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<v Speaker 1>Hey, dear listener, it's Maria no Hossam. So today we're

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<v Speaker 1>going to bring you a story about people who live

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<v Speaker 1>together and how they organize together. This is from a

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<v Speaker 1>series called The Tenant Association, produced by Los Angeles Public Press.

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<v Speaker 1>It tells the story of a group of neighbors, many

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<v Speaker 1>of them Latinos and Latinas, living in an apartment complex

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<v Speaker 1>in LA's Chinatown. It's called Hillside Villa. The series follows

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<v Speaker 1>these working class neighbors in their fight against their landlord,

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<v Speaker 1>who dramatically raises their rent in what looks like a

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<v Speaker 1>strategy to evict them. It's a fight that extended over

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<v Speaker 1>six long years. Here's the first episode of The Tenant Association.

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<v Speaker 2>We're in the courtyard of an apartment building on a

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<v Speaker 2>hill at the top of Chinatown.

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<v Speaker 1>We have one more thing we need to do.

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<v Speaker 3>Can we have every buddy who's gotten a three day

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<v Speaker 3>notice come up?

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<v Speaker 2>The courtyard is full of people from all over LA.

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<v Speaker 2>People walk up to a small stone picnic table in

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<v Speaker 2>the middle of the crowd. They're young and old, Latino

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<v Speaker 2>and Chinese, and then one by one they light their

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<v Speaker 2>eviction notices on fire.

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<v Speaker 1>You may be wondering why We have a picture of

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<v Speaker 1>this guy over here.

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<v Speaker 4>Why he has an.

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<v Speaker 5>Orange in front of him, and why there's a little

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<v Speaker 5>kettle here. Jenny's gonna let you know.

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<v Speaker 2>There's a red stool set up with a close up

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<v Speaker 2>photo of this man who looks like he's in pain.

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<v Speaker 2>It's like he's trying to smile but doesn't know how.

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<v Speaker 2>It looks more like a grimace. That's Tom Bots, the landlord.

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<v Speaker 2>The people burning their notices are his tenants. The tenants

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<v Speaker 2>have set up this whole little ceremony for Bots as

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<v Speaker 2>though he's dead, even though he's not. And to be clear,

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<v Speaker 2>the tenants aren't saying they want him dead. This is

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<v Speaker 2>a symbolic thing.

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<v Speaker 6>Here's Jenny explaining, in Chinese tradition, when people pass away,

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<v Speaker 6>we burn paper money, and since if Tom wants his money,

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<v Speaker 6>if Tom wants his money, he can have.

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<v Speaker 7>That's why.

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<v Speaker 2>It's funny, because usually you burn money to give it

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<v Speaker 2>to your ancestors in the afterlife, and the orange on

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<v Speaker 2>the stool is also for good fortune. So doing a

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<v Speaker 2>ceremony like this it's supposed to be an act of love.

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<v Speaker 2>So the tenants drop their burning eviction notices into a

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<v Speaker 2>red metal can basically saying, we're not afraid of you.

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<v Speaker 2>You can get our money in the afterlife.

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<v Speaker 4>But what's that we're playing now?

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<v Speaker 8>We're going to fight, fight, fight fight.

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<v Speaker 2>It feels like you have no, no, no power when

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<v Speaker 2>you're a tenant in LA. Doing anything that might piss

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<v Speaker 2>off your landlord feels really scary because they can just

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<v Speaker 2>decide to evict you for basically no reason. But this

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<v Speaker 2>group of tenants rejected that. They realized how much power

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<v Speaker 2>they had together. They weren't season activists or public figures.

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<v Speaker 2>They were just neighbors. But together they built a movement

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<v Speaker 2>that changed what we think is possible for tenants in LA.

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<v Speaker 2>They shined a light on a crisis affecting over a

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<v Speaker 2>million tenants just like them all across the country. The

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<v Speaker 2>Hillside Bill Attendants have been fighting their landlord for six

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<v Speaker 2>years and they're not done. I'm here to tell you

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<v Speaker 2>about a landlord who raised the rents on his tenants

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<v Speaker 2>by hundreds, even thousands of dollars as soon as he

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<v Speaker 2>thought he could get away with it. I'm here to

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<v Speaker 2>tell you about the progressive politicians who promised to help

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<v Speaker 2>the tenants but turn their on them instead. I'm here

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<v Speaker 2>to tell you about the Hillside Villa Tenant Association. Over

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<v Speaker 2>the next four episodes, I'm going to tell you how

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<v Speaker 2>the Hillside Villa tenants are organized to save their homes

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<v Speaker 2>and how they showed La what a powerful tenant movement

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<v Speaker 2>looks like. This is the Tenant Association The Story of

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<v Speaker 2>Hillside Villa, a Los Angeles Public Press podcast. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 2>Phoenix Though, and this is episode one, a ticking time Bomb.

