To Mayor Bass, City Councilmembers and their staff members, and most importantly, all the tenants of Los Angeles:
The Los Angeles Housing Department claims that its vision is a city where “all Angelenos have a safe and affordable place to call home.”
Yet under the leadership of General Manager Ann Sewill, the Housing Department has pursued the exact opposite vision: a city where landlords are enabled to harass, exploit, and evict vulnerable low-income tenants with few consequences.
We, the organized tenants of Los Angeles, have suffered greatly under her leadership.
We have watched as landlords terrorize families with impunity, flipping rent-controlled buildings and gentrifying entire neighborhoods. As they laugh all the way to the bank, the Housing Department has not referred a single case for prosecution under the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, and drags its feet even for more basic protections like REAP, that can be used to force landlords to address habitability issues. The 651 North Broadway Tenants, Vu/Fink Tenants, K3 Tenants and so many countless more know this all too well.
The Hillside Villa tenants fought valiantly for the City to begin the process of purchasing their building, and won a historic victory in May 2022. Even though Tom Botz had previously reneged on a deal to extend the affordability covenant for ten years, LAHD wasted months doing nothing while Botz has continued to harass tenants and make cosmetic repairs to inflate the sale value of the building. If Ann Sewill had listened to tenants’ stories of how Tom Botz has taken advantage of them, and of city and federal programs, if LAHD had looked at their own history of dealings with this landlord and acted aggressively to acquire Hillside Villa with Eminent Domain, the City might well be in a position to take control of the building and prevent evictions by now. Instead they are still stuck at the appraisal stage nine months later, effectively allowing Hillside Villa families to face mass evictions.
While Ann Sewill buddies up with Tom Botz, a slumlord from Malibu, she treats the actual tenants in Los Angeles with nothing but contempt. Tenants were only granted a meeting with LAHD after multiple protests. In these meetings, Sewill was disrespectful, laughing as tenants told stories about their struggles, and making the case for Botz to continue owning the building, so he could pass it on to his children. Tenants left these meetings feeling belittled and betrayed. Ann Sewill even emailed the Chief of LAPD on behalf of Botz in response to tenants’ protests against the destruction of gardens they have tended for decades, and sent police to one of the organizers’ home during the Thanksgiving holidays.
In the 2022 elections, Los Angeles voters spoke up and demanded a City Hall that represents renters. We cannot continue with a Housing Department that serves landlords rather than tenants. The current leadership was put in place by a City Council that conspired to destroy renter power with gerrymandering and a mayor who was on record saying “in a good economy, homelessness goes up.”
We are at a crisis moment that LAHD helped create. Based on their recommendation the City’s eviction moratorium expired in February. If it were not for the County’s extension, eviction courts would already be full of people who have still not recovered financially from the pandemic. The “protections” they have advocated for are inadequate, and amount to a formalization of cash for keys. Landlords now have a roadmap for evicting poor tenants: raise the rent by more than 10%, and give them three months of “market rate” rent to go find an apartment. In April, organized renters around the city will be fighting tooth and nail to stay in their homes. Under Ann Sewill, LAHD has made it clear which side they are on.
Mayor Karen Bass owes her election to renters who live in this city. If it were up to the landlords, Rick Caruso would be mayor. She has declared a state of emergency around homelessness. If she is serious about making sure Angelenos are “inside safe” she will appoint new leadership to LAHD that has the vision and courage to meet the moment.
United in Rage and Solidarity,
Hillside Villa Tenants Association
Vu/Fink Tenants Association
651 N Broadway Tenants Association
K3 Tenants Council
Grace Neighbors Tenants Union
Bartlett Hill Tenants Association
Cathay Manor Residents Council
Chinatown Community For Equitable Development
Los Angeles Tenants Union
District 10, and Residents at Woodlake