A legally blind man in Oakland says he could soon be on the street because the affordable apartment community for seniors where he lived refuses to let him back into his home, even after his eviction was overturned by a judge.
“If I’m out on the street, I’m not going to survive,” said Gary Gilbert, 67, who walks with a cane and has a host of medical ailments. “I’m just scared. My mind is racing, and I just don’t know what I’m going to do. My health problems make it so I can barely get around.”
Gilbert, a former bus driver, has called the Oakland Station Senior apartments home since 2021. In January, however, Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies showed up at his front door to enforce an eviction for nonpayment of rent, removing him from the apartment and changing the locks.
“I was shocked as hell,” Gilbert said. "I was shocked and scared and everything all at the same time.”
Shocked, Gilbert said, because he believed his rent was being paid on time and had no idea his landlords were trying to evict him.
Because of Gilbert’s eyesight and other medical issues, handling financial affairs had become too difficult. So, he relied on a family member to make his rent payments using Gilbert's own money.
But the Oakland Station says they haven’t received rent payments from Gilbert in more than a year, and Gilbert suspects he may have been the victim of fraud. Gilbert said Adult Protective Services has opened an investigation into the case, but the agency declined to comment, citing privacy concerns. NBC Bay Area was unable to reach the family member for comment.
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The Oakland Station began eviction proceedings, but Gilbert said he was left in the dark. According to Gilbert, he had a standing request that his landlords verbally communicate any important information, given his failing eyesight. But the eviction notices were in writing, he said, adding that nobody had even told him he was behind on rent.
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“If they would have followed the procedures like they should have, I would have known something was going on way sooner and I could have rectified it,” Gilbert said.
It wasn’t until a notice to vacate from the sheriff’s office showed up at his apartment that Gilbert said he knew he was being evicted. He could make out the large sheriff’s star on the notice and figured he should have someone read it to him.
“I mean I haven’t broken the law or did anything, so I wanted to know what this was about,” Gilbert said.
The notice told Gilbert he had just seven days to leave his apartment. His landlords had been awarded a default judgment in the eviction lawsuit since Gilbert, not knowing about the case, never responded in court. So, he scrambled to find help, finally reaching attorney Maria Guerra with the non-profit East Bay Community Law Center on the same day deputies kicked him out of his home.
“Because Mr. Gilbert’s disabilities are so severe and because the situation is so particular, I decided to jump on the case,” Guerra said. “There was absolutely no verbal notice given to Mr. Gilbert that he was behind on rent.”
A week after Gilbert’s eviction, Guerra filed a motion in court to reverse the default judgment against her client and restore his tenancy at the Oakland Station Senior apartments.
“Mr. Gilbert is at risk of permanently losing his affordable home, becoming ineligible for Section 8 due to an eviction on his record, and losing all his personal belongings,” Guerra wrote in the court filing. “This is not a consequence of the merits of the case against him, but instead because of a default judgment obtained when Mr. Gilbert failed to file an answer to a complaint: 1) of which he did not have actual notice and 2) that he had excusable reasons to fail to answer.”
Earlier this month, the judge issued an order tossing out the default judgement and restoring possession of the apartment back to Gilbert.
Yet more than two weeks after the judge’s order, Gilbert’s landlords still refuse to let him back into his apartment, even though Guerra said they’ve offered to pay all his back rent.
“Because according to them, the judgement has already been executed,” Guerra said. “I think the developer needs to accept the rent that we are offering them and let Mr. Gilbert go home.”
Attorneys for Oakland Pacific Associates, the company that owns the Oakland Station, are appealing the judge’s decision. Since the sheriff had already enforced the eviction, they argued to the judge he no longer had authority to give the apartment back to Gilbert. The judge agreed.
Guerra is now asking the judge to reconsider and force the Oakland Station to let Gilbert back into his apartment and give him a key. The judge is expected to decide at a hearing scheduled for Monday, where Guerra hopes to convince him that Mr. Gilbert, by law, is entitled to go back to his apartment.
Oakland Pacific Associates declined to comment on the eviction case, saying they don’t comment on an individual’s housing situation.
Gilbert’s belongings are still in his apartment. Last week, the Oakland Station let him and Guerra inside, but only so they could pick up a few essentials.
He’s been staying at an East Oakland motel paid for by Alameda County’s Social Services Agency, but those funds are expected to run out soon. There are long waitlists for comparable affordable housing options, and Guerra said Gilbert will likely end up at a shelter or on the street unless he’s allowed back into his apartment.
“I just want to go back home,” Gilbert said.
