Silicon Valley's New Landlords Rent Out RVs on Public Streets

In Santa Clara County—home to Apple, Google, and eight of America's 50 most expensive ZIP codes—37% of homeless individuals now sleep in vehicles. That's more than double the 18% recorded in 2019, before the pandemic reshaped everything.

When Full-Time Work Isn't Enough

Salena Alvarez works full-time as an in-home care worker. Yet for a year and a half, she's called an RV home, sharing the space with her boyfriend. "The RV was a lot better than the car," she explains. "You can cook, wash dishes, shower, use the bathroom. In a car, you have to go somewhere else for everything."

This isn't just a California problem—it's a California-sized problem. The state houses 12% of America's population but 25% of its homeless residents. McKinsey estimates California needs 3.5 million more homes to meet demand. As Adrian Covert from the Bay Area Council puts it: "In California, you're more likely to become homeless than almost any other state. And when you do, you're more likely to end up on the streets rather than in shelter."

The Rise of 'Vanlords'

As housing options vanish, a shadow economy has emerged. Across the Bay Area, individuals rent out aging RVs to people with nowhere else to turn. The street term? "Vanlords."

These arrangements typically involve no written leases, no tenant protections, and hundreds of dollars in monthly rent for a spot on public streets. CNBC found one man in San Francisco splitting an RV with a friend for $500 per month—still cheaper than the $1,000 it would cost to rent a single room in an apartment.

The tenants range from newly arrived immigrants to working professionals simply priced out of traditional housing. One woman from Mexico lives in an RV with her two children, while others are tech workers who can't afford Bay Area rents despite steady employment.

Cities Fight Back

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David Cohen, a San Jose city councilmember, sponsored legislation to ban vanlording. "These are folks using our public streets for revenue without any permitting or process to ensure safe conditions or tenant rights," he said. "We're trying to protect both our community and the unhoused."

But enforcement proves difficult, and the underground market persists. Meanwhile, cities have ramped up parking enforcement, issuing citations and towing vehicles as RV encampments become more visible. Neither approach has reversed the growth of vehicle homelessness.

A Different Experiment

San Jose tried something different: converting an empty parking lot near the freeway into a "safe parking site" for 86 RVs. Opened in 2025 with a $24 million five-year budget, the Berryessa site consistently maintains a full waiting list.

Residents like Alvarez pay no rent but must work with case managers toward permanent housing. Program manager Victoria Garibaldi says they've placed over 40 people in traditional housing since opening. "We want them to have their own places. This isn't a permanent solution."

The need far exceeds supply. San Jose's two safe parking sites accommodate 128 vehicles, but an estimated 1,000 people live in vehicles within city limits.

From Tourist Trap to Housing Solution

San Francisco's Candlestick RV Park has transformed from tourist destination to long-term housing. Manager Tsin Fung, who's worked there since 1993, explains: "We've transitioned from basically a tourist park to a long-term park, mainly due to pandemic effects."

A spot with water, electricity, sewage, and bathrooms costs $2,500 per month—recently raised from $2,000. "They're hard-working people, middle- and working-class," Fung notes. "They work hard, pay their bills." He's also noticed some tenants renting their RVs from outside vanlords.

Rethinking the Solution

Covert argues that housing construction alone won't close the gap fast enough. "We're coming off 30-40 years of hostility from local governments toward mobile home parks and RV parks. They've been seen as blight. But what we're seeing now is that doesn't make low-income people go away."

Instead, he contends, well-managed RV parks should be reconsidered as part of the housing strategy. "We aren't likely, in the near term, to have enough transitional housing to move everybody indoors."