Victory for Tenants Rights Advocates: L.A. City Council Unanimously Votes to Strengthen Tenant Protections
Los Angeles Landlords now face $2,000 fines for Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance violations.
Los Angeles, CA (October 31, 2024) — On Wednesday afternoon, Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted 11-0 to strengthen the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance (TAHO) adopted by the city in 2021. The original ordnance gave tenants two important rights: 1) the right to sue their landlords for harassment and 2) the right to use landlord harassment as a defense against eviction.
While the original ordinance was an important step for renter protections, the law carried very little weight behind it and landlords rarely faced consequences for harassing their tenants. The changes Los Angeles City Council made to the ordinance today will bolster renter protections in several ways, including expanding the definition of harassment to “a landlord’s bad faith conduct” that targets and harms tenants and—most importantly—fining landlords $2,000 for every violation of TAHO.
“Previously, the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance was all too often unenforceable, leaving our tenants at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords. These amendments to TAHO will give our clients real power to protect their families and homes from harassment,” said Inner City Law Center Public Policy Advocate Shane Henson.
This is a resounding victory for the entire Keep LA Housed Coalition (including Inner City Law Center), which has actively campaigned for these essential amendments to TAHO since 2023.
Yesterday, the Keep LA Housed coalition tweeted, “VICTORY! Today LA City Council voted 11-0 in favor to amend & strengthen Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance! This fight took over a year of organizing led by directly impacted tenants. We thank & deeply appreciate @cd4losangeles @cd1losangeles @CD13LosAngeles for their leadership”
###
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.
Media Contact: Jacqueline Burbank, Communications Manager, jburbank@innercitylaw.org or (213) 947-7902