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Kate Bridget Li is not a typical landlord. Instead of apartments or homes, she rents out half a dozen RVs that are parked on the street in the East Meadow neighborhood of Palo Alto.
She also says she isn’t in it to make money — at least, not for herself.
“When Lord God called me into this business, He said, ‘I will lead you into something that you have never thought of, but don’t be afraid. I’ll go with you.’ So based on that command, I just [went] all in,” she said.
Li charges her tenants anywhere from $800 to $1,200 per month, which is a fraction of the price of an average studio or one-bedroom in Palo Alto. But her take-home is next to nothing because on top of parking tickets, repairs and other maintenance on her vehicles, she also donates at least $800 each month to her ministry, Spread the Name of Lord Jesus, she said.
Sometimes, Li said tenants come to her for help or advice, during which she may direct them to her religion and ministry.
“When they need it, they seek for it, I will give it to them. I will provide that information,” Li said. “But I wouldn’t push my belief onto anyone.”
On a recent afternoon, Pedro Lee was moving out of the RV he rented from Li into his own RV with his uncle. The two were tenants of Li for several months and paid $900 for their unit, Lee said. In between hauling boxes, the pair described Li as a laid-back and flexible landlord. They said they knew that their landlord was involved in a ministry, but little else about her religion or beliefs.
She said she wouldn’t be in the RV rental business at all if the Lord did not call her to do it. But that means that, like her tenants, she lives in an RV, unable to afford an apartment.
As Palo Alto continues to debate the specifics of a policy to address oversized vehicle parking, one aspect of the issue appears to have broad consensus among homeowners and city officials alike: banning the practice of “vanlording.”
The term refers to people like Li who rent parked RVs to tenants on public streets. Unlike landlords who own the property they rent, vanlords renting out an RV do not own the public parking space where the vehicle stays. Although Palo Alto has a 72-hour parking limit, it is rarely enforced for RVs and there is no explicit policy regarding vanlording.
There are a number of vanlords, including Li, who list their RVs on short-term rental websites like AirBnb and VRBO, often describing the living situation for would-be tenants as a low-cost getaway. Others advertise on Facebook Marketplace, listing the RVs as apartments or studios.
“Please note there is no hookup for this RV, so may not be as convenient as regular housing, not ideal for heavy cooking & shower & restroom use. RV is parked on a street with cars passing by during the day and mostly quiet at night, thus it’s listed at such an affordable price,” Li wrote for one of her listings on AirBnb.
There are a lot of nice people, a lot of talented people, that just need a little bit of help,
kate bridget li, rv landlord
Some vanlords appear to be tapping into a specific market of young, nomadic tech workers who could more easily forgive the lack of amenities in exchange for cheap rent. Many RVs lack full kitchens, showers or an easy way to dispose of garbage and sewage. To that end, vanlord listings often suggest that tenants shower at a nearby gym and limit home cooking and bathroom use.
“Located in Palo Alto near supermarkets, pharmacies, gyms, gas stations, etc. The trailer is in perfect condition, everything works perfectly, ideal for single people or couples,” another listing on Facebook Marketplace reads.
At a recent public meeting about RV parking, Palo Alto residents expressed disdain toward vanlords, portraying them as wealthy people who prey on the city’s most vulnerable by renting substandard living conditions — all the while clogging public streets.
Others submitted letters urging tougher enforcement of time limits and sanitation regulations. Richard Harris, asset manager for Embarcadero LLC, a commercial property owner, complained in a letter that RVs often fail to move as required and that occupants “litter the sidewalks with trash, operate open flame barbeques, and leave trash on our property.”
“The abundance of RV’s and associated vehicles substantially reduce street parking for our tenants and their visitors,” Harris wrote.
But the boogeyman image invoked by homeowners and property owners is a far cry from the way Li sees her business. She said she sees her mission as helping people who are less fortunate.
“This whole RV community feels like a family. There are a lot of nice people, a lot of talented people, that just need a little bit of help,” Li said. “A lot of them come from unfortunate backgrounds and not a warm and loving home that a lot of the fortunate people living in this area have.”
She said she is flexible on rent for her tenants depending on their financial situation. In one case, a young couple renting from her became pregnant and could not afford rent at all that month, which Li accepted.
Li also attended the public meeting about RV parking last month, curious to learn about the decisionmaking process behind a policy that could ban her business.
What she discovered, she said, was an “eye-opening and informative” discussion from city leaders. Li also expressed appreciation for the residents who showed up to encourage a ban on vanlording, but she said she still hopes the city will develop a policy that allows her to continue.
She stressed that she got into the business through divine inspiration and said she wanted to apologize for her “lack of consideration when getting into this business and causing this much trouble for the city and for the city leaders.”
“But from what I heard, I really think that they are taking all factors into their consideration and really thinking carefully through this decision process,” she said.
I’m not sure how becoming pregnant makes you not afford rent. The baby has zero extra cost until they are born except for medical checks, which are free if you are poor (presumably since you are living in an RV)
My expenses did not go up while my children were in utero.
Paying $800 a month or more to live in an RV that does not have sewage etc. connections should not be allowed. These are unhealthy conditions.The Facebook and Airbnb ads sound like very nicely put lies to me. I live in a low rent, affordable studio apartment in Mountain View and I was lucky enough to get it because it is government sponsored housing run by Catholic Charities. Just because God told her to do it doesn’t mean that God can’t tell her to stop. Giving money to your ministry is not charity. Renting a vehicle that is supposed to move every three days is neither good for the tenants nor the community . Even if she is a nice lady.