No human being should be subjected to unsafe and harmful living conditions. When my office learned of several landlords profiting from deplorable housing situations, we knew we had to bring them to justice.
We recently brought two legal actions based on numerous violations of local and state laws that created “horror story” conditions. If you have a minute to learn more, please read this San Francisco Chronicle article.
Our first lawsuit was filed against a landlord in the Tenderloin who has been running the single room occupancy (SRO) Marathon Hotel. This slumlord ignored numerous health and safety laws, with violations including pest and rodent infestations, inoperative bathrooms, dangerous stairs, damaged doors, broken windows, lack of smoke detectors, insufficient heat, and malfunctioning appliances.
The second lawsuit was filed against two operators in the Ingleside neighborhood, who were renting out commercial and storage units and unlawfully advertising them as living quarters. They were charging thousands of dollars a month for commercial spaces and windowless basement units that are completely unfit to serve as housing. The landlords specifically targeted immigrants with limited English proficiency, subjecting them to extremely unsafe conditions.
It is the height of greed to profit off of conditions that put tenants in harm’s way. Under the law, all San Franciscans have a right to livable and safe conditions, regardless of immigration status, language spoken, race, income, or neighborhood.
I also want to remind our renters that while California’s eviction moratorium expired this month, San Francisco’s still remains in effect. Here’s a link to our city’s rent relief resources.
Cases like these are why I became a lawyer—to fight for those who are being taken advantage of. It’s time to make things right for our neighbors.
I’ll keep you updated on these cases as we move through the legal process and bring these slumlords to justice.