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<v Speaker 2>The first thing you hear when you walk up to

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<v Speaker 2>Hillside Villa are little chirpy birds. I think they're parakeets.

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<v Speaker 2>They're on someone's balcony facing hill Place, in a couple

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<v Speaker 2>big cages. They're colorful and loud. And then if you

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<v Speaker 2>walk through the lobby and out towards the courtyard, you'll

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<v Speaker 2>probably hear this. The courtyard of Hillside Villa has been

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of things, a community garden, a gathering place,

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<v Speaker 2>a communal backyard, and for many years, a makeshift playground.

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<v Speaker 2>It was part of why Hillside Villa was such a

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<v Speaker 2>nice place to live for so many years, especially if

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<v Speaker 2>you're trying to raise a family there, like Monica.

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<v Speaker 9>Ruivez, Monica Luis. You'll think.

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<v Speaker 2>Hill Sevilla Monica has lived at Hillside Villa for twenty

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<v Speaker 2>five years. She used to throw her kids' birthday parties

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<v Speaker 2>in the courtyard, even her daughter's king signeras they invite

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<v Speaker 2>the neighbors.

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<v Speaker 9>Yes, also.

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<v Speaker 10>Coma de quince patio inmos Alos Besino's Jos Beni.

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<v Speaker 2>Everything was peaceful. We've spoken to a bunch of tenants

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<v Speaker 2>who have similar stories about Hillside Villa in its early days.

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<v Speaker 2>Back then the building was new and clean and the

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<v Speaker 2>neighborhood was quiet. Because of the courtyard and the way

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<v Speaker 2>the building was built, Hillside Villa was ideal for families.

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<v Speaker 2>Annie Shaw, who organizes with the tenants, pointed that out

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<v Speaker 2>to me.

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<v Speaker 5>And you can see that even with the way it's designed,

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<v Speaker 5>you know. And if you see the architecture of the building,

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<v Speaker 5>the balconies face out word and in word in a courtyard,

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<v Speaker 5>and the balconies are social spaces, you know. There used

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<v Speaker 5>to be even playground toys and like I think, a

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<v Speaker 5>barbecue pit.

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<v Speaker 2>These days it's hard to find an apartment that's big

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<v Speaker 2>enough for a family and that isn't expensive. But Hillside

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<v Speaker 2>Villa has a lot of these tenants have raised their

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<v Speaker 2>children and grandchildren in these apartments cared for their elderly parents.

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<v Speaker 2>Here they work as cleaners, construction workers, and food vendors.

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<v Speaker 2>Hillside Villa was built in nineteen eighty nine, when Chinatown

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<v Speaker 2>was mostly home to Latino and Asian immigrants, but the

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<v Speaker 2>neighborhood has changed a lot since then. New luxury apartments

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<v Speaker 2>have sprung up, and hip restaurants and galleries have moved

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<v Speaker 2>into empty storefronts or pushed out longtime businesses. Rents have skyrocketed,

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<v Speaker 2>and a lot of low income families have been forced

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<v Speaker 2>to leave. But it's different for Hillside Villa tenants. As

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<v Speaker 2>Chinatown became more and more expensive, their rents stayed relatively low,

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<v Speaker 2>which wasn't because their landlord was a good guy. It's

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<v Speaker 2>because he had to because the original owner built Hillside

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<v Speaker 2>Villa using public money. We'll explain more about that a

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<v Speaker 2>bit later in this episode. For now, what you need

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<v Speaker 2>to know is that for years the rent at Hillside

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<v Speaker 2>Villa was cheap until it wasn't.

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<v Speaker 9>This Hopefully you don't see me.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a good thing about audio. This is Mary Ramos.

