Berkeley renters crash ‘vicious’ landlords party celebrating end of eviction ban

A violent brawl broke out when dozens of angry tenants barged into a cocktail party held by landlords to celebrate the end of a local eviction moratorium.

Around 100 angry renters showed up to the event with picket signs and a cake that read, “Hey landlord, get a real job,” to protest outside the party — until things got heated.

The disruptions quickly flew into a rage when demonstrators entered the Freehouse bar and the two sides began shoving and punching each other, Berkeley Property Owners Association (BPOA) President Krista Gulbransen told Berkeleyside.

The renters carried picket signs that read: “They throw us out, we throw them out” and “no peace for evictors” when they descended on the party Tuesday.

“This is what tenant power looks like!” the Tenant and Neighborhood Councils (TANC) wrote on Twitter.

One landlord allegedly slapped a female protester in the face, while an elderly man was also hit in the brawl as other protesters chanted: “See our might, see our power, landlords get no happy hour.”

Despite being called “parasites” while they entered the bar, the Berkeley Property Owners Association landlords still enjoyed their party. According to Berkeleyside, the soiree was full of appetizers and drinks as the landlords swapped horror stories.

Eventually, protesters entered the bar, reportedly standing on chairs and throwing food, according to BPOA.

Police were called, but they did not remove protesters, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

BPOA was celebrating the end of the COVID-19-era eviction moratorium that lasted three-and-a-half years and lost them thousands as many tenants failed to pay rent.

The moratorium forbade landlords from evicting tenants who failed to pay rent, but landlords have accused renters of using the ban to save themselves a pretty penny.

With the unemployment rate in Berkeley being 3.8% — and matching the national average — the moratorium ended on August 31, allowing the landlords to begin booting rent-evading tenants out of their units and freeing space in the wealthy area for higher-paying tenants.

The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Berkeley is currently $2,295 – down from the $2,400 compared to the same time last year, according to Zillow.

Despite the years of leniency, TANC called the celebration “deeply cruel” and “out of touch with the realities of the housing crisis in the Bay Area.”

The union accused eviction-favoring landlords of helping to increase the homeless population.

“The explosion of homelessness in our communities is a direct consequence of the actions of real estate capitalists, including BPOA’s landlord members, who prioritize rent-profiteering over people,” it wrote.

“TANC, as a tenant union, emphasizes that landlords are largely responsible for gentrification, displacement, and homelessness. Far from celebrating, they should be held accountable for their actions.”

However, Gulbransen told the local out that the landlords had “no qualms about celebrating the end of the eviction moratorium.”

“We are celebrating the end of the tenants who could have paid rent, and chose not to.”