LA City Council Puts Teeth in Law Against Tenant Harassment

Los Angeles will buttress its law protecting tenants from landlord harassment.

The City Council voted 12-0 to beef up the city’s anti-harassment ordinance after 13,000 complaints poured in the three years since the law was passed, with no prosecutions, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The city’s Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, approved in 2021, was trumpeted as a milestone for renters’ rights.

At a time of rapidly rising housing costs, the law was meant to protect tenants from being threatened or intimidated by landlords, a tactic advocates say can be used to push people out of rent-controlled homes.

While tenant advocates say the law is “toothless,” landlord advocates call the law one-sided — and said the city should also ban harassment by tenants toward landlords.

Some landlords have said they sometimes face harassment from upset renters, including when tenants and advocates protest in front of their homes.

“Until the city provides equal protection to all residents, people will continue to live in fear for their personal safety,” David Kaishchyan of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, told the council.

This week, the council directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would include several amendments to the TAHO law. They include redefining what constitutes harassment and imposing a minimum civil penalty of $2,000 per violation.

The expected passage of the new ordinance, with its added protections, was not disclosed.

The amendments are designed to create incentives for private attorneys to take on harassment cases, by introducing minimum penalties and requiring that tenants who win in court be awarded attorney’s fees.

They also redefine the meaning of harassment.

The original TAHO says harassment happens when landlords knowingly and willfully engage in conduct that causes detriment and harm and “serves no lawful purpose,” a standard advocates said was impossible to prove.

The changes would say harassment is “bad faith” conduct that causes tenants detriment or harm.

Tenant advocates filled the council chambers to call for the proposed amendments. Several renters broke down in tears about having been harassed by property owners.

“Today’s vote is an indication of how much renters matter to this council,” said Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who helped introduce changes to the law this year.

— Dana Bartholomew