Poor housing conditions continue at L.A. apartment complex, despite 2,000 citations issued
An L.A. apartment complex with more than 1,000 units was cited for violating housing statutes and city codes in the past few years, but now the city is working to make it a better place for tenants. As of Sept. 4, 2018, no citations have been issued since 2016. (Published Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018)
An L.A. apartment complex with more than 1,000 units was cited for violating housing statutes and city codes in the past few years, but now the city is working to make it a better place for tenants.
Between 2016 and 2017, the Community Housing Association of Los Angeles issued 2,000 citations to tenants, according to data provided by the association.
That’s equivalent to nearly three citations per each resident in the complex, said Catherine Corso, the association’s executive director.
“We were surprised that the property was not cited before the last two years,” she said. “That’s concerning to me, because then we get to the point where we can be more aggressive.”
Citations issued are not supposed to indicate a company is violating a city housing law, but as Corso and other tenant advocates point out, L.A. city code doesn’t specifically detail citations that result in no housing violations.
Instead, it says that citations issued in the Los Angeles Public Works Department “shall be considered sufficient evidence to support a finding of violation of this Chapter.”
“It would be great if that were true, as then you would not have to keep finding violations,” she said.
She says the city code is confusing, and that the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development does need to clarify whether citations alone are enough to cause housing violations.
In 2016, the city and the CHA made an agreement to issue citations together, as part of the city’s Housing Code Enforcement Initiative, but the agreement hasn’t been renewed, according to Corso.
In 2017, they made an agreement to issue citations together, and this year they issued them separately.
“It’s too bad that they’re not both together, as it would be more effective,” she said.
The Housing Code Enforcement Initiative is working toward making the city’s housing laws more user friendly and improving enforcement of the laws in the Public Works