ANTIOCH – The state has been slow to pay the rental assistance it promised to tenants and landlords during the pandemic. Now thousands of Californians, including here in the Bay Area, are threatened with eviction in spite of the program that was supposed to prevent it. 

A year ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom proudly announced a program to completely reimburse landlords for the unpaid rent people owed during the pandemic.

"100 percent of your back rent, taken care of," he said at the time.

So, a lot of tenants and landlords scrambled to apply for the program, which was set to end on March 31. Kamilah Miller was one of them.

"I submitted my paperwork March 10th. I haven't heard a peep," said Miller.  "I even called just to say, hey, just want to make sure everything's in there.  And they're, like, 'It's in there.'  And that's it..."

Oakland officials on Tuesday evening capped rent increases at 3% for rent-controlled apartments, effectively preventing landlords from raising rents by 6.7% starting in July, which had been on track to be one of the highest one-year rent increases in the city’s history.

The City Council voted 6-1 for an ordinance to restrain the rent increase, with Noel Gallo voting against the proposal and Loren Taylor abstaining.

The move came amid strong support from tenants’ rights advocates who said a massive rent increase could have a catastrophic impact on a city grappling with a rising homelessness crisis as many residents try to emerge from the pandemic downturn.

OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — Oakland city leaders have voted in favor of tenants, preventing a major rent hike for people living in protected units as the end of an eviction moratorium looms.

Renters and tenant representatives spoke for hours to the City Council on Tuesday, protesting the biggest citywide rent hike for controlled units ever — and the largest seen amid the Bay Area’s housing crisis. The Council responded with a 6–1 vote to lower a cap on price increases for rent-controlled units, that can take place July 1.

The Council will conduct a second reading of the proposal and a final vote on it in its next meeting.

Problems with mold and vermin, broken tubs and showers and other slum-like conditions continue to mount at a massive South Los Angeles apartment complex even as politicians, housing and public health officials are pledging to hold the landlord accountable.

City and county inspectors are planning to reassess all 425 units at Chesapeake Apartments in early June, following a Times story in April that revealed widespread tenant complaints and public health violations, including leaking sewage and gas and electrical failures.

“It’s not acceptable,” said Robert Galardi, the chief inspector at the city housing department. “The building is in need of some major renovations.”

Tenants at a sprawling apartment complex in South L.A. have complained for years about mold, pests, raw sewage and faulty heaters, but they say their landlord — one of the largest rental property owners in the state — still hasn’t fixed the terrible living conditions in their building. And they believe the city is letting him slide.

Holding signs reading “Mold Is Killing Us” and “We Are Sick Of Nijjar Slumlord,” tenants of the 425-unit Chesapeake apartments complex gathered outside the El Monte offices of PAMA Management on Friday to demand the company fix longstanding problems. The complex is run by PAMA Management, which is among the many business entities connected to one of California’s largest landlords, Mike Nijjar.

Barbara Green has been served several notices of eviction from her San Diego apartment. "I was totally stressed before I got help. I didn’t know what I was going to do," she said.

The single mom of three said she was caught up on her rent, but added that her landlord wants to give the family the boot using a loophole in eviction law: renovations. "The landlord is just greedy, and he’s never made proper renovations the whole seven years that I’ve been here. He just wanted to make more money," she said.

The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, or ACCE, stepped in to help Green. And she's getting more help from the city of San Diego, through a temporary extension of eviction protections that close a renovation loophole.

But representatives for landlords say the ordinance adds an unnecessary burden for people who want to sell their properties, or who waited to do renovations because of the pandemic.

CHULA VISTA, Calif. – After hours of heated debate, Chula Vista city leaders will take even more time to vote on new rules impacting rental homes.

On Tuesday, Chula Vista City Council voted to postpone taking action on a new tenant protection ordinance. Mayor Mary Casillas Salas believes the measure would fight “no-fault” evictions and lend help to families getting priced out in the tight housing market.

