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Tenant organizer urges Rialto to address habitability, alleged retaliation and submetering problems
Summary
A tenant organizer told the council she is forming a tenants union and reported long-running habitability issues, multiple eviction filings, alleged retaliatory involvement by a city fire inspector, and concerns about submetering and inaccurate utility billing; she asked for city assistance and records requested from the city.
Latasha Love, speaking at the council’s public-comment period on behalf of the Inland Empire Tenants Union, urged the city to help tenants enforce habitability and anti-retaliation protections and said she is organizing a tenants union in Rialto.
Love said she has lived in Rialto for 10 years and described a civil lawsuit and multiple unlawful-detainer filings from her landlord related to disputes over habitability. She alleged that her landlord has enlisted a city fire inspector to harass tenants and claimed the landlord told her the inspector instructed them to change her locks, which she said created a safety concern. She also raised concerns that tenant submetering produced inaccurate utility bills and that there is insufficient oversight of submetered utilities.
“I'm here to see how the city of Rialto council members can help us have better living conditions in the city of Rialto,” Love said, asking for assistance and noting she had filed complaints and records requests with the city chief but had not received a response.
No city staff response resolving the allegations was recorded during the meeting. Council members did not take immediate action on the specific claims but thanked speakers for raising issues and the clerk noted staff will follow up on public-comment items as appropriate. The speaker requested attention to habitability code enforcement, review of submeter arrangements and timelier responses to public-record requests.
