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Tenants accuse landlords of unlawful eviction
Seniors and tenant activists protested in Los Angeles, saying they are being unfairly evicted under the Ellis Act.
LOS ANGELES - Seniors claiming they are being unfairly evicted joined protesters from the Los Angeles Tenants Union, marching to the offices of Los Angeles' Housing Department off Sunset. Tenants are demanding more local protection as more and more developers take advantage of California laws approved under the Ellis Act.
It allows landlords to file no-fault evictions against tenants if they intend to remove units from the rental market, but tenant rights organizers say that landlords are using the law in staggering numbers to displace entire communities from rent-controlled apartments.
Case in point: neighborhoods around Exposition Park. Already, many older buildings have been torn down to make way for luxury housing. Now residents along the few remaining rent-controlled duplexes near the 110 say they are getting eviction notices.
Many of those protesting today say what the landlords are offering as compensation is not enough to find places to live in the neighborhood or Los Angeles, for that matter. They want local housing agencies to step in.
The Los Angeles Housing Department issued the following statement:
"LAHD staff has worked with the 39th Street residents since 2023 and has reviewed the issues faced by the tenants. LAHD must comply with state law that allows a property owner to withdraw their units from the rental market, which is what the owner has chosen to do in this instance.
LAHD is committed to ensuring that the tenants receive all relocation funds available to them and encourages the tenants to work with the property owner’s relocation consultant to help determine the full amount of relocation assistance to which they are entitled. Furthermore, depending on their income, tenants may be eligible to return to one of the 120 affordable units to be constructed on this site."