along well. He shows her the ropes, and she tires him out. She also has never had a toilet mistake.
Fast forward another 4-5 months and the 4th tenet moveout/in, since Covid began, is under way (in a 4 unit apartment). At some point during this most recent move-in the landlords apparently see Mochi and Chino in the window and I get a call telling me they aren't happy. This morning they email reminding me the apartment is no-pet and allowing me to have pets would be unfair to other tenets they've turned away. The last half of the email reminds me I am currently in a month to month lease and my two options are to either get rid of Mochi and Chino or move out. I am also told I have 30 days to respond. They don't want to negotiate. Don't want to raise the security deposit. Don't want to meet with us or meet the cats. They want them and/or us gone.
And just like that the jig is up. I've never missed rent. I've always gotten along with neighbors. I've never complained. Even still I have to choose between my family and my home.
I know it's my fault for taking them in. My conscience wouldn't let me abandon Chino those years ago. It's even more out of the question now. I also can't complain as my total situation is still a lot better than most people right now. I still make my current full pay (though raises were canceled this year), and though my wife has diminished hours we still make enough to survive in a city as expensive as SF. I'm also lucky enough to afford to move. It will make things tighter with rent going up $500 at least wherever we go to, but we'll survive. Though I still love this city and always will, I wish the lords of this city would loosen their grip. I wish most of my friends weren't forced to move away due to ever increasing rent and buying being an impossibility. I wish this city was more than rows of $5 million dollar Victorian houses with cookie cutter progressive posters and mass printed "street art" taped up on windows that people peek from behind while calling the cops on the homeless collecting bottles out of their recycling. I miss this place having value beyond tech money. I miss San Francisco. That said, I guess San Francisco always had a hypocritical side that affects others a lot worse than me and it's telling that I still loved it still when it treated others more poorly. It feels like defending a terrible family member. You know they are wrong, you know they've hurt someone, but in the memory of your shared history and the good times you defend them, maybe even when you shouldn't.
It just sucks to lose my home like this. Somehow I got complacent and forgot the simple fact that when you rent you don't have a home.
Long story short, Landlord has been trying to up my rent for a while now and now that they've found out I have a 2 cats (against lease agreement) they want me to get rid of them or move out.
Short story long, I've been in this city (San Francisco) for 15 years now and this particular apartment for 6. Got it at an affordable rent and it's rent controlled so I can't complain. Wife moved in 5 years ago and when that happened the landlord tried to get me to sign a new lease with a $800 rent increase. I politely ignored it since, from my understanding, you are not allowed to increase rent for the reason of a spouse moving in. I didn't fight it because I didn't want to rock the boat and start a war with the owner of the place I call home.
Things seem quiet. I always pay rent on time. I send batches of 4 months of checks ahead of time to make sure it's always ready for when they need to cash. I never complain about maintenance even though they never maintain the apartment (the landlord only shows up roughly once a year when a tenet moves out/moves in).
Fast forward 2 years of this and a close friend is getting evicted in another part of the city. They are couch surfing while looking for a new place so ask us to cat-sit their cat Chino. (Pic for effect)
He is a great cat and my wife take a liking to him. Having him around even seems to resolve her insomnia. Fast forward a couple of months and the friend's situation doesn't work out and they now need to find a permanent home for Chino or send him to a shelter. Since he had basically become family by this point and we couldn't stand to see him go to a shelter we offered to take him in. We get a note from our psychologist saying that my wife needs Chino and hope we can fall back on that.
Fast forward another 2 years later to early Covid. Landlords either haven't noticed from not being here or have silently accepted Chino being here assumedly as they silently accepted me not signing the $800 rent increase 5 years ago (though I had signed annual rent controlled increases in those years). Chino is very well behaved and has made no bathroom mistakes (cat's are easy maintenance) in the 2 years he's been here. That said he requires a lot of play time to keep from being frustrated. In that case, before things get totally locked down, my wife sees a neighborhood post for a feral stray kitten that the finding person is looking for a permanent home. Looking for a playmate for Chino we take her in. Shots, chip, spay and Mochi is the newest member of our family. (Pic for effect)
(They like shrimp rolling)
Chino and Mochi get along well. He shows her the ropes, and she tires him out. She also has never had a toilet mistake.
Fast forward another 4-5 months and the 4th tenet moveout/in, since Covid began, is under way (in a 4 unit apartment). At some point during this most recent move-in the landlords apparently see Mochi and Chino in the window and I get a call telling me they aren't happy. This morning they email reminding me the apartment is no-pet and allowing me to have pets would be unfair to other tenets they've turned away. The last half of the email reminds me I am currently in a month to month lease and my two options are to either get rid of Mochi and Chino or move out. I am also told I have 30 days to respond. They don't want to negotiate. Don't want to raise the security deposit. Don't want to meet with us or meet the cats. They want them and/or us gone.
And just like that the jig is up. I've never missed rent. I've always gotten along with neighbors. I've never complained. Even still I have to choose between my family and my home.
I know it's my fault for taking them in. My conscience wouldn't let me abandon Chino those years ago. It's even more out of the question now. I also can't complain as my total situation is still a lot better than most people right now. I still make my current full pay (though raises were canceled this year), and though my wife has diminished hours we still make enough to survive in a city as expensive as SF. I'm also lucky enough to afford to move. It will make things tighter with rent going up $500 at least wherever we go to, but we'll survive. Though I still love this city and always will, I wish the lords of this city would loosen their grip. I wish most of my friends weren't forced to move away due to ever increasing rent and buying being an impossibility. I wish this city was more than rows of $5 million dollar Victorian houses with cookie cutter progressive posters and mass printed "street art" taped up on windows that people peek from behind while calling the cops on the homeless collecting bottles out of their recycling. I miss this place having value beyond tech money. I miss San Francisco. That said, I guess San Francisco always had a hypocritical side that affects others a lot worse than me and it's telling that I still loved it still when it treated others more poorly. It feels like defending a terrible family member. You know they are wrong, you know they've hurt someone, but in the memory of your shared history and the good times you defend them, maybe even when you shouldn't.
It just sucks to lose my home like this. Somehow I got complacent and forgot the simple fact that when you rent you don't have a home.
