Housing in MacArthur Park unregulated, leading to unfair living conditions

Listen to the full audio story

Download the MP3

Mac Arthur Park is the landing place for immigrants in Los Angeles. The area is attractive because the rent is cheap and the community is filled with Latin American amenities. But the community is also overpopulated, creating grim living conditions. While conditions decline, rent goes up, and families are forced to move back to their home countries or live with other families, causing overcrowding. The county says overcrowding is when more than two people share one room. But in this community, the average room crams more than four people.


The community's apartment buildings and houses are old, historic even, and some are deteriorating. While most renters call the landlord to fix something, some renters here are illegal immigrants, and they fear even notifying the landlord.


Daniel Morales is an advocate for tenants rights and has lived near MacArthur Park for more than 21 years. He is co-director of the group Collective Space and says some cases come from intimidation by the landlord or building manager.


"[They say] 'I'm going to call the police on you," Morales said. "I'm going to call the INS on you.' Some people get arrested because they call the manager and say, 'I need this fixed,'"


I visited an apartment complex with Ignacia Osorio, who works with Morales. She inspects buildings that tenants report to her organization. For this case, a woman invited us into her two-bedroom apartment. She asked to remain anonymous.


She showed us her kitchen sink that was leaking continuously, an almost unusable bathtub, a clogged sink, and mold growing above a shower. We peeked outside, where she says nobody cleans up.


As we walked through a hallway, I wondered how much responsibility lies on the owner. But then she pointed to window sills falling apart. She moved furniture to unveil huge holes in the walls. And throughout the apartment was two inches of exposed foundation.


Osorio tells her the building is inhabitable, and that she's going to write a letter to the landlord. If the owner doesn't respond to their requests, she'll help the woman file complaints with the housing authority.