They say people are illegally renting substandard RVs to the unhoused, letting them live in poor conditions.
Juanita Macias and her husband live in one of the dozens of RVs seen in the area of Columbus Park in San Jose.
On this day, she says she owns an RV - before that she was renting one for $500 every month. Her monthly rent didn't include the most basic features.
"There was no electricity, no water," she said.
Macias wasn't alone - she says many of her neighbors are still renting RVs like that owned by landlords who charge even higher prices.
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"Like a thousand, 800 sometimes," she said.
Calling them "vanlords," San Jose City Councilmember Bien Doan says he and other council leaders have been briefed by San Jose police about the problem.
According to the memorandum on the issue, SJPD says there are at least two known individuals who have renting around 15 to 20 RVs out that are nearly unlivable to people who are unhoused.
"We found out that these bad actors are going out there and towing these dilapidated, unregistered, unsafe either RVs or vans or even trailers, and then renting it out illegally," said Bien Doan, one of the three councilmembers who along with Mayor Matt Mahan are proposing a crackdown on the so-called "vanlords."
In the proposal for increased enforcement, city staff are directed to report back with an analysis and recommendations for an ordinance that curtails the "leasing, renting, let out or otherwise loan of recreational vehicles in the public right of way in exchange for money, good, or services."
"The mayor and my colleagues put out this memorandum to help our police department and our code enforcement, give them an extra tool," Doan said. "How do we deal with this and how do we reduce this amount of unsanctioned housing out in the street?"
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The memorandum says the staff report should include five items:
- Any relevant existing ordinances or codes that may be enforced.
- The feasibility of adopting new ordinances that place restrictions on the sale, trade, and/or auctioning of recreational vehicles in the public right of way.
- Explore the prevention of the trade or sale of recreational vehicles between tow yards, salvage yards and vanlords.
- Research similar ordinances in other municipalities and gather relevant data on effectiveness in order to produce a staff recommendation.
- Explore enforcement mechanisms that can be potentially executed by Planning, Building and Code Enforcement, Parking Control Officers, or any other relevant departments.
The plan is to be made in collaboration with the city manager, city attorney, along with police and fire departments.
Advocate Shaunn Cartwright says the idea is tackling the issue the wrong way.
"People are definitely being taken advantage of. But you have to remove those people from the situation and put them in housing first, before you go after the 'vanlords,"' she said.
Doan points to his SJ Luv proposal - a large homeless shelter with wraparound services as one option for where people can go if they leave RVs.
Cartwright though says most of the unhoused don't feel comfortable living in a large shelter setting.
San Jose city staff has 90 days to come back with their recommendations on a plan to address "vanlords."