Rising Sacramento Rent Pricing Seniors Out Of Homes

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — At 74, finding a comfortable and safe place to live is all Mary Wiley asked for.

But she's now one of dozens of low-income tenants at Curtis Park Court, who might have to give it all up due to rising rents.

The rent issue is so critical for those on fixed incomes that state housing advocates ordered a meeting. Apartment managers, city housing officials, legal representatives, and the councilmember representing this district, got together to come up with ways to keep senior citizens from ending up homeless.

"We understand and need to do something we can't let people being pushed out of homes because they can't afford rents," said Sacramento City Councilman Jay Schenirer.

Property managers agreed to postpone the latest rent increase by a few months and lower it by $5 a month, for all tenants.

But Patricia Averette's rent has already gone up $100 in two years. She had to come up with a solution: cut back on groceries and sell her car.

"Other people are talking about maybe not buying as much medicine, and trying to make the medicine last longer," Patricia Averette.

The crisis is not isolated to this Sacramento senior living community. Growing demand for housing in Sacramento continues to push up rents across the board and residents to the brink.

"What am I supposed to do," said Wiley.

Advocates say their next plan is to protest the rent hikes. Meanwhile, city officials say they're hoping the governor's budget will free up $10 million for the city, to spend on the housing crisis. But they won't know for sure until details are released from the finalized budget.