Pregnant Women Facing Homelessness in San Francisco

Homeless Prenatal Program
Image: homelessprenatal.org

San Francisco-based real estate developer Sergio Iantorno brings more than 40 years of experience to his role at real estate firm Golden Properties. In addition to luxury condominiums and well appointed single-family homes, Sergio Iantorno and his firm work alongside local organizations such as the Homeless Prenatal Program (HPP) to offer stable housing opportunities to the city’s most vulnerable residents.

HPP is one of several organizations addressing the unique needs of pregnant women living without adequate housing in San Francisco. Various headcounts conducted in 2018 led to estimates that nearly 300 pregnant women are unstably housed, a definition that includes women living in their cars, tents, or temporary shelters.

Rising rent costs, stagnant wages, and restricted access to family support services are leading reasons that pregnant women become and remain homeless. The San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing doesn’t extend access to family shelters to pregnant women until they are 28 weeks into their pregnancy. This limitation has resulted in many women going through their entire pregnancy without safe and adequate shelter.

Organizations like HPP, The Gabriel Project, and Catholic Charities advocate for offering family shelter services to pregnant women from their first trimester and connecting women to high quality prenatal care.

San Francisco District Court Upholds Rights of Section 8 Tenants

Section 8
Image: investopedia.com

Veteran property developer Sergio Iantorno entered the San Francisco real estate market in 1972 after becoming a licensed broker. In collaboration with the San Francisco Housing Authority and through his real estate firm Golden Properties, Sergio Iantorno increases rental opportunities for low-income residents and Section 8 voucher holders in accordance with all applicable laws.

A 2018 decision by the First District Court of Appeal reaffirmed a San Francisco ordinance that prohibits landlords from rejecting housing subsidies as payment for rent. Tenants cannot be denied housing simply due to the source of legally-derived income.

The case was first tried in 2015 when a well-known real estate firm stated in their advertisements that Section 8 vouchers would not be accepted. The landlords were found to be in violation of San Francisco’s housing antidiscrimination laws.

After a series of appeals, the appellate court ruled in favor of the prosecution. The decision strengthened the authority of city governments to regulate the housing market, even in situations of private ownership.

Rent-Controlled Apartments in San Francisco

 

San Francisco Rent Board
Image: sfrb.org

Sergio Iantorno has managed, sold, and renovated single-family homes, condominiums, and multifamily properties in the San Francisco real estate market since 1972. As the founder of Golden Properties, Sergio Iantorno oversees a portfolio composed of both rent-controlled properties and market-rate properties.

Rent-controlled properties are most commonly found in large cities, such as San Francisco and New York City. Rent control policies aim to protect tenants from extreme price increases and can be introduced at the municipal or state level.

In San Francisco, any multifamily residential units constructed before 1979 fall under rent control regulations. As of 2018, more than 60 percent of the city’s eligible rental stock is subject to rent control.

Rent control limits rental increases to a standard rate determined by the San Francisco Rent Board, which bases the increase on the San Francisco Area Consumer Price Index, a locally-calibrated formula for inflation. While landlords can petition to raise rents if a building undergoes major renovations, landlords are prohibited from evicting tenants solely for the purpose of attracting higher-paying renters.

Median Rent in Bay Area Falls Slightly in the Third Quarter of 2018

San Francisco
Image: zerohedge.com

Based in San Francisco, Sergio Iantorno is an accomplished real estate professional who founded and continues to manage the real estate firm, Golden Properties. With a portfolio of attractive Bay Area rental properties, Sergio Iantorno connects renters with homes ranging from classic, turn-of- the-century Victorian and Edwardian buildings to recently constructed luxury condominiums.

A recent report signals some relief for renters in the high-priced San Francisco real estate market. The median rent amount decreased in August and September of 2018, in comparison to the rent amounts during the same months of the previous year. Before this recent dip, Bay Area rent prices had increased year over year for more than seven years.

The decrease in rent averages are small at just under one percent in the San Jose area and 0.6 percent in the San Francisco area. However, the downward shift signals a needed cooling of the hot market to keep housing costs controlled for residents. The percent decreases translate to about $360 saved annually in rent in San Jose and around $240 saved annually in San Francisco.