Now more than ever, knowing your rights as an unhoused person is imperative to your safety
“Rights only exist to the extent of your ability to enforce them.” —Heather Freinkel, managing attorney for the Homeless Action Center.
For those experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Alameda County, sweeps are a fact of life. Since the Grants Pass decision this past summer, coupled with Mayor Sheng Thao’s executive order and policy changes on the ground in Berkeley, the rates of sweeps are accelerating.
Now more than ever, knowing your rights as an unhoused person is imperative to your safety. This guide is intended to provide you with useful advice to ensure that your person and property are protected.
Collect and Store Documentation
Document everything, even before a sweep starts. Taking photos and holding onto receipts are the best ways to prove your ownership of items, particularly if items end up being lost or damaged.
When possible, have your ID, Social Security card, and all medical or social services documents on your physical person, but according to Brigitte Nicoletti, a lawyer with the East Bay Community Law Center, people will often forget about things like vehicle registration.
“Something we see a lot is that people’s vehicles will get towed, and the registration is in the vehicle,” said Nicoletti, “then it makes it much harder to get the vehicle back.”
Similarly, it’s a good practice to either know or have your VIN number written down in case your vehicle gets towed.
If a city or county worker makes you a shelter offer, ask that it is offered to you in writing, according to Needa Bee of the Village. Bee said she’s observed shelter offers being used to lure someone off of their property in order to clear it.
“Have them come to you with paperwork,” said Bee. “Then there’s a contract.”
Storage and Retrieval of Property
In Oakland, the Encampment Management Policy requires the city to store up to one square yard of property that a resident is unable to move in a sweep. This includes property that doesn’t have a clear owner but isn’t obviously abandoned.
“If you’re not able to move it, you’re entitled to have your property stored by the City of Oakland in a place that you can then retrieve it from,” said Nicoletti. “That is settled law in the Ninth Circuit,” she added.
The city must also post a notice with the address of where to find the collected property. Those rights are enshrined in the 2018 Miralle v. City of Oakland settlement between the City of Oakland and members of the Housing and Dignity Village.
Additionally, if any “vital property”—defined as identification, Social Security cards, or medication—is collected, residents should call 311 to retrieve it.
Berkeley’s municipal code, even with its recent updates, still requires that property be stored similar to Oakland.
Oakland or Berkeley Lost or Destroyed My Belongings, Now What?
If you’re looking for monetary compensation, your next step is to file a government tort form. In both Oakland and Berkeley you have six months from the incident date to file a report.
In Oakland, you can do this via email to the City Attorney’s office, but you will first need to fill out the claim form, which you can find at:
oaklandcityattorney.org/how-do-i/file-a-claim
The claim form will ask for your contact information, what the damages were, and for receipts or photos of the damaged or missing property. This is where having good documentation matters. The City Attorney’s office will generally follow up within 45 days. If they do not, contact them again.
Berkeley will make you fill out a similar form, which you can find at:
berkeleyca.gov/city-services/report-pay/file-claim
However, Berkeley requires that you mail in the form to the City Clerk’s Department at 2180 Milvia Street, 1st Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), government service providers, including nonprofits, are required to ensure anyone can use their services regardless of disability status.
While this is settled federal law, Freinkel says that those looking for disability-based accommodations in housing/shelter offers are not likely to have their needs met.
“I’m not going to say no disability is ever accommodated,” says Freinkel, “but for the most part, people with mental health disabilities aren’t going to be able to tolerate a congregate shelter.”
If you’re among the 42% of unhoused Californians living with a disability, what does this mean?
If you are given an offer of shelter during a sweep and you believe a disability will make it impossible for you to take that offer, Nicoletti says that you always have the right to request an accommodation. Accommodations can also be extended to request more time or assistance in moving belongings during an actual sweep.
“It’s always ideal if you can talk to someone like an attorney and have them make a request on your behalf,” says Nicoletti. “It looks fancier, but [service providers] have to honor verbal requests from individuals.”
Nicoletti also says that, when possible, having anything in writing ahead of an offer is ideal. Samples of accommodation requests exist on disabilityrightsca.org.
My Vehicle Got Towed, What Do I Do?
Request a tow hearing immediately!
If you’re in Berkeley, a request for a tow hearing has to be made within 10 days of your vehicle being towed. Hearings should be scheduled within 48 hours of the initial request (not counting weekends and holidays). To request a tow hearing, you will need to go to the Police Department’s Traffic and Parking Bureau, located at 841 Folger Street. They’re open Monday through Friday 8AM–4:30PM, and their phone number is 510-981-5980.
If you’re in Oakland, you should also request a tow hearing as soon as possible. Similarly, it will take 48 hours for a hearing to be scheduled, but you can make a tow hearing request to the City of Oakland Administrative Hearing Examiner at 510 238-4484.
If you just want to check if your car was towed, the City of Oakland contracts with one singular provider, Auto Plus Towing. You can check if your car was towed using your VIN and license plate number either on their website at oaklandautoplustowing.com or call 510-261-8199.
Other Resources
Working with a lawyer or an advocate is the best way to ensure that your rights are protected. When possible, make contact ahead of time. If the city has posted notice of an upcoming sweep, it is better to request legal support before the operation begins. Some legal organizations worth talking to if you’re going through a sweep are:
East Bay Community Law Center: 510-548-4040
The Homeless Action Center: 510-695-2260
National Lawyers Guild: 415-285 -5067
Also talk to advocates who have done direct action resisting evictions:
The Village: 510-355-7010
Ellie Prickett-Morgan is an audio and print journalist based in Oakland.