The squeeze on rental housing

Re “Low pay, high rent, wit’s end,” Column One, Oct. 24

Although I am sympathetic to the plight of large families that find it difficult to find reasonably priced, spacious apartments, I am not sympathetic to the problems faced by illegal immigrants who face the same problem. If, in fact, L.A. has millions of illegal immigrants, that number is probably the paramount reason that rental rates are skyrocketing. They crowd out the legal residents, whose concerns should be your focus, and our city’s.

ELLEN BARRY

Los Angeles

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L.A. politicians and bureaucrats are probably happy that rents have jumped 82% in the last 10 years. As rents increase, the value of the property increases when it is sold, and the property tax goes up.

The Delta Street property is a good example of the large increase in the property tax. If the value went from $250,000 to $1.265 million, the tax money increased by about five times. This should make any politician happy.

JERRY BASURA

Arcadia

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This article’s focus was too narrow. By focusing only on the struggles of one illegal immigrant couple with a large family, you could potentially close the public’s ears to the fact that even people who were considered middle class 10 years ago are struggling in today’s housing market. Almost anyone making less than $40,000 a year is being squeezed out in virtually every area of the city and county, where affordable housing once was plentiful.

The article also fails to mention that by not fighting the eviction, although it was sugar-coated with a stipend to move, this couple will have their names permanently attached to an eviction, which will have a detrimental effect on finding housing in the future.

ERICA WASHINGTON

Hawthorne

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I was heartbroken not only by the Sanchez family’s situation but by the bad legal advice they received. Assuming 1616 Delta St. is a rent-controlled building, the tenants were wrongly advised about their legal rights, the landlord’s rights and their chances of success if they had chosen to not move.

L.A. city apartment buildings built before Oct. 1, 1978, are subject to rent control and prohibited from evicting a tenant except for legal cause, such as violations of the rental agreement. Effective May 2005, a building’s renovation no longer is grounds for eviction. A tenant has the legal right to choose temporary relocation at the landlord’s expense. By doing so, tenants retain the right to move back into their newly renovated home upon completion of the work. The landlord may then seek approval for a rental increase, which, if granted, cannot be greater than 10% spread over two years.

Certainly landlords should be encouraged to renovate buildings. However, renovation is not permitted as a pretext to evicting otherwise lawful, low-paying tenants.

PARIS COHEN

La Canada Flintridge

The writer is an attorney and property manager.