After their landlord stopped pursuing what they believe was a retaliatory eviction attempt, an elderly couple can now remain in the San Francisco apartment they've called home for more than four decades.
For Ben and Cathi Wong, who are both in their 70s, the victory comes after enduring more than two years of uncertainty and legal battles. They argued their landlord’s attempt to remove them from their home came in direct response to the couple contesting more than $90,000 in rent increases they believed violated the city’s rent control laws.
“It’s really hard to wake up and not think that it’s a dream,” Cathi said. “That’s what it feels like: A dream.”
After packing up decades of memories into boxes, Ben said he and Cathi are elated they get to stay.
“It just felt so good that we never gave up hope,” Ben said. “We wanted to stay and fight for our rights.”
The eviction notice came in October 2021, and informed Ben and Cathi their landlord was invoking the Ellis Act, which allows San Francisco property owners to kick out their tenants if they plan on pulling their property off the rental market for at least five years.
But the Wongs alleged the eviction was in direct retaliation for recently challenging decades of unpermitted rent hikes after discovering their building fell under the city’s rent control laws. So, they chose to stay and fight instead of leaving, hiring attorney Stephen Collier from the Tenderloin Housing Clinic to represent them in the case.
“I think the landlords realized that they could very well lose a trial,” Collier said. “We could weigh in on the retaliation defense, and therefore, I think they gave up and decided to let the tenants stay.”
NBC Bay Area reached out to the landlords through their attorney but did not hear back.
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Their fight took a positive turn after NBC Bay Area shed light on their story. The Wongs’ tale prompted widespread support, and late last year, they got word that their landlord was willing to settle and intended to drop the Ellis Act eviction. It wasn’t made official until recently.
“We could breathe,” Cathi said. “It was like we’d been holding our breath for months and months.”
They even say their landlord has been more responsive to maintenance requests, which in the past had been a problem.
“I think the bottom line is, we’re not feeling any more stress and we’re very happy to be here, to be able to stay in our home,” Ben said, adding he was grateful for the outpouring of support he and Cathi received after NBC Bay Area ran their story.
Collier said their story is a good example for other tenants who might find themselves in a similar situation.
The Wongs' victory comes at a time when there are concerns about the future of the Tenant Right to Counsel program in the face of budget shortfalls. Despite its 92% success rate, Collier says the program’s funding could be at risk.
The Wongs shared their journey with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and underscored the importance of such initiatives, which provide public funded legal representation to renters facing similar challenges.
“It’s very surreal because we’re not that type of people, we’re not activists,” Cathi said. “We’re just regular people.”