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<v Speaker 2>She's lived at Hillside Villa for fifteen years. She lives

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<v Speaker 2>with her son in a two bedroom apartment. It was

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<v Speaker 2>really cold in the day. I met up with Mary

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<v Speaker 2>for an interview. We met in the courtyard and as

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<v Speaker 2>I set up the recording, she handed me some Filipino

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<v Speaker 2>and banadas wrapped in a napkin.

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<v Speaker 7>I'm here with Mary Ramos.

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<v Speaker 2>She made banadas so sweet. I don't know if you

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<v Speaker 2>can tell from the recording, but when I said that

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<v Speaker 2>into the mic that Mary had brought and banadas, she

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<v Speaker 2>smiled kind of sheepishly, like, Oh, it's no big deal,

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<v Speaker 2>like I'd put her in a spotlight. She wasn't expecting.

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<v Speaker 2>It was a small thing. But it kind of shows

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<v Speaker 2>what Mary's like. She's really warm and generous. Her instinct

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<v Speaker 2>is to feed people and make them feel welcome. Mary

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<v Speaker 2>isn't the type a person to take up a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of space.

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<v Speaker 8>I never I never, even when I was young, I

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<v Speaker 8>never speak. I'm quiet. That's the teaching of my mom.

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<v Speaker 8>And my mother said, you don't answer back to parents

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<v Speaker 8>or answer back to older people, and the most important

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<v Speaker 8>is respect respectful. So me, even I know my mom

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<v Speaker 8>is wrong, I just cry and go to my room.

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<v Speaker 8>That's it, because I cannot answer her back.

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<v Speaker 2>But there's another side to Mary that you might not

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<v Speaker 2>see right away quiet rage.

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<v Speaker 8>My attitude is the more I'm mad, the more I

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<v Speaker 8>don't talk. I will just keep quiet. That's why you

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<v Speaker 8>will get mad at me, because I'm not answering you back.

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<v Speaker 8>I don't. I just look at you and just that's it.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think Mary ever expected to become an activist.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't think she ever expected to be making a

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<v Speaker 2>speech outside the mayor's house or physically blocking a city

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<v Speaker 2>official from driving away from a protest. But then Tom

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<v Speaker 2>Botts tried to raise her rent. This is what we

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<v Speaker 2>know about Tom Botts, the landlord of Hillside Villa. He's

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<v Speaker 2>in his late sixties and has previously worked as a lawyer.

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<v Speaker 2>He was married to a woman named Renee Norikoman. They

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<v Speaker 2>have three adult children, Peter, Nolan and Chloe. I've interviewed

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<v Speaker 2>Tom Botts twice over the past couple years. Once he

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<v Speaker 2>called me back while I was getting lunch. That time

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<v Speaker 2>he was friendly, but it felt forced.

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<v Speaker 11>I'm all their favorite of the government subsidizing tenants who

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<v Speaker 11>legitimately need it. That's why we have all these Section

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<v Speaker 11>eight tenants. But what these tenants need to do is

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<v Speaker 11>they need to mobilize to say to get.

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<v Speaker 4>Get that substance, get those subsidies. We are not their enemies.

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<v Speaker 4>The city needs to step up.

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<v Speaker 2>The next time we spoke, he wasn't so friendly. He

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<v Speaker 2>seemed mad at me for the previous article i'd written.

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<v Speaker 2>I had interviewed a Section eight tenant who said a

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<v Speaker 2>majority of Bots's tenants can't afford his rent increases.

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<v Speaker 4>All I can do is point out the irony that

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<v Speaker 4>the CD is determining that she can't pay. And then

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<v Speaker 4>she says, well, but I can't. I think she's not paying,

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<v Speaker 4>So I think that ship be pointed out.

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<v Speaker 2>That's kind of what Tom Botts is like in my experience.

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<v Speaker 2>It seems like in his mind, he's the victim. By

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<v Speaker 2>the way, Tom Botts never responded to her repeated requests

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<v Speaker 2>for comment for this series. Anyway, if you look up

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<v Speaker 2>Thomas Botts and his various companies on the LA Superior

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<v Speaker 2>Court website, you'll find more than seventy eviction lawsuits that

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<v Speaker 2>he filed against his tenants. The evidence suggests that tom

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<v Speaker 2>Bo loves to file eviction lawsuits. Bots lives in a

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<v Speaker 2>mansion in Malibu, about thirty miles west of Hillside Villa,

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<v Speaker 2>and his former property manager Sonya Rodriguez used to go there.

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<v Speaker 7>She remembers the.

