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General advice for tenants in crisis
Tenants everywhere are exploited and mistreated by their landlords. Landlords refuse to make repairs and subject tenants to black mold, roaches and rats; they harass tenants with illegal threats and lies in order to push them out of their homes and profit; they raise the rent as much as they can, even if it means making their tenants homeless.
Landlords get away with all of this because they have more money and more power, and because tenants are disorganized. City and county agencies don’t do much to enforce laws against landlords. Suing a landlord can take years and be exhausting and demoralizing. And some of the worst landlord behavior is legal.
If your landlord is treating everyone in your building badly, and you are interested in fighting back together, we encourage you to join the union and form a tenants’ association.
If your issue is more individual, and you don’t want to join the union and commit to organizing with your neighbors, we can’t help you beyond this website. We are not lawyers or a social services agency. Landlords will keep winning as long as tenants keep acting alone.
Here is some general advice:
- Don’t let your landlord pressure you to make decisions quickly. You NEVER have to sign something you don’t understand. Tell them, “I am under no legal obligation to sign this and I need time to learn my rights and get advice.”
- Landlords and their employees lie to tenants all the time. Sometimes they don’t know or even understand the law. Communicate with your landlord only in writing–by email, letter (that you take pictures of), or text. They may lie to you in a conversation, but they are less likely to lie to you in writing. You want to have proof of what they told you.
I'm facing eviction
The eviction process can be long and complicated, but some kinds of eviction paperwork need to be responded to very quickly. Here are resources where there are workshops specifically about the eviction process:
StayHoused L.A.
Tenant Power Toolkit
Eviction Defense Network
The most important thing to know is that if you get a Summons & Complaint, you need to file an answer within five days. You can do that using the Tenant Power Toolkit, either on the website or at an in-person workshop. If you don’t, you can automatically lose your case.
My landlord is pressuring me to move out
Is your landlord offering you money to move out of your rent-stabilized apartment? We generally say DO NOT ACCEPT CASH FOR KEYS! Landlords lie to tenants and pressure them to leave their rent-stabilized homes so they can re-rent the apartments for more money.
Here is our flyer on cash-for-keys. Before you consider accepting, look around for other apartments you can afford. The short answer is, just say no.
Contact the union if your building is facing cash-for-keys harassment. Landlords often target the most vulnerable tenants (tenants who are elderly or who don’t speak English). They threaten tenants, lie to tenants, and tell them to keep everything confidential to prevent them from getting information about their rights or talking to their neighbors. You should knock on the doors of all your neighbors and tell them that they have rights and that you will help them fight to stay in their homes. Even if you want to move out, your knocking on a neighbor’s door to share contact info for LATU could prevent them your neighbor from becoming homeless.
Articles on cash for keys:
‘Relocating’ rent-controlled tenants in LA is a lucrative business
My landlord won't make repairs
Landlords are required by state law to provide habitable premises. That means everything works, no mold, no pests. If you think something needs repair you’re almost certainly legally entitled to that repair. Landlords can’t charge you for repairs except in very unusual circumstances. Notify your landlord in writing whenever you need a repair; that way, you have proof. Take pictures and document the problem early and often. If your landlord won’t repair it, keep contacting them about it so you have a paper trail.
If that doesn’t work, you can file a complaint with the L.A. Housing Department using their online form (click “report a code violation”), by calling them at , or by visiting an in-person service counter. Then an inspector will call you to schedule an inspection and issue a Notice to Comply to the landlord.
For pests and mold, you need to file complaints with the L.A. County Department of Public Health (not the L.A. Housing Department). You can do that here or by calling (888) 700-9995.
If you are dealing with bad conditions, most likely your neighbors are too. Ask them about it and try to file complaints at the same time. You are more likely to get results that way.
You are entitled by law to “repair and deduct,” meaning pay for repairs yourself and then deduct the costs from the rent. You are also entitled to withhold rent if the landlord will not make repairs. Withholding rent can be risky. If you are considering this tactic outside of an organizing context, you should seek legal help.
My landlord is harassing me
Landlord harassment is very common, especially when landlords are trying to sell a home for as much money as possible, demolish homes for redevelopment, or clear out a building of rent-stabilized tenants to re-rent to new, market-rate tenants.
Tenant harassment is ILLEGAL. Los Angeles passed a Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance in 2019 and in 2024 passed a strengthened version.
If your landlord is harassing you, file a harassment complaint with LAHD by using their online form here, by calling them at 1-866-557-7368, or by visiting an in-person service counter.
Filing a complaint with LAHD (the Housing Department) will not make the harassment stop. 13,000 complaints led to four fines. The Housing Department will send a letter to your landlord telling them that harassment is illegal and telling them that tenants may sue landlords for harassment. But filing a complaint to start a paper trail is a good idea.
To actually make the harassment stop, tenants need to organize. Join the union.
Is this rent increase legal?
To know whether a rent increase is legal, you need to know what protections apply to your apartment. Is your apartment covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance? Is it covered by the 2019 Tenant Protection Act? Both of those limit how much the landlord can raise the rent.
For apartments protected by the RSO: Between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, landlords can raise the rent 4% in rent-stabilized apartments, plus an additional 1% if they pay for gas and 1% if they pay for electricity. They can also sometimes raise the rent 10% for “additional occupants” but that can get complicated. You can file an illegal rent increase complaint with LAHD. More information is available here.
For apartments protected by the Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) but not the RSO: For L.A. County, through July 31, 2025, landlords are permitted to raise the rent up to 8.9 percent. More information is available here.
The rent is too high. We need lower rents and stronger rent control. We can win that only by building a strong political movement.
I want to break my lease
Here is information from Tenants Together on breaking a lease.
I have a conflict with my neighbors
The L.A. Tenants Union does not have the ability to help tenants mediate conflicts with their neighbors unless you are in an organized tenants’ association that is part of the union and that has a broader goal.
If you have a conflict with your neighbor, we recommend that you first try to speak to your neighbor directly. If they don’t respond, you can try to speak to other tenants and approach them as a group.
If the issue is very serious and cannot be resolved amicably, and you report the neighbor to the manager or landlord, your neighbor could face eviction. As a tenants’ union, we believe every eviction is wrong, and we never help tenants get other tenants evicted.
My landlord is trying to collect rent debt
If your landlord (or former landlord) is trying to collect rent debt from COVID through a court process other than an eviction, there are some resources here from the Tenant Power Toolkit and the Debt Collective.
My landlord won't return my security deposit
Here is information from Tenants Together on getting a security deposit back.
Here is information from the L.A. Law Library on how to sue your landlord in small claims court if they refuse to return your deposit.
