The Prosecution and Public Rights Unit of the Alameda City Attorney’s Office has now filed a civil enforcement action against landlord Mingli Wang, alleging repeated and extreme violations of state and local housing laws.
The action alleges that Wang engaged in a series of provocative and unlawful acts to pressure tenants to vacate their apartment, then sought to unlawfully retain their deposits and unlawfully extract even more money from them in a series of fabricated legal cases.
According to the City Attorney’s Office, alleged acts by Wang include:
- Yelling, threatening, and harassing tenants.
- Physically attempting to gain unlawful entry.
- Vandalizing tenants’ property.
- Provoking physical altercations with tenants.
- Unlawfully invading tenants’ privacy.
- Filing baseless court cases and using falsified legal documents.
- Violating a court restraining order.
This is not the first time that Wang has been accused of violating housing laws. According to information released by the City, numerous prior tenants have complained of her misconduct. One case ended in a settlement after Wang evicted a tenant household using an allegedly false claim of owner move-in.
Alameda law provides strong court remedies for illegal harassment of tenants. These include civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each separate violation or $2,500 per day per violation, whichever is more. Penalties are higher when the tenant is over age 62 or disabled.
Under state and local law, tenants have the right to be left alone in privacy, and free from harassment. The law also requires “just cause” to evict a tenant.
“Maintaining housing availability and stability is one of the Council’s highest priorities,” said City Attorney Yibin Shen. “The Prosecution and Public Rights team, in collaboration with the Rent Program, endeavors to resolve most concerns through counseling and mediation, but will certainly not hesitate to take action to remedy serious and repeated violations of the law in order to ensure that people of all income levels and backgrounds can proudly call Alameda home.”
The Alameda City Attorney Office’s Prosecution and Public Rights Unit educates the public and enforces the laws governing fair housing and consumer protection in our community.
If you have questions or would like to report an issue, please contact the Prosecution Unit at 510-747-4772 or email [email protected]. Housing complaints may also be filed online.
