Envisioned as a beacon of hope for struggling tenants, the sinister reality of the Renato Apartments is an inhumane nightmare.
Los Angeles, CA (December 18, 2024) — On Thursday, December 12, lawyers from Inner City Law Center and Winston & Strawn LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of tenants at Renato Apartments, who have been living in exceptionally dangerous slum housing conditions.
The building, which was partially constructed using a $9.5 million loan from the City of Los Angeles, is owned and managed by Single Room Occupancy Housing Corporation and Renato Apartments, L.P. The lawsuit explains that the Defendants deliberately, and with blatant indifference to the harm being caused to the tenants, failed to maintain the building, make necessary repairs, and protect tenants from trespassers who freely enter the unsecured entrances and commit vandalism and theft.
The building is a supportive housing apartment complex comprised of furnished single-room occupancy units. Tenants residing in the building are especially vulnerable, as their income falls well below the poverty line, and most reside in government-subsidized units reserved for individuals struggling with both chronic homelessness and mental health issues. In addition to their rent being subsidized by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, many tenants depend on CalWORKs, Social Security Disability Income, and similar programs in order to survive.
Paradoxically, the building was praised as a safe haven and beacon of hope in the Skid Row community at its grand opening in 2010, which was attended by former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other political luminaries.
The nightmarish conditions in the building arise from the landlord’s deliberate neglect and extreme ineptitude. A number of people have perished in in the building due to murders, drug overdoses, and suicides, which has mostly gone ignored by the landlords.
The hallways and stairwells are littered with graffiti, drug paraphernalia, and urine and feces from both humans and animals. Residents recount an array of past and ongoing habitability issues, including slow (or nonexistent) responses to complaints about broken elevators, raw sewage flooding into their homes, long-term bedbug and cockroach infestations, rampant mold, inoperable smoke detectors, crumbling walls and ceilings, broken doors and locks, and other intolerable conditions.
In addition to the horrific living conditions, tenants are also experiencing ongoing harassment and elder abuse from the landlords. As Perry Friedman, a resident at Renato since 2011 states, “It is shameful beyond belief that [the owners and management] would make life harder for people that already have it extremely hard.” Friedman recalls one particularly devastating incident where a decorated veteran committed suicide by jumping from the fifth floor. Tenants were forced to walk past his mangled body for hours as it lay in the courtyard of the building. Even after the tenant’s body was removed, management did not sufficiently clean up the blood and human matter, thereby forcing tenants to do it themselves. Such gruesome and trauma-inducing incidents are the realities these tenants live with every day.
“The landlords’ mistreatment and exploitation of some of Los Angeles’ most vulnerable community members is abhorrent,” states Inner City Law Center Senior Staff Attorney Deborah Hoetger. “These tenants, all of whom have suffered chronic homelessness and mental illness, were promised a safe, clean place to live. However, their landlords have provided the opposite: unsafe, unhealthy, and downright dangerous living conditions.”
Long-time Renato resident Booker T. Washington exclaims, “it’s about time” a suit has been brought against Defendants. “For years, residents have filed numerous complaints and notices against the landlords,” said Washington. Washington even trekked all the way to San Francisco by himself to consult the San Francisco Housing Authority because public agencies in Los Angeles have failed to adequately address the deplorable habitability conditions.
As much as the tenants wish to see the building owners and managers brought to justice, the camaraderie they’ve nurtured from fighting together has also created much needed hope among tenants. “Seeing all the residents band together to fight for their rights, even as they’re busy fighting to survive day-by-day, proves just how bad the situation is,” Washington said. “I believe in fighting, and now we can fight together.”
You can read the full complaint here
Plaintiffs in Washington v. Renato Apartments, LP are 20 former and current residents. The case is a joint effort between the Inner City Law Center and Winston & Strawn LLP.
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About Inner City Law Center
Inner City Law Center is a nonprofit, poverty-law firm headquartered in Skid Row, working to end the homelessness crisis by providing free legal services to the most vulnerable residents of Los Angeles.
Inner City Law Center’s staff of more than 145 (including 70 lawyers), together with hundreds of volunteers, fight for people facing eviction, struggling with landlord harassment, fighting to secure their veteran or disability benefits or standing up to slum housing conditions.
Contact: Jacqueline Burbank, Communications Manager, jburbank@innercitylaw.org or (213) 947-7902
About Winston & Strawn LLP
Winston & Strawn LLP is an international law firm with 15 offices in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. More information about the firm is available at www.winston.com.
The pro bono attorneys from Winston & Strawn are Paul Salvaty, Gregory A. Ellis, Michael Lavetter, and Veronica Stoever from the Los Angeles office, and Jenna Qi Han and Vito Vang from the San Francisco office.
