People's Declaration on the Human Right to Housing

Whereas, the United States is the world’s wealthiest nation and largest economy;

Whereas, the United States continues to bail-out banks and subsidize corporations while many Americans struggle to survive;

Whereas, the United States commits excessive resources to military activities at home and abroad, while failing to launch a comprehensive or effective war against poverty;

Whereas, the City of Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the U.S, with the third largest urban economy in the world;

Whereas, Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the nation, suffers from an acute affordable housing crisis, and reflects a huge divide between living standards for wealthy and poor residents;

Whereas, Los Angeles’ poor residents continue to bear the brunt of failed housing policies that promote gentrification and lead to displacement and homelessness, including the removal of public housing stock;

Whereas, Los Angeles policy makers’ current solution to homelessness and poverty is primarily criminalization, instead of preservation and expansion of decent, safe, and affordable housing;

Whereas, these failed policies only exacerbate poverty and homelessness, destroy communities,and manifest policy makers’ inability to ensure the right to safe, decent and affordable housing for all Angelinos;

Whereas, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing recently visited the United States and Los Angeles and recommended, an immediate moratorium on the demolition and disposition of public housing, ending the criminalization of homelessness, and re-examining income thresholds so that affordable housing is actually accessible;

Whereas, residents and workers of Los Angeles, standing in solidarity with our allies across the world, proclaim that quality, affordable, healthy housing is a human right.

We call upon ourselves and our government to include the following principles in all policies and practices:
1. Preserve, improve and expand public housing as a public resource owned and operated by the government
2. Preserve all existing housing at affordable rents, including rent-stabilized, subsidized, and other housing in order to prevent displacement
3. Create “affordable housing” that is affordable to those most in need and end the sole reliance on region-wide Area Median Income standards that don’t reflect the reality of low-income neighborhoods
4. End all criminalization of homelessness and poverty
5. Create and enforce permanent protections for renters that prevent displacement
6. Ensure that all housing is safe and healthy
7. Create and enforce mechanisms to improve the participation and influence of affected tenants in any planning, decision-making, or policy-making processes
8. Ensure that housing is not a mechanism for profit but is rather a human right and the foundation of communities.

UN Report Based Policy Recommendations for Los Angeles City Council Implementation[1]

1. Preserve, improve and expand public housing as a public resource owned and operated by the government.

a.   The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Adequate Housing recommends that, given the crisis of affordable housing, an immediate moratorium is required on the demolition and disposition of public housing until such time as one-for-one replacement housing is secured, and the right to return is guaranteed to all residents. Housing should be made available for displaced residents before any unit is demolished. (87)

          b.   Based on this recommendation and our own experiences, we recommend:

·        Oppose the plans for the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles to dispose of public housing in 2010.  We urge all policymakers to STOP the June 2010 applications to dispose of three large public housing projects:  Estrada Courts, 414 units; Pueblo Del Rio, 660 units; and San Fernando Gardens, 448 units. This represents a loss of almost 25% of Los Angeles's public housing, our only permanently affordable housing stock.                          

(FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund)

·        Oppose the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed Transformation of Rental Assistance, which would transfer public housing into the Project–Based Section 8 program -- currently a time-limited, largely privately-owned housing program.         

(FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund)

·        Create federal and local policies and programs that increase funding for the effective operation and improvement of public housing, without removing public ownership or any tenant protections.

·        Expand the federal public housing program to restore units lost over the past two decades and restore public housing as a sufficient contribution to realizing the human right to housing in Los Angeles and the country.

2. Preserve all existing housing at affordable rents, including rent-stabilized, subsidized, and other housing in order to prevent displacement;

a.   The UN Special Rapporteur's report emphasizes the need for maintaining affordability in the face of governmental cuts to low-income housing assistance policies and programs (21). With many communities facing the displacement pressures of gentrification, the Rapporteur recommends legislation to safeguard affordable housing in these areas (42). She also acknowledges the Government’s efforts to maintain a safe environment within subsidized housing developments but suggests that zero tolerance policies are not an answer for achieving this aim and calls for the Government to commit resources to determine the real effects of such policies on families, particularly minority families, and reform these policies (101).

b.   Based on this recommendation and our own experiences, we recommend:

·        Amend the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance to remove the annual minimum rent increase, which unreasonably allows for rent increases that are not justified by the CPI, and prohibit the extra increase for utilities that unjustly burdens the poorest Angelinos.                           

(FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund)

·        Abolish federal and local punitive rules for Section 8 recipients that lead to displacement and prevent homeless individuals from being housed.                                                       (FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund)

·        Pass a City Council resolution and actively work to change State legislation to amend California’s Costa Hawkins Act to allow units at least 20 years old to be included under the Rent Stabilization Ordinance.                                                                                     

(FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund)

·        Enact a preservation ordinance with a no-net-loss policy that protects existing housing from demolition, conversion, expiring use and condominium conversion with addition mechanisms to ensures one-for-one replacement for any lost units since 1995 based on affordability.

·        Coordinate the Sheriff and Police Departments to cease the enforcement of lock outs, evictions and other practices like the 28-day shuffle that force instability and homelessness.

3. Create “affordable housing” that is affordable to those most in need and end the sole reliance on region-wide Area Median Income standards that don’t reflect the reality of low-income neighborhoods

a.  The UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Adequate Housing recommends that: In some cases the geographic area used to define the area median income should be re-examined, so that income threshold criteria actually lead to access to affordable housing (89); and empty foreclosed properties should be made available using incentives for the sale of the property to non-profit organizations or community land trusts, in order to increase the stock of affordable housing (93).

b.   Based on this recommendation and our own experiences, we recommend:

·        Enact a policy in Los Angeles that utilizes neighborhood-specific area median incomes that is caped at the city-wide AMI when developing affordable housing and rent levels.             

