TENANCIES IN COMMON , or TICs, are often characterized in the mainstream media as a "popular" way for people to buy homes. But in reality most prospective buyers steer clear of TICs. That's because TICs come with baggage: The units being sold are often vacant because tenants have been evicted simply so the property could be sold. In most cases the evicted tenants are either seniors, families, or disabled. No other home purchase comes with such a price, so many ethical buyers refuse to even think about buying a TIC.

Some buyers, though, are unaware that TICs are made available through evictions – and the realtors selling the empty units don't publicize that fact (knowing it would hinder sales). So hundreds of TIC units are on the market every week in San Francisco, and at the weekly open houses, hundreds of prospective buyers stroll in to take a look at the units.

One way to stop evictions is to stop the sales of units emptied by evictions. Recognizing this, the San Francisco Tenants Union began a campaign in May to picket TIC open houses, with the purpose of informing buyers that the vacant units were empty because tenants were evicted. Tenants also wanted to inform buyers that the city is now enforcing a provision of the condominium conversion law that prohibits turning TICs into condos if evictions created the TIC.

The results have been staggering. At the selected open houses, more than 90 percent of prospective buyers turned away. At one, the only buyer who ventured in already owned a number of TIC units for "investment" and didn't care about the evictions. At another, the realtor shut down the open house when business dried up. At others, realtors have sat inside alone for most of the afternoon. The effect on the targeted open houses lasted too: Realtors typically canceled open houses for the next few weekends, fearing that tenant organizers would be back.

The market for these TIC units is not being driven by buyers – it's being driven by real estate speculators. A few companies are buying up buildings in neighborhoods like the Mission District and North Beach and flooding the market with empty units. When the units get sold, the speculators make huge profits and move on to the next building, following the same pattern: buy, evict, and sell.

Legislators and judges have failed to protect tenants. The state Ellis Act lets these speculators evict without limit and the judiciary has thrown out every attempt to reign in Ellis Act evictions and TIC conversions, despite overwhelming evidence that the Ellis Act was never intended to be used by speculators and that TICs are very thinly disguised condominium conversions.

We've demonstrated, though, that San Franciscans will refuse to buy TICs when they know that someone was evicted from the unit. One by one this summer, TICs are being made unsellable through simple education. But the real estate industry needs to hear a louder message. On July 31 tenants will picket and shut down all the TIC open houses in San Francisco. We are calling on all our friends in the progressive movement to join us in this citywide campaign. Join us by picketing or boycotting TIC open houses that day – because the simple fact is that we can end the evictions if we can stop the sales.

Ted Gullicksen works for the San Francisco Tenants Union. To join the citywide picket, meet at the SF Tenants Union, 558 Capp, San Francisco, on July 31 at noon. Transportation will be provided to the various open houses throughout the city. For more information call 282-6656 or go to www.sftu.org.