September 2020 – Kendall Brill & Kelly attorneys, serving in a pro bono capacity, worked with Inner City Law Center to secure a settlement of approximately $1.1 million with several corporate landlords and a former property manager who failed to provide habitable housing and tried to force low-income Latinx families out of an apartment building in a gentrifying neighborhood within walking distance of Silverlake and Echo Park.
The settlement provides compensation for the residents who have endured uninhabitable housing conditions and ensures the families can continue to live in the building. Built in 1926, the building is in a prized neighborhood because of its proximity to Los Angeles’ increasingly expensive northeast neighborhoods.
Under the Los Angeles Municipal Code, a landlord must provide housing that meets minimum habitability standards and follow strict procedures when seeking to relocate tenants to make improvements to a property. When the landlords failed to follow these rules, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the residents. KBK Attorneys Philip M. Kelly, Meaghan L. Lert and Shauna E. Woods represented the 20 tenants named in the lawsuit who live in seven units in the building.