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Tenants urge enforcement after sale of former Skid Row Housing Trust buildings; council approves related agenda items
Summary
Tenants and tenant advocates told the City Council that multiple buildings formerly part of the Skid Row Housing Trust are in substandard condition after sale to private owners; the council voted on the set of posted items (1, 2 and 15–23) and the clerk recorded 13 ayes.
Tenants from buildings formerly managed by the Skid Row Housing Trust, tenant organizers and attorneys told the City Council that multiple SRO hotels and formerly trusted buildings are in poor condition after being sold to private owners. Speakers described infestations, broken security, inoperative elevators and plumbing, and said the city must enforce tenant protections and repair requirements.
“We don’t have any security. Our units are subpar, rats, roaches,” said Olushe Banjo, identifying himself as a resident of CD 14 and a member of LA CAN. “Please support the anti‑harassment tenant bill,” he said.
Corey Patterson, a resident of the Lincoln Building, said his building still had rats and roaches, “a nonworking fire system” and unsecured doors after months of complaints. “After 18 months, what we’ve had for this scenario is a disgrace,” Patterson said, adding that tenants had received little effective relief after the properties were transferred.
Attorney Christina Boyer of Public Counsel urged the council to act on rent stabilization updates and called for an annual rent increase formula tied to 60% of CPI, a 3% cap, removal of the floor, and elimination of increases for utilities and extra tenants. “New rent increases go into effect in July, so we need to move this now,” Boyer said.
Multiple speakers and organizing groups, including Keep LA Housed and LA CAN, urged stronger enforcement of the Tenant Anti‑Harassment Ordinance, better oversight of buildings sold to new owners, and proactive steps to protect tenants’ habitability while the city considers long‑term policy changes. Speakers said 17 former Skid Row Housing Trust buildings had been sold and cited a reported purchase price “for less than $8,300 per unit” in council comments.
On the dais, council moved and voted on the items the clerk identified as before the body: items 1, 2 and 15 through 23. The clerk opened and closed the roll and the council recorded 13 ayes. The roll covered the set of items as posted; council did not debate each item on the floor during the vote period announced by the clerk.
What was on the agenda: items called open for public comment included items 1 and 2 (easement and related matters) and items 15–23 (which included a local emergency declaration tied to January wind storms and fires and other budget and program motions). Several public commenters referenced REAP (rent escrow account program) and called for reforms to how REAP funds and enforcement are used.
The council’s recorded votes do not by themselves resolve enforcement actions requested by tenants. Speakers asked the council to use existing enforcement tools, expand tenant protections, and ensure developers and owners meet habitability standards in properties subject to city oversight.
The council accepted public comment and moved forward with the posted votes; any further enforcement or ordinance changes cited by speakers will require follow‑up actions, staff reports, or separate council motions.
