A report issued by the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Citizens’ Committee on Slum Housing revealed that more than 11% of the housing in Los Angeles (approximately 144,000 units) is substandard--without running water or heat or with dangerous wiring, rodent and vermin infestation and other serious health hazards. More than 200,000 children in Los Angeles are known to live in substandard housing, with substantial risk of exposure to potentially life-threatening lead paint poisoning and other hazards.

Only 52,379 affordable units currently exist in the city, and, as a result, hundreds of thousands of Angelenos live in substandard, overcrowded buildings. The problem will only get worse in the next five years, with the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) estimating that 51% of all affordable units will revert to market rates by 2010.

The situation is so dire that more than 200,000 people in Los Angeles live in garages.

For many years, Bet Tzedek has responded to these issues with programs dedicated to the amelioration of slum housing and the defense of wrongful evictions.

THE SYDNEY M. IRMAS HOUSING CONDITIONS PROJECT

The Sydney M. Irmas Housing Conditions Project is underwritten by a grant from the Irmas Family Foundation to help low-income families secure safe, affordable housing.

In 2001, the Irmas Project brought landmark litigation against one of the city’s most notorious landlords, one who had been prosecuted and convicted eight times of criminal slum violations--more than any other landlord in the city. The lawsuit was brought jointly with Bet Tzedek on behalf of tenants' rights group Inquilinos Unidos and was later joined by the Los Angeles City Attorney's office. The law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher served as pro bono counsel on the suit.

Under terms of the settlement, the landlord paid $1million to the City of Los Angeles to cover utility bills going back years for many buildings. The payment is one of the largest ever recovered by the City for past due payments. The landlord also paid $200,000 to Inquilinos Unidos and its attorneys at Bet Tzedek and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher for their legal work.

This case represented a landmark victory in the battle against landlords who subject their tenants to substandard health and safety conditions and set a significant precedent in the ability of tenants' groups to successfully prosecute owners attempting to hide behind a web of business identities.

Recently, Bet Tzedek attorneys helped to shape the Primary Renovation Ordinance, a new city law governing the fate of apartment residents during a building renovation. Prior to this ordinance, some landlords used construction work as an excuse to remove long-time tenants who paid below-market rents. After the construction work ended, the landlords re-rented the apartments at market rates to new tenants. Bet Tzedek attorneys participated in the Major Rehab Advisory Committee, a joint group of landlord and tenant advocates that set policies underlying the Ordinance, and consulted with the City on the drafting of the Ordinance and attendant regulations.

Annually, Bet Tzedek serves as counsel for 100 families who face illegal eviction from their apartments.  A full-time staff attorney, Cesar Noriega, provides expert advice, counsel and representation to residents who need our help.  Cesar and Bet Tzedek benefit from the assistance of numerous volunteers who work on individual eviction cases.

A recent UCLA study of evictions in Los Angeles highlights the importance of legal assistance in eviction cases.  In the study, all 150 tenants who defended themselves against evictions in court lost.  In Bet Tzedek's eviction defense work, our success rate is over 90%. Bet Tzedek accepts eviction cases on an individual basis, and screens all cases for merit.

About 900,000 children in the U.S. between the ages of one and five have elevated blood-lead levels, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.  Children under the age of six are at the highest risk for lead poisoning, which can cause serious harm to the brain, kidneys, nervous system and red blood cells.  A common cause of lead poisoning is lead-based paint, which was used in homes built before l978.  Many older buildings still contain a substantial lead hazard.

Margaret Chang began a two-year Skadden Fellowship in the Fall of 2004. Her project focus is children's health and housing.  Specifically, she:

• directly represents families whose homes contain lead hazards and families with lead-poisoned children;
• participates in housing and health committees comprised of city and county agencies, community organizers, and other advocates to enforce newly enacted lead laws;
• assists in the implementation of a City of Los Angeles temporary relocation program whereby landlords must temporarily relocate tenants to do primary renovation work if, among other things, tenants are exposed to lead, asbestos, or other toxic hazards at any time;
• engages in legislative advocacy of children’s health issues such as enforcing lead screening in children.