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TENANTS’ RIGHTS - The Theosophical Society is a global organization that was founded in the 1875 to promote the “Universal Brotherhood of Humanity”. Believing that “Truth should be sought by study, by reflection, by purity of life, by devotion to high ideas”, in the second decade of the 20th century the American branch of the Theosophical Society went looking for a place where they could pursue their research in peace and tranquility. They concluded that Hollywood was the ideal location, and set about building a rambling campus in the hills composed of the Krotona Inn, office spaces, a science building and a temple.
But after about ten years, possibly for a variety of reasons, the Theosophical Society sold the Krotona campus and moved to Ojai. After they left, the campus basically became a hunk of real estate to be bought and sold on the open market. The Krotona Inn became the Krotona Apartments. The temple was converted to dwelling spaces. Additional units were created over time.
While the Theosophists wanted to create a utopian society based on their vision of universal brotherhood, the current owner doesn’t share their high ideals. The various buildings that make up the campus are all showing signs of age as most of them are now over 100 years old. Unfortunately, they’re not being maintained properly. In some cases, they don’t even meet the criteria for habitability used by the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD). A February 15, 2023 notice sent by the Department to the owner states that, "An inspection of the premises has revealed conditions that affect the health and safety of the occupants [....]" The most serious violation LAHD found was "Failure to provide and maintain the required permanently wired, with battery back-up, smoke detectors at all sleeping rooms, and areas adjacent to sleeping rooms." Beyond that, LAHD also said the owner had failed to properly install or maintain required lighting fixtures, failed to provide heaters for the units, failed to maintain required weatherproofing, and failed to maintain required door and window screens.
Like most tenants in rent-stabilized units, the inhabitants of the Krotona have been willing to accept some problems in exchange for the relatively low rents they’re paying. But in recent years the problems have continued to grow, and the owner apparently isn’t willing to make even basic repairs. Back in July, I was contacted by Mary Gent, one of the tenants, whose frustration had hit the boiling point. She was exasperated with the owner’s refusal to fix the problems in her unit. She was exhausted by her efforts to get help from the City of LA. And she was stressed to the max because the owner had threatened to evict her.
Mary had contacted Councilmember Nithya Raman’s office, and at first the response was great. One of Raman’s staffers explained the steps she needed to take and helped talk her through the process. But that staffer left for another position, and according to Mary, the person taking over has been less than helpful. And the situation is getting worse.
Last week I went to visit Mary and another tenant. The other tenant asked that their name not be used due to the state of things with the owner. They invited me into their apartments, where I observed sketchy electrical work, crumbling weatherproofing, a missing windowpane, floors taped to keep out drafts and insects, and one place where the floorboards were rotting. I didn’t check for smoke detectors, but aside from that, it didn’t look like the violations cited in LAHD’s February notice had been addressed. Eight months later, the tenants are still dealing with the same problems.
And aside from habitability problems, the other tenant told me about a disturbing encounter they’d recently had with the owner. They had been at home one afternoon when the owner knocked on the door to inform the tenant that they were going to be evicted for non-payment of rent. Flabbergasted, the tenant responded that they were completely current on rent and that the most recent check had been cashed. The owner brushed this aside, repeated the eviction threat, and left. The tenant followed him down to the office where the woman who keeps the books was able to confirm that the tenant was, indeed, current on their rent.
Mary has been threatened with eviction, too. Both feel that the owner wants to get rid of them because they’ve drawn the City’s attention to the numerous problems with the buildings. Whether the owner can legally kick them out is questionable, but you can imagine the stress a tenant feels knowing that their landlord wants to put them out of their home. Mary and the other tenant aren’t the only ones who are raising these issues. Two other tenants have filed complaints with LAHD. At some point a General Manager’s hearing will be scheduled to see what action the Department will take. Mary is hoping the City will place the property in the Rent Escrow Account Program (REAP), which would allow the tenants to pay reduced rent until the habitability issues are taken care of. But the General Manager’s hearing hasn’t been scheduled yet, and they don’t know when it will happen.
Meanwhile, weather forecasters are predicting a wet winter for LA. Mary and the other tenant both recall when they had water seeping into their apartments during last winter’s rains. Heaters still haven’t been installed. Mary’s door is still taped over where the windowpane is missing.
It’s clear that the Mayor and the City Council are trying to address homelessness, and that’s great. But the best way to stop homelessness is to keep people from losing the homes they have. The owner of the Krotona apparently doesn’t want to deal with basic health and safety issues, and he’s threatening to evict tenants who complain. These people need help. When are they going to get it?
(Casey Maddren is President of United Neighborhoods for Los Angeles (UN4LA [www.un4la.com]), and a CityWatch contributor.)