·        Enact planning mechanisms to fulfill the obligations in the Housing Element to build enough affordable housing to meet the need.

·        Rehabilitate all vacant housing immediately and open it to residents in need of housing.

4. End all criminalization of homelessness and poverty

a.  The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that homeless people need access to affordable housing; the lack of it is the main cause of homelessness. Many cities that do not provide enough affordable housing and shelters are resorting to the criminal justice system to punish people living on the streets. Some of the measures adopted include prohibition of sleeping, camping, eating, sitting, and/or begging in public spaces and include criminal penalties for violation of these laws (56).  She recommends develop constructive alternatives to the criminalization of homelessness in full consultation with members of civil society. When shelter is not available in the locality, homeless persons should be allowed to shelter themselves in public areas (95).

b.   Based on this recommendation and our own experiences, we recommend:

·        Immediate cessation of all local “Safer Cities Initiatives”, especially the longest-standing and most resource intensive program in downtown Los Angeles.                                    
          (FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund; reduces LAPD costs)

·        Implement Special Order 40 to stop LAPD’s assistance in the deportation/criminalization of undocumented families and workers.

·        Pass a City Council resolution to urge the Police Commission to reinstate racial profiling as a category of complaint and eliminate the racial and economic biases found in the LAPD.         (FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund)

5. Create and enforce permanent protections for renters that prevent displacement

a.  The Special Rapporteur recommends that: Empty foreclosed properties should be made available using incentives for the sale of the property to non-profit organizations or community land trusts, in order to increase the stock of affordable housing (93); and tenant protection legislation should be further strengthened for renters of foreclosed properties (92).

b.  Based on these recommendations and our own experiences, we recommend:

·              Divest from banks that illegally displace tenants                                                 (FISCAL IMPACT: There is no impact to the City’s General Fund)

·              Prosecute banks that violate local, state and federal ordinances regarding tenant protections.

    

6. Ensure that all housing is safe and healthy

a.  The link between housing and health was stressed to the Special Rapporteur throughout her visit. Poor housing conditions expose residents – especially children – to a health hazards that reduce life chances and expectancy. Many residents with whom the Special Rapporteur spoke reported asthma, attributed to mold from the poor by landlords of housing units (37).

b. Based on these recommendations and our own experiences, we recommend:

·              Prosecute landlords who expose tenants to unhealthy, unsafe conditions that impact their physical and mental health.

·              Create a program and funding for community inspectors’ team that trains residents on the inspection process and also monitors the City’s inspectors for quality control similar to the current REAP contractor program, but for the SCEP program.

·              Define and enforce a high standard for quality repairs, so as to end superficial repairs that have led to detrimental health and safety impacts on tenants.

·              Modify LARSO to include bedbugs and structural problems that cause mold and other asthma triggers as LAHD code enforcement violations. This move ensures that enforcement of habitability standards are under the purview of one regulatory agency moving beyond the County’s inadequate Department of Public Health for enforcement.

·              Expand the Primary Renovation Ordinance to all rental housing, and ensure that the program has adequate resources to monitor renovations

7. Create and enforce mechanisms to improve the participation and influence of affected tenants in any planning, decision-making, or policy-making processes

a.  The Special Rapporteur recommends that: residents of public housing should have direct, active and effective participation in the planning and decision-making process affecting their access to housing. Residents should be seen as essential partners working alongside the Government in transforming public housing (105); and the Government should create mechanisms to improve the participation of affected tenants in planning and decision-making processes. Residents’ councils should be directly elected by residents and not appointed by housing agencies (106).

b.  Based on these recommendations and our own experiences, we recommend:

·              Implement participatory planning polices that go beyond focus groups that entail transparency and real decision-making authority for community residents.

·              Enact policies that give residents control over land use decisions whereby decision making bodies and public input processes reflect those directly impacted in the community.

·              Amend the policies for Public Notices to expand their distribution and visibility as current practices deny access to decisions that directly impact communities.

·              Oppose the current, local disposition plans for three public housing developments. Ensure that any future decision making around public housing includes full resident participation, instead of notification after the applications are approved.

8. Ensure that housing is not a mechanism for profit but is rather a human right and the foundation of communities.

a.  The Special Rapporteur documented that housing is not simply about bricks and mortar, nor is it simply a financial asset. Housing includes a sense of community, trust and bonds built between neighbors over time; the schools which educate the children; and the businesses which support the local economy and provide needed goods and services. Government policy has resulted in tearing apart this important sense of community, removing a source of stability for subsidized housing residents, and engendering a sense of mistrust of Government regard for their interests (81).

b.  Based on these recommendations and our own experiences, we recommend:

·              Enact anti-speculation regulations that limit the use of housing as a commodity such as predatory buying or flipping as well as landlords who divest and dump affordable buildings for profit.

·              Prosecute landlords who illegally raise rents, harass, evict or otherwise gouge tenants.

·               Enact regulations that ensure “absentee landlords” can be easily found and held accountable for their obligations.

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[1]  Citations note the paragraph number in Special Rapporteur's 2010 report to the UN Human Rights Council.   Access here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/13session/A.HRC.13.20.Add.4_AEV.pdf