Within the three years since Los Angeles banned landlords from harassing tenants and made violating the principles a felony offense, greater than 13,000 complaints alleging harassment have been filed with the housing division. About two dozen of these instances have been referred by the division to the town lawyer’s workplace. Thus far, 4 fines are pending and no instances have been criminally prosecuted.
When it was authorized in 2021, Los Angeles’ Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance was touted as a breakthrough for renters’ rights. At a time of quickly rising housing prices, the principles have been meant to guard tenants from being threatened or intimidated by landlords — a tactic advocates say is usually used to push individuals out of rent-controlled houses.
However tenant advocates say harassment has continued largely unchecked within the three years for the reason that regulation handed, with tenants usually reporting that their landlords resort to intimidation, unlawful eviction notices, threats, lockouts and different actions meant to make their dwelling conditions troublesome to bear. The hundreds of complaints and lack of prosecutions since 2021 are additional proof that the regulation is weak and must be strengthened, advocates say.
“It’s been really frustrating because there’s been so many examples of landlord harassment, of taking away parking, garages, bedrooms, unlawful entries into people’s homes, code violations, unlawful eviction and a lot of retaliation for organizing,” stated Edna Monroy, director of organizing at Strategic Actions for a Simply Economic system. However “it’s really hard to present these cases in small claims and it’s really hard for the city attorney to take these cases as well.”
Her group and others are urging the town to undertake a number of amendments meant to tighten the principles and incentivize personal attorneys to tackle instances. The Metropolis Council’s housing and homelessness committee is predicted to quickly think about a number of proposed modifications to the regulation.
Landlord advocates, in the meantime, say the dearth of prosecutions reveals that tenant harassment isn’t the issue advocates say it’s and are urging the town to reject the modifications.
“It was bad enough the first go around,” stated Daniel Yukelson, govt director of the Condo Assn. of Larger Los Angeles. “Now they’re opening the door by loosening up the language and it’s just going to open up property owners to more frivolous lawsuits.”
The ordinance was adopted amid the pandemic when the town’s eviction moratorium was in place. Tenants stated landlords have been more and more turning to harassment to get them to depart with out having to go to court docket to hunt an eviction. However as quickly because the regulation was authorized some advocates stated they fearful it had been watered down an excessive amount of to be efficient.
A 2022 housing division report famous that when the ordinance was initially adopted, assets weren’t offered to that division or to the town lawyer for its implementation. Some funding was ultimately authorized and the housing division created a Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance Process Power, which was charged with specializing in drawback properties and landlords and monitoring for compliance.
The report additionally famous that there had been challenges proving that landlords have been performing in dangerous religion, because the regulation requires.
Sharon Sandow, a spokeswoman for the housing division, stated that when harassment allegations are substantiated, a housing investigator will name the owner to deal with the allegation and ship them details about the ordinance.
If the matter is egregious or persists, the case is referred to the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance Process Power “for further review and analysis to determine the possibility of a pattern of behavior, and assess the enforcement mechanism,” Sandow stated.
Within the overwhelming majority of instances, she added, tenants withdraw or abandon the grievance, fail to offer proof to substantiate the case or the matter is resolved by the division.
Sergio Vargas, co-director of the Los Angeles chapter of the Alliance of Californians for Neighborhood Empowerment, or ACCE, stated the town has not performed sufficient to observe up and absolutely examine complaints.
“We know there are way more cases out there that should be taken into account,” he stated.
Karen Richardson, a spokeswoman for the town lawyer’s workplace, stated that her workplace has obtained 23 anti-harassment referrals from the housing division. Of these, 4 have fines pending and 4 have been referred to a diversion program.
Fifteen of the referrals have been for potential felony filings. Eight have been rejected by the workplace and 7 are pending.
Among the many modifications proposed to the ordinance is a brand new definition of harassment geared toward landlords who interact in “bad faith conduct” that causes tenants detriment or hurt.
The present definition requires landlords to knowingly and willfully interact in bad-faith conduct that “serves no lawful purpose,” a regular advocates say could be not possible to show.
The modifications additionally embody requiring that tenants who win in court docket be awarded lawyer’s charges and a minimal civil penalty of $2,000 per violation. Proponents say the brand new language would put the town’s anti-harassment guidelines extra in keeping with different cities like Santa Monica, Oakland and San Francisco.
The 2022 poll initiative Measure ULA, generally often known as the “mansion tax,” can also be anticipated to considerably enhance funding for implementation of the ordinance.
Yukelson, of the house affiliation, stated the principles merely create “lots of landmines” that may trigger house owners to get sued.
“Owners are going to have their backs put against the wall,” he stated.
For Stephano Medina, an lawyer for the authorized advocacy group Motion Authorized, which is affiliated with ACCE, the issue with the present regulation is that its not making a distinction.
“I don’t know of any tenant that has benefited from this law,” he stated. “It’s not being used.”
