Posted on 06/17/2024
ONE BIG THING: STRENGTHENING PROTECTIONS AGAINST TENANT HARASSMENT
What Happened?
This week, we seconded a motion from Councilmembers Nithya Raman and Marqueece Harris-Dawson to strengthen our city’s Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance in some key ways:
1. Expanding the definition of harassment to include:
- Gross negligence and recklessness instead of requiring it to be willful and knowing harassment.
- Threats to get rid of housing services, like parking, laundry, etc.
- A landlord abusing their right of entry to a unit.
2. Making it clear that it's illegal for a landlord to refuse rental assistance or slow-walk paperwork to make it easier to evict a tenant.
3. Making it easier for the city to prosecute these cases.
4. Increasing penalties and incentivizing enforcement for people found guilty of harassment.
5. Tenants found to be victims of harassment by a judge can’t be evicted from their homes.
Why it Matters
LA adopted an Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance in 2021, but since then, the city has barely done anything to enforce the law.
Our office hears stories every day from renters who were retaliated against for requesting basic repairs, pressured into accepting offers of “cash for keys,” and harassed because they dared to stand up to an abusive power dynamic.
These updates would make it easier for LA to prosecute tenant harassment by explicitly saying in the law that the city can bring these tenant harassment lawsuits on behalf of renters. The increased penalties would also incentivize private lawyers to take on lower-income victims of harassment as clients.
What’s Next?
The motion will now go to the Housing & Homelessness Committee before coming to the full City Council for a vote.
Three More Quick Hits!
1. Access to Hollywood Construction Update!
Beginning on Monday, June 17th, StreetsLA will begin to repair and refresh the pavement on Hollywood Blvd to ensure a smooth surface for implementation of Access to Hollywood!
Most road impacts will be between Gower St and Taft Ave, with resurfacing requiring a full street closure tentatively scheduled for June 22nd and 23rd.
We will also have some road work between Serrano Ave and Lyman Pl beginning June 17, which may require limited lane closures.
Following the pavement improvements, the Department of Transportation will be on the streets to install new street design, including new roadway striping, signs, and plastic bollards. Work is expected to be completed by the end of July in time for CicLAvia Meet the Hollywoods on August 18!
2. Removing Anti-Gay Street Signs in Silver Lake
We joined Councilmember Nithya Raman this week to remove “No U-Turn” Signs that were installed with “No Cruising” signs in1997 to target and persecute the LGBTQ+ people seeking sexual intimacy, especially as the LGBT community grew in Silver Lake in the 1990s.
According to allegations from the gay community at the time, officers would wait by the “No Cruising” and “No U-Turn Signs” to harass and arrest people at the gay clubs and bars in the area.
These physical remnants of our city’s bigoted policies will be donated to the ONE Archives at USC.
3. A Step Toward Limiting Pretextual Traffic Stops
Pretextual stops are when law enforcement uses minor infractions like a broken taillight to justify a search. Data shows that this disproportionately affects communities of color, sometimes leading to deadly outcomes.
This week, council passed recommendations that will ask the LAPD's Office of the Inspector General to provide an evaluation of the current pretextual stop policy, so we can look at changing it to limit or end this biased practice.
Now that City Council passed the motion, City Departments will issue reports and recommendations over the coming months for council to consider before making the policy change.