The Bakersfield City Council Wednesday approved a contract between the City and the Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance for an Eviction Prevention Program.
- Through the program, GBLA will provide free legal representation and mediation for low-income tenants as well as educational workshops for both tenants and landlords.
- Video shows Cecilia Castro who is currently in the midst of helping her mother maneuver a difficult eviction.
- Castro said she’s currently looking for a new living situation for her mother but she hopes this program will be a lifeline for other neighbors in the future.
Cecilia Castro is currently in the midst of helping her mother maneuver a difficult eviction. She said for the last three months, she’s helped her mother fight against property violations and threat of eviction only to be met with an unforgiving system.
“I have done my best to support my mom and figure out this process and connect her to the resources she needs,” Castro said. “But unfortunately because of this hostile environment, we’re now having to seek legal counsel.”
Castro spoke before the Bakersfield City Council Wednesday as they approved a contract between the City and the Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance for an Eviction Prevention Program.
“The way the law is crafted, an eviction is essentially known as a summary proceeding which means it’s a civil case that normally would take two to five years condensed into three to five months,’ said GBLA Executive Director Valentine Narvaez.
According to court filings, evictions in Kern County have been on the rise since 2021 when the COVID-19 eviction moratorium ended. In 2021, evictions rose from 1,290 to 2,228 in 2022 and 3,724 in 2023. This rate of evictions in Bakersfield is what prompted city council to set aside funds for an eviction prevention program back in November. The program will be funded by $350,000 Measure N Funds.
“This disproportionately impacts the constituents that I represent and my neighbors, and it’s frustrating,” said Ward 1 Councilman Eric Arias.
Narvaez said typically, eviction proceedings can cost between $10,000 to $20,000, not including additional costs like attorney’s fees should a defendant lose the case. Through the program, GBLA will provide free legal representation and mediation for low-income tenants as well as educational workshops for both tenants and landlords.
“At a minimum I would want to see the workshops, the outreach to landlords and tenants because if the landlords are educated we may not have as many problems,” said Ward 5 Councilman Bruce Freeman.
The City hopes these services — alongside other housing assistance and rental protection programs — will help ease the inflow of homeless in our community, especially those most vulnerable. But community advocates say the pilot program barely scratches the surface.
“The City must invest $2 million into the eviction protection program,” said Sandra Placencia/Kern Policy Advocate with Leadership Council. “When we were working with the ERAP back in 2020, there were a lot of landlords that would accept those assistance checks. So who are tenants going to call if there are no attorneys to call and force landlords to take those checks. We need accountability and we need it now.”
City councilmembers agreed issues like assistance for undocumented tenants and accountability for unlawful landlords and property management should be a priority.
“These are real experiences of our residents here in Bakersfield,” said Ward 7 Councilwoman Manpreet Kaur.
Castro said she’s currently looking for a new living situation for her mother but she hopes this program will be a lifeline for other neighbors in the future.
City council will discuss the program and it’s progress again in July to determine if additional funding will indeed be allocated.
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