Balance Profit, Affordability

Given the evidence, Evette Awadalla belongs in jail--or perhaps in one of the five Glendale bungalows she keeps in such deplorable condition. As the first Glendale landlord ever sent to jail for building code violations, Awadalla should serve as a reminder to landlords throughout Los Angeles County that their obligations run deeper than simply collecting rent checks.

At the same time, though, Awadalla’s case highlights the difficulty in striking a balance between housing that is affordable and housing that is safe, clean and returns a fair profit to its owners. Particularly as the real estate market emerges from its eight-year doldrums and rents start to tick upward, the need for an aggressive, cooperative approach to affordable housing grows.

In the city of Los Angeles alone, there are more than 150,000 substandard apartments. Awadalla’s bungalows provide a glimpse at what many are like: cracked siding, broken plumbing, exposed wiring and cockroaches by the hundreds. No family deserves to live in conditions like that. Awadalla argues that she made the repairs ordered by city officials, but that tenants jammed into single-bedroom bungalows just kept messing things up.

Indeed, too many people living in spaces designed for singles or couples shortens the maintenance cycle. But their only choice is the street. Landlords who operate at the bottom end of the housing market have to expect that they will cater to the most vulnerable of the poor, tenants with the fewest options. Owning an apartment building is a business with no guarantee of financial success. Yet it is a business that comes with certain contractual, legal and moral obligations. So even if an investment turns sour, owners have a responsibility to honor the guarantee of safe housing to tenants who pay their rent. If they don’t, they rightly face lawsuits or jail.

That said, cities and counties shouldn’t be so eager to hold up bad landlords as villains unless they work diligently to alleviate the pressures that allow slumlords to stay in business. In addition to federal housing money, cities can work with private developers to integrate affordable housing into their projects--a solution that benefits builders, governments and most of all residents. As the San Fernando Valley’s housing stock begins to show its age, it’s time to start thinking about how to modernize it--or replace it--in a way that keeps it within reach of the poor and the middle class. Otherwise, cases like Awadalla’s will only become more common.

for pix slugged SLUM 3 (