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<v Speaker 2>House being very big, two floors, a pool, a water fountain,

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<v Speaker 2>maybe a vienna. Sonya and her now ex husband managed

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<v Speaker 2>an apartment building that Bots owned in North Hollywood on

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<v Speaker 2>the edge of the San Fernando Valley. Bots would have

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<v Speaker 2>Sonya drive all the way to Malibu to drop off

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<v Speaker 2>rent checks. Here's my colleague Martine Massius translating go.

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<v Speaker 12>There because she would have to leave cash from the

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<v Speaker 12>tenants from the rent or if it was paiding checks.

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<v Speaker 12>You know, they would leave the checks. They would say,

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<v Speaker 12>who hasn't paid.

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<v Speaker 2>Sonya mainly did cleaning jobs for Bots the North Hollywood property,

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<v Speaker 2>even though she worked for him and was driving to

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<v Speaker 2>his house all the time. Sonya said Bots barely ever

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<v Speaker 2>spoke to her, except for sometimes he'd tell her she

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<v Speaker 2>did a good job cleaning the building. But Sonya also

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<v Speaker 2>stood up to Bots, like one day when Bots raised

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<v Speaker 2>rents on the North Hollywood tenants by seventy five dollars

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<v Speaker 2>instead of the usual twenty.

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<v Speaker 9>Five does.

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<v Speaker 13>Loss personas local persona.

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<v Speaker 11>Para.

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<v Speaker 2>Sonya worked for Bots, but she had a lot more

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<v Speaker 2>in common with the tenants of the building than she

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<v Speaker 2>did with him, she felt loyal to them. At the time.

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<v Speaker 2>Sonya also worked a night shift for a cleaning company.

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<v Speaker 2>She knew the tenants of the building had similar jobs

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<v Speaker 2>and that some were earning even less than she was.

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<v Speaker 2>She knew they couldn't afford the increase.

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<v Speaker 13>Pisa and Lance Yosa persona ra Mucco a ton said

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<v Speaker 13>persons persona.

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<v Speaker 2>The so Sonya told Bots she wouldn't hand out those notices.

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<v Speaker 2>She just couldn't.

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<v Speaker 7>Yes, Tarvej, here's Martine again translating, so you know.

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<v Speaker 12>That day where you know she confronted him. She said, like,

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<v Speaker 12>you know, I'm not gonna agree to giving this rent

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<v Speaker 12>increase out to people because you know, I have reason

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<v Speaker 12>to think that this is not right. But he said,

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<v Speaker 12>this is your job, like you have to do it.

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<v Speaker 2>Six months later, Bot sold the building. Sonya thinks this

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<v Speaker 2>was already in the works when he raised everyone's rent.

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<v Speaker 13>It's gone, is como ke non import lcentimiento de la persona.

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<v Speaker 2>Sonya's seen how Bots treats people over the years. She says,

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<v Speaker 2>it's like he doesn't know how to be grateful for

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<v Speaker 2>what he has. When Bots sold the North Hollywood apartment building,

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<v Speaker 2>Sonya suddenly had to look for new housing, and she

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<v Speaker 2>found it a two bedroom apartment at Hillside Villa. She

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<v Speaker 2>was safe for almost a decade. And then remember how

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<v Speaker 2>rents at Hillside Villa stayed low while the rest of

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<v Speaker 2>Chinatown gentrified. That was because when the original landlord constructed

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<v Speaker 2>the building, he signed a contract or covenant, agreeing to

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<v Speaker 2>keep rents low for the next thirty years because the

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<v Speaker 2>city gave him money to help build Hillside Villa. Lots

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<v Speaker 2>of cities signed deals like this with developers around this time.

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<v Speaker 2>It was the eighties and Reagan had decided that public

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<v Speaker 2>housing was bad and that the government shouldn't invest in

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<v Speaker 2>it anymore. So they came up with a very eighties idea,

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<v Speaker 2>give money to landlords to build affordable housing. They wanted

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<v Speaker 2>the market to take care of it. But thirty years

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<v Speaker 2>goes by fast, and by the way, we found that

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<v Speaker 2>there are close to a million apartments like this across

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<v Speaker 2>the country. We're going to get way more into that

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<v Speaker 2>in episode three. But this is a national crisis because

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<v Speaker 2>of course, as soon as these covenants expire, landlords are

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<v Speaker 2>trying to raise people's rents by as much as they

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<v Speaker 2>possibly can, which is how the system was designed to work.

