San Rafael seniors face rent hikes as Marin evictions soar

Two increases in two years at the 97-apartment Rotary Manor complex has some residents afraid of being priced out.

Older residents living at an affordable housing complex near downtown San Rafael have received back-to-back 5% rent increases, prompting fears about being priced out of their homes if rents continue to rise.

The rent increases at Rotary Manor come as the number of evictions in Marin soared during the first six months of 2024.

“The Rotary Manor has had a reputation of providing comfortable, well maintained and secure housing, and raising the rents infrequently,” Stephan Wuerth, who has an in-law living at Rotary Manor, said in an email.

Wuerth said that the recent increases have sent residents at the facility “into total panic.”

The fear is that rent hikes will continue annually, “and now the most common question among residents on fixed incomes is, ‘Where do I move to from here?’” he said.

More than four decades ago, the service organization San Rafael Rotary converted a former elementary school at 1851 Fifth Ave. into housing for low-income seniors. The 97-apartment complex is a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments. EAH Housing began managing the property in 2022.

To live there, occupants must be at least 62 and earn 60% or less of the Marin County area median income. The waiting list for new residents is closed. Some residents there waited years to secure an apartment.

Carolyn Hoffman, a San Rafael Rotary member, declined to comment on the rent increase.

Mackenzie Martin, a spokesperson for EAH, wrote in an email, “Residents were issued a 5% increase effective July 1, 2024, following a previous 5% increase that was effective May 1, 2023. Therefore, there were not two rent increases within the same calendar year.”

The state’s rent control law limits annual rent increases to no more than 5% plus the local inflation rate or 10%, whichever is lower.

“The annual rent increases are necessary to help absorb costs associated with the increased operating and maintenance expenses required to maintain an aging building,” Martin wrote.

“The ownership of Rotary Manor has been making significant capital improvements, including recent deck and balcony enhancements, a new roof and solar panels added a few years ago, and new windows in all units,” Martin said. “This commitment to ongoing investment ensures that Rotary Manor remains a safe and affordable home for seniors in the long-term.”

In 2022, Marin County awarded Rotary Manor $102,885 in federal community block grant funds to help pay for structural assessment and repairs of balconies, replacement of emergency signage and parking lot resurfacing. That same year, San Rafael reached a settlement that resulted in the city paying for a $520,000 project to repair a sinkhole that formed at the property in 2016.

San Rafael’s 2015-2023 housing element included Rotary Manor on a list of affordable housing properties. The report listed the city’s redevelopment agency as the deed restriction source.

Micah Hinkle, director of the San Rafael Community Development and Economic Development Department, said the redevelopment agency issued a grant of $395,000 for the acquisition and rehabilitation of Rotary Manor in 1980.

Hinkle said it is possible Rotary Manor received additional redevelopment funds, but a public records request would be necessary to access the necessary files, because they’ve been dispersed among various city departments. In 2011, at the behest of Gov. Jerry Brown, the Legislature abolished redevelopment agencies.

Residents at Rotary Manor said that in November 2023, EAH began issuing six-month leases instead of 12-month leases, as they had been given previously. The new lease ran 87 pages and confused some residents.

“We’re also working to fill a full-time services staff member to assist our tenants further,” Martin said.

According to one resident, EAH previously managed Rotary Manor for a time, but the Rotary replaced it. Martin declined to comment.

Across Marin, evictions are on the rise, according to Lucie Hollingsworth, an attorney at Legal Aid of Marin.

Hollingsworth said there was a 79% increase in the number of unlawful detainers filed in Marin County Superior Court during the first six months of this year. There were 111 unlawful detainers filed during the first six months of 2024 compared to 62 unlawful detainers during the first six months of 2023.

“The majority of cases we have seen the past six months are for an inability to pay rent, and most of those are in units designated as ‘affordable,’” she said.

Hollingsworth said that unless tenants can pay thousands of dollars in back rent, they are typically forced to settle for move-out dates and required to vacate the premises within a month. She said most landlords have not been willing to settle for a payment plan.

“This is not enough time to find something they can afford so the only option is moving out of Marin and away from a support system, moving into cars, or homeless encampments,” she said. “These days, I’m really thankful if tenants have a car — at least I know that they won’t be out on the street when the inevitable happens.”

A survey of 412 residents in November and December 2023 that was commissioned by the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services found increasing concern among Marin seniors regarding food and financial security in general. Latinos account for 6% of Marin’s senior population, and that proportion is projected to reach 12% over the next decade.

When county supervisors discussed the survey during a meeting in May, Luke Barnesmoore, who serves on the county’s Homeless Policy Steering Committee, said Marin experienced a 10% increase in first-time homelessness among 50-plus adults between 2019 and 2021.