Woman alleges harassment from landlord, claims he removed her toilet

Landlord takes toilet, running water from South LA tennant

A 72-year-old woman living in a converted garage in South Los Angeles says her landlord has taken her kitchen, her toilet and her running water.

LOS ANGELES - A woman who was evicted from her home alleges her landlord harassed her and removed her toilet.

Ana Elsa Hernandez, 72, has lived in her rented garage for seven years. The unit was previously cited as substandard by the LA City Housing Department.

The landlord has allegedly been looking to evict Hernandez for some time. He recently removed the toilet and shower, reportedly to upgrade the unit so it can pass city inspection. The door that used to lead to her bathroom was blocked off six days ago, she said. Hernandez says she is being denied essential services and is being forced to walk to a local laundromat instead.

She said her landlord took out her kitchen, so she has been washing her dishes and cleaning herself in a metal container. She also said there has never been air conditioning. But at least with a small bathroom, shared by people living in two other converted garages, the street vendor from El Salvador was able to afford the $525 monthly rent for her home.

The property owner, identified in the payment slips as Rodolfo Villa, owns several properties in Los Angeles. FOX 11 left messages at a number listed for him and at several of properties listed as owned by Villa.

Also trying to find him are members of the grassroots organization ACCE, or Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment-Los Angeles. They say Hernandez's story is one of many similar cases where landlords, not wanting to deal with court hassles and costs added by the eviction moratorium still in effect in Los Angeles, will do things like remove toilets and force tenants to leave, even if they are entitled to relocations fees, for example.

Hernandez says Villa wanted to evict her because he wanted more money for her place, and though she was "too old "and didn’t want to deal with her "dying in his place." Other tenants in the building, who didn't want to speak on camera, tell us that LA's Housing Authority had already seen where Ana lived, and cited it. ACCE’s Sergio Vargas adds that tenants have complained to the office about living conditions but the agency has to follow up with the City Attorney to try to "prosecute these inhumane landlords".

We reached out to the City Attorney about this property and landlord, to which they responded

"Our office has not been referred any cases, but stand ready to review any referrals and take appropriate action including possible prosecution. Our office can only act pursuant to referrals following investigations"

The Los Angeles Housing Department says they visited the property last week. They sent the following statement to FOX 11, "For 1171 East 43rd place, Los Angeles, LAHD's Tenant Relocation Inspection Program (TRIP) staff conducted a site visit on Friday, July 29, 2022. The inspection determined the need for the tenant to be relocated. We are urgently working on the relocation process to assist the tenant, including working on enlisting the landlord's cooperation. LAHD staff understands the urgency and is moving as swiftly as possible to address the situation."