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<v Speaker 2>Tom Boss was doing exactly what he was incentivized and

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<v Speaker 2>legally empowered to do, raising people's rents by over one

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<v Speaker 2>hundred percent, basically overnight. This is the problem with the

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<v Speaker 2>market providing affordable housing is that the market doesn't actually

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<v Speaker 2>want to provide affordable housing. The market wants housing to

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<v Speaker 2>make as much money as it possibly can. So what

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<v Speaker 2>Sonya and our neighbors didn't know is that there are

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<v Speaker 2>four rents were only temporary. The covenant protecting them would

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<v Speaker 2>one day expire. It was a taking time bomb. And

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<v Speaker 2>in twenty eighteen that bomb went off. Can you tell me, like,

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<v Speaker 2>what was it like, you know, getting informed of this

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<v Speaker 2>like covenant expiring and the rent increase.

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<v Speaker 8>Oh yeah, because the manager, the owner sent us a letter.

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<v Speaker 2>At first Mary said she got a letter that our

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<v Speaker 2>apartment wasn't low income anymore. And then she got another letter, but.

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<v Speaker 8>He didn't say how many percent, so usually we know

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<v Speaker 8>the percent is like five percent, likefty dollars or twenty dollars,

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<v Speaker 8>so we were not worried about it. And then he

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<v Speaker 8>sent another letter, and then the third letter was the

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<v Speaker 8>amount was there, which is at that time I was

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<v Speaker 8>already paying one thousand and four for the two bedrooms,

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<v Speaker 8>so he wants the rent to be two thousand, six

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<v Speaker 8>hundred and fifty. Oh God, so we are like, am

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<v Speaker 8>I paying two thousand, six hundred and fifty for a

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<v Speaker 8>two bedroom which is an old building and there's no amenities.

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<v Speaker 2>Mary later found the rent increased notice and sent it

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<v Speaker 2>to us. It was actually two thousand, four hundred and fifty,

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<v Speaker 2>not two thousand, six hundred and fifty, but still a

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<v Speaker 2>ton of money. Monica Luiz remembers a paper notice attached

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<v Speaker 2>to her door. Monica is a tenant who threw her

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<v Speaker 2>daughter's kinsens in the courtyard, and when she got that

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<v Speaker 2>rent increased notice, her first thought was her kids and

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<v Speaker 2>what would happen to them if they had to move.

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<v Speaker 9>So, you see.

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<v Speaker 10>Missijs vuela meaninga sai messia. I know you Knowue castellar Us,

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<v Speaker 10>Brendo mandarins a king Mandarin, Yes, Brenda josa pena la

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<v Speaker 10>mas pegna.

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<v Speaker 2>Anica didn't know where she'd go, especially with children who

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<v Speaker 2>are still in school. Her fifteen year old daughter was distraught.

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<v Speaker 2>She'd been taking Mandarin classes at Castellar Elementary in the

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<v Speaker 2>neighborhood since kindergarten. She didn't want to leave because she

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<v Speaker 2>was afraid she'd have to.

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<v Speaker 9>Stop mesia no no, no, pero pero si fu momento.

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<v Speaker 2>Monica reassured her daughter that they weren't going to have

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<v Speaker 2>to move, but she didn't know if that was true.

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<v Speaker 2>When the tenants of Hillside Villa talk about this day,

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<v Speaker 2>I always think about how isolating it feels to get

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<v Speaker 2>that kind of letter on your door. I once got

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<v Speaker 2>a sixty day notice and remember feeling so ashamed, like

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<v Speaker 2>how could I have let this happen? And where am

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<v Speaker 2>I supposed to live now? Even though as a housing

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<v Speaker 2>reporter I know that getting that kind of notice is

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<v Speaker 2>one of the most universal experiences in Los Angeles.

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<v Speaker 9>Soon after the.

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<v Speaker 2>Notices went out, Bots started pressuring the tenants to leave.

