Steven Langel has called The Occidental hotel home for the past year and a half.
“I was very happy that I have a roof over my head, that I have a place where I can kick back,” said Langel.
The hotel currently serves as an SRO, which means it’s a residential hotel in which low-income tenants are offered single-room occupancy units.
Langel says he had been living comfortably in the hotel until just two months ago when he received a letter from the property’s new landlord informing him his rent would be going up 10%.
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“It’s a hardship because I am very limited,” said Langel. “I am low income.”
He’s not alone. Dozens of the hotel’s tenants are terrified by the increase.
“I’m part of the ones that are working their way to homelessness," tenant Mary Oliver said.
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Tenants United and PATH, two affordable housing advocacy groups, have recently joined forces to represent those fighting against the increases.
“A lot of them are on a fixed income, and a lot of them are elderly,” said Kalei Levi, housing supervisor at PATH.
We reached out to The Occidental hotel and they responded by saying their rates remain under market and welcome any feedback from their residents.
But the rent increases are part of a bigger issue related to the lack of SROs in San Diego.
“These units are disappearing and unfortunately, we are in a housing crisis and what we’re seeing is people are choosing to build their portfolio, build their profits versus housing the most vulnerable people in our communities,” said Levi.
PATH found this year there were 462 SRO units in buildings that have been sold.
We reached out to Councilman Stephen Whitburn, who oversees the downtown district, for comment and he responded with the following:
“The Housing Commission is currently in the process of updating the SRO ordinance. We will continue to push for the preservation and construction of additional SROs.”
Meanwhile, tenants at The Occidental continue to fight to keep their affordable living space.
