San Jose renters, tenant rights organizers, and community organizations held a press conference in front of San Jose City Hall to protest the long-standing habitability issues that renters face in the most expensive city in America; calling for the City Council to take action and strengthen Code Enforcement’s Multiple Housing Inspection Program.
SAN JOSE – Monday, October 19, 2026 at 10:00AM, renters from across San Jose held a press conference in front of City Hall to launch the Healthy Homes San Jose campaign calling on City officials to strengthen Code Enforcement with key recommendations highlighted in the “Healthy Homes San Jose”. They will be supported by the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, LUNA, and RTO and numerous other tenant rights community organizations. This comes after many tenants have collectively filed code complaints to the city to address the egregious health and safety violations in their buildings, including plagues of rat and roach infestations, persistent mold growth, and vandalized mailboxes. Tenants have had enough of the city of San Jose turning a blind eye to negligent landlords who blatantly violate basic health and safety laws.
Healthy Homes White Paper Highlights Gap in the Code Enforcement Department
The “Healthy Homes San Jose” states that the city’s Code Enforcement’s Multiple Housing Inspection Program (MHIP), have failed to hold landlords accountable for poor housing conditions causing tenants to live in hazardous conditions without any relief in sight.
“For the past three years, there has only been 1 penalty amongst the 23,000 documented housing code violations. This is an insufficient system that lacks enforcement and enables a culture of unsafe and undignified living standards for San Jose renters.” - Cindy Tran, tenant organizer at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Slum Conditions Detrimental Impact to Tenant’s Livelihood
Nayeli Fonseca, a mother of three children, has been at her unit for 10 years and experienced persistent issues such as high humidity, poor ventilation and roach infestations that have impacted her and her neighbors. The pervasive mold issues cause detriment to her children’s health.
“The hardest thing for me was seeing my daughter, who was only a year and a half old, suffer. The mold affected her health; she developed infections in her adenoids and tonsils, and had respiratory problems. My daughter had to undergo surgery.” - Nayeli Fonseca, San Jose renter
Kimberly McWilliams and her spouse Eric, live in a rent-controlled building where many of their neighbors are veterans. Eric, a former Marines veteran, receives a specialized HUD-Vash voucher designed to prevent veteran homelessness. As a voucher recipient, he must promptly comply with the program’s income recertification requirements to avoid losing his subsidy. Their landlord failed to repair the vandalized mailbox on the property, which almost caused Eric to lose his voucher.
“Can you imagine not getting mail for 7 months? We didn’t even get our letter to recertify with the veteran supportive housing program in time, and we almost lost our voucher.” – Kimberly McWilliams, San Jose renter
San Jose Renters Unite for Healthy Homes and Call for Stronger, Effective Enforcement
Tired of living in slum conditions in one of the most expensive cities in the country, the San Jose renters have united to fight for Healthy Homes in San Jose. Multiple buildings and tenants have filed individual complaints from their apartment complex to call for effective City intervention.
“We need to strengthen the Code Enforcement department so that it can effectively address our complaints, inspect our homes, and ensure that landlords make the necessary repairs…Our children deserve to grow up without their health being at risk in their own homes.”
Beyond the administrative reform and accessibility of the City’s Code Enforcement Multiple Housing Inspection Program and case transparency, the Healthy Homes San Jose calls for streamlined fines, fees, and penalties against landlords who violate housing codes and a more effective Appeals Hearing Board specifically for the Multiple Housing Inspection Department.
“Where is [the rent] money going if the landlord is failing to maintain their homes? What is the city doing if no fines and penalties are being implemented?” - Gabriel Manrique, community organizer at LUNA
The members of the Healthy Homes San Jose campaign invited San Jose City Council members to join the movement and strengthen the City’s Code Enforcement department. San Jose renters facing any housing issues and want to connect can also text (669) 235-7334 to learn more.