Many low-income families who rent in San Mateo County have been displaced from their homes and are forced to make difficult and precarious tradeoffs in their search for new housing. Families report enduring longer and more costly commutes, tolerating substandard housing conditions, and moving away from community ties and resources, according to a new study by University of California Berkeley, funded by a grant from SVCF.

Aside from being formally evicted, study participants say they were harassed out by landlords, priced out by market forces, and pushed out by poor housing conditions. In the current housing market, illegal landlord practices are flourishing, such as discrimination and retaliation for maintenance requests.

The new research brief, "Displacement in San Mateo County: Consequences for Housing, Neighborhoods, Quality of Life, and Health," paints a bleak picture of housing instability and unaffordability based on surveys with 100 low-income households who live in and/or were displaced from San Mateo County communities.

Written by Justine Marcus and Miriam Zuk of the Urban Displacement Project at UC Berkeley’s Center for Community Innovation, the study was completed in collaboration with Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto.

Read the source article at Silicon Valley Community Foundation