2026-09-11 · housing
Oakland changed the rules for homeless RVs. Now vehicle sweeps are accelerating
Oakland is increasing tows and sweeps of inhabited vehicles under an Encampment Abatement Policy that took effect in July, after an April city council vote removed inhabited vehicles from the city's definition of a homeless encampment. City workers began towing vehicles or requiring owners to relocate along San Leandro Street in late August, and Oakland police said they towed more than 60 abandoned and stolen cars and RVs in nearby neighborhoods on a single night. About 2,120 of the nearly 3,660 homeless people counted on the city's streets in 2024 — 58% — lived in vehicles, and the city has 1,260 shelter units for 4,410 homeless residents.
Oakland's point-in-time homelessness declined about 20% from 2024 to 2026, per the same report.