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<v Speaker 2>The pressure came from Madardo via Toro, the property manager,

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<v Speaker 2>and Chloe Bot's Tom's daughter. They came to the tenants

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<v Speaker 2>stores with cash for keys, offers money in exchange for

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<v Speaker 2>the tenants voluntarily moving out. By the way, we also

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<v Speaker 2>reached out to Madardo and Chloe for comment on the

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<v Speaker 2>cash for keys process, and neither got back to us

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<v Speaker 2>on that point. Anyway, these kinds of offers are often

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<v Speaker 2>tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes as my which is

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<v Speaker 2>one hundred thousand dollars, because it's so lucrative for the

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<v Speaker 2>landlords to get rid of low income tenants and replace

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<v Speaker 2>them with people who can pay market rate. But Bots

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<v Speaker 2>offered his tenants just around five thousand dollars to leave,

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<v Speaker 2>and they say, you put a clock on it. Tenants

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<v Speaker 2>say they were told that the cash amounts would decrease

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<v Speaker 2>by one thousand dollars for each month they continued to stay.

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<v Speaker 2>Thousands of tenants across LA are targeted by similar rent increases,

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<v Speaker 2>faced with landlords who look at their homes with nothing

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<v Speaker 2>but dollar signs in their eyes and harrassed tenants into leaving.

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<v Speaker 2>And it's easy to do because the power is on

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<v Speaker 2>the landlord's side. There are a low to squeeze as

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<v Speaker 2>much money as they can from their tenants. Housing them

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<v Speaker 2>is beside the point.

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<v Speaker 8>Like either welieve or restay.

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<v Speaker 2>Once Mary realized how much her rent would go up,

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<v Speaker 2>she felt like she had no choice but to move out.

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<v Speaker 8>Because I was planning to leave already because I don't

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<v Speaker 8>like to be here because the rent is too high.

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<v Speaker 8>I cannot avoid that yeah, and it's my son who's paying.

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<v Speaker 9>You spend some neo some star look save and susechus.

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<v Speaker 2>Monica says, Bats and the others were like, these tenants

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<v Speaker 2>are poor, they don't know their rights. They'll just accept whatever.

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<v Speaker 3>She said.

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<v Speaker 2>They figured they could just scare people out of their homes.

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<v Speaker 10>Stan inrentees no saving jeose o keosi.

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<v Speaker 9>Yes, moi diferente in porto quarto.

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<v Speaker 2>Luperomero is another long time tenant of Hillside Villa. Everyone

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<v Speaker 2>calls her Lupita. She runs a food truck called Lupita's

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<v Speaker 2>hot Dogs. She has a similar memory of that.

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<v Speaker 14>Time almanni la yea re are cossa.

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<v Speaker 3>Lo benziero, Oh no, yeah, what is.

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<v Speaker 2>Being Lupito said that Madaro and the others would aggressively

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<v Speaker 2>push the cash for keys offers, saying they had to

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<v Speaker 2>accept them. Some tenants left. Lupita says they must have

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<v Speaker 2>felt defeated, but not everyone did. And this is the

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<v Speaker 2>moment where the story of the Hillside Villa tenants really begins,

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<v Speaker 2>because this is when they decided to fight. On the

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<v Speaker 2>next episode, how the tenants of Hillside Villa organized to

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<v Speaker 2>save their home.

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<v Speaker 8>You know what you got Now the whole world has

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<v Speaker 8>to know what kind of asshole we have in the building.

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<v Speaker 2>That's next time on the Tenant Association. The Tenant Association

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<v Speaker 2>is hosted and recorded by me Phoenixell. Carla Green is

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<v Speaker 2>our editor and executive producer. Translation, production and additional reporting

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<v Speaker 2>from Martine Macias Junior. Our fact checker is Marina Penya.

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<v Speaker 2>Sound engineering by Philip Kimp, Legal review by Professor Susan E.

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<v Speaker 2>Seger and the uc Irvine Press Freedom Project. Art direction

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<v Speaker 2>and illustrations by Alison Yet Our theme song is by

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<v Speaker 2>Eduardo Arenas. Editing help and other support from our publisher

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<v Speaker 2>Matthew Tinoko and our audience director Maria Castanetta. Thanks to

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<v Speaker 2>the rest of the LAPP staff Engagement reporter Amanda Delsa,

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<v Speaker 2>Luco reporters Ashley Rona and Elizabe joe An, Engagement editor

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<v Speaker 2>Brolli Dave Special thanks to Gabe Schneider, Nolan Downs, and

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<v Speaker 2>all the tenants and organizers who spoke to us for

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<v Speaker 2>this series. And to Boyle Heidspeed, where we recorded this podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much for listening. We'll be back next week.