More than 50 speakers signed up to state their case before the council with two very different sides emerging, largely split between tenants and local landlords.

“We’re low income, so where are we going to go?” Dora Parra said. “I got two weeks. I’ve been at this residence 17 years.”

A few years ago, residents of Siesta RV park in Imperial Beach caught a lucky break when plans to sell the land to a developer fell through.

Now, after a surprise change of ownership in January, residents say they are struggling anew. Rents are going up for many, utility bills seem inflated but there's no one to call for answers, and some tenants - and their trailers - are forced to move out every six months for 48 hours.

On the Siesta website, lots are said to rent from $800 to $1600. According to Andy Hall, Imperial Beach city manager, there are mobile home slips and recreational vehicle slips. The latter can be used only if there is no permanent residency. Thus the required rotations.

The state’s most powerful landlord group, the California Apartment Association, on Thursday sued Alameda County to end its broad eviction moratorium.

The suit marks the latest step toward dismantling COVID-19 protections for tenants, as health risks have diminished and many state and local programs and efforts have expired.

The Alameda County moratorium, enacted in March 2020, is one of the few surviving protections in the state. It essentially bans all evictions, either for nonpayment or other reasons, to keep renters from being displaced during the health crisis. Los Angeles also has a moratorium in place, and has been sued by the local landlord association.

Los Angeles tenant groups are suing California’s housing department, alleging that the state’s decision to wind down its rent relief program on April 1 unlawfully cut off applicants waiting for funds and put them at risk of eviction.

California’s Housing and Community Development Department stopped taking new rent relief applications at the end of March. It also denied requests from April onward. The program had previously distributed relief for “prospective” rent that applicants couldn’t pay.

Los Angeles, CA – The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) is being sued by tenants’ rights groups Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE Action) and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE) over its failure to provide the full amount of rental assistance intended by the law establishing the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), putting tenants at increased risk of eviction and homelessness. ACCE and SAJE are represented by Western Center on Law & Poverty, Public Counsel, and Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles.

As people waited for HCD’s often onerous system to process applications, HCD abruptly stopped accepting applications on March 31, 2022, cutting off people in need of assistance after that point even when they qualify for but have not yet received their full 18 months of rental assistance. Specifically, the suit says HCD is not providing assistance for prospective rent or expenses incurred after March 31, 2022, even for eligible households that submitted an ERAP application before applications closed.

This means applicants who were unable to pay April rent or beyond could still face eviction even if HCD approves their application, thereby defeating ERAP’s goal of preventing eviction and stabilizing households.

After being closed for more than two years due to COVID-19, Los Angeles City Hall has reopened to the public.

However, the reopening has brought mixed feelings to those wanting to participate in civic engagement.

While some visitors were excited to talk to City Council members face-to-face, several others believe the decision to strip away virtual public comment is a big problem.

"People have jobs; they can't just come in here to do one public comment when people already got used to being able to do that over the phone, at their work or at their home where they're safe," said Sergio Vargas, the lead organizer for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.

The public was able to return to meeting at the Los Angeles City Council chambers Wednesday for the first time since March 2020. 

With COVID restrictions lifted, the council has allowed members of the public to return in person and has also ended the ability for people to comment remotely which some people say should still be an option.

Adam Smith of West L.A. spoke at the meeting saying "good to be back in the room," but added:

"I do think it's really troubling that, accessibility-wise, people can't call in and give public comment anymore. ... Accessibility has always been an issue at these meetings, and folks that are disparately impacted by the policies coming out of this room have trouble coming in to give public comment on a weekday morning."

LOS ANGELES (CNS) — With COVID-19 restrictions now lifted, the public was allowed into the Los Angeles City Council chambers during the body's meeting Wednesday for the first time since March 2020 — but with people no longer able to comment remotely, most of those who spoke urged council members to reverse that decision.

