In a move that critics are calling “one of the most tasteless events I’ve ever heard of,” Berkeley landlords are celebrating the end of eviction protections in the East Bay city with a cocktail party.

The Berkeley Property Owners Association, a trade group for rental property owners in Berkeley, apparently believes regaining the right to throw people out of their homes is cause for celebration — or at least a networking event. The “Fall Social Mixer: Celebrating the End of the Eviction Moratorium” is set for the evening of Sept. 12; the event was first spotted by Berkeleyside.

Berkeley, like many other Bay Area municipalities, began a moratorium on most evictions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The moratorium lasted over three years but expired on Sept. 1, 2023.