Adam Smith of West L.A. was the first to speak at the meeting Wednesday, and told council members that it's "good to be back in the room." But he added:

"I do think it's really troubling that, accessibility-wise, people can't call in and give public comment anymore. ... Accessibility has always been an issue at these meetings, and folks that are disparately impacted by the policies coming out of this room have trouble coming in to give public comment on a weekday morning."

El público podrá ingresar a las cámaras del Concejo Municipal de Los Ángeles durante la reunión del Concejo Municipal de este miércoles por primera vez desde que COVID-19 cerró el Ayuntamiento al público en marzo de 2020.

Sin embargo, las personas ya no podrán brindar comentarios públicos si participan en la reunión a distancia.

El Concejo Municipal tuvo reuniones virtuales por teleconferencia durante el primer año de la pandemia, y las reuniones en persona continuaron para los miembros del consejo en junio de 2021 antes de regresar brevemente a un formato remoto en enero debido a la rápida propagación de la variante Omicron.

Sin embargo, desde marzo de 2020, el público tiene prohibido ingresar a las cámaras y ha podido hacer comentarios públicos llamando a las reuniones. Con las reuniones abiertas al público, las personas ya no podrán dar comentarios públicos de forma remota, según la agenda de la reunión del miércoles.

For nearly 26 months, tourists, residents and other visitors have regularly approached the doors of Los Angeles City Hall, only to be waved off by police officers at the building’s Main Street entrance.

On Wednesday, the building will finally reopen to the public. But security will be more restrictive than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, code enforcement officials at the city of Los Angeles cleared the Chesapeake Apartments in South L.A. after a required inspection that was supposed to ensure its rental units were habitable. The complex has 425 apartments and takes up multiple city blocks.

But the city’s clean bill of health belied the numerous problems with mold, sewage leaks, faulty smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and other issues that tenants say have plagued the massive complex for years. Beyond that, a 2020 investigation in LAist found Chesapeake Apartments’ owner has been accused by tenants and multiple government agencies of allowing similar conditions across a more than $1-billion real estate empire that’s centered in Southern California.

Da Vina Teasley paid the rent regularly at her Richmond home for two decades before COVID-19 hit.

The pandemic took away her job, sent her to the hospital for a week, and now threatens to leave her family homeless. Teasley applied for $40,000 in rental assistance in December for the first time, and was rejected by the state program for “inconsistent or unverifiable information.”

Despite repeated calls to the state by Teasley and her attorney at the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, they haven’t been able figure out what more documentation the state needs.

Activists with the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) joined tenants recently to call on the California Attorney General to intervene and hold a landlord accountable for allegedly allowing slum conditions and endangering the health and safety of residents.

Residents of the apartment building on Obama Boulevard in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area say they live with black mold, faulty heaters and broken pipes that spew raw sewage.

“These conditions cannot continue to go on like this. People are going to the hospital,’’ said Zerita Jones, who lives at the property, in a statement provided by ACCE.

David Zimmerman had big plans when he moved into a four-bedroom house in North Park. He would split the $2,500 monthly rent three ways with roommates and take full advantage of the backyard — starting a garden, hosting parties, maybe even raising chickens.

Zimmerman only had a verbal agreement to live there, but he said the property owner was his friend’s mom. He said he didn’t think twice about it because she made him feel part of the family.

Inquilinos de un complejo de apartamentos de 400 unidades en el sur de Los Ángeles protestaron  contra el propietario quien, según ellos, se niega a abordar las condiciones inhumanas en las que viven.

KTLA 5 - South Los Angeles tenants were protesting apartment conditions on Thursday that they say are making them sick.

Sabrina Dolan is convinced that her apartment is poisoning her.

Black, mold-like spots dot the windowsill in her living room. They appear on her bedroom windows along with signs of termites. The spots also cover a corner of her bathroom, and no amount of scrubbing can make them go away.

Recently, she’s been coughing up chunks of thick, dark mucus.

And no matter how many times she says she complains to her landlord at the South Los Angeles apartment she shares with her fiancé, nothing ever gets repaired.