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Newsletter: After 50 years, Skid Row may be changing forever
AHF Skid Row Tenants Union
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Our Next Meeting will be on July 11, 2025 at 7pm at the Baltimore Hotel in back Room PLEASE BRING YOUR ID TO CHECK IN
Meetings and updates
Next Meeting July 11. 2025
Our Next Meeting will be on July 11, 2025 at 7pm at the Baltimore Hotel in back Room PLEASE BRING YOUR ID TO CHECK IN
New hope UPDATES
Our Next Meeting will be on July 11, 2025 at 7pm at the Baltimore Hotel in back Room PLEASE BRING YOUR ID TO CHECK IN
Meetings and updates
Next Meeting July 11, 2025 at 7pm
Our Next Meeting will be on July 11, 2025 at 7pm at the Baltimore Hotel in back Room PLEASE BRING YOUR ID TO CHECK IN
Baltimore upDATES
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Meetings and updates
Next Meeting July 11, 2025 at 7pm
Our Next Meeting will be on July 11, 2025 at 7pm at the Baltimore Hotel in back Room PLEASE BRING YOUR ID TO CHECK IN
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Join our Skid Row Tenant union MEMBERSHIP
JOIN US
Membership is an important aspect of CTA. In addition to leading the organization, by joining our issue committees and making decisions about our campaigns, our members currently pay membership dues is less than $10.
When you join CTA, you also commit to:
- Vote in all elections, if eligible
- Participate in meetings and public events
- Lead your community to win change
In return, we commit to:
- Developing our members into leaders that make their voices heard
- Empower communities through leadership development and organizing
- Keep members informed on policies that impact their day to day lives
Membership is under $10 at this time but If you would prefer to make a tax-deductible contribution instead, you can do so HERE.
Would you like for your property to have a tenants Union/Council click here
Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at if you cannot find an answer to your question.
The California Tenants Association (CTA) is a tenant advocacy organization based in Downtown Los Angeles, particularly active in the Skid Row area. It operates through local tenant unions and councils, such as the Skidrow Tenants Union, focusing on empowering renters and protecting their rights.
Key Services and Mission
- Tenant Advocacy: CTA represents tenants independently, without affiliations to landlords or property management companies.
- Legal Support: They offer guidance through a structured "18 Steps to Victory" program, assisting tenants in navigating legal challenges.
- Workshops and Resources: CTA conducts workshops to educate tenants about their rights and provides resources to address housing issues.
- Community Engagement: The organization encourages tenants to participate in collective actions to prevent displacement and promote fair housing.
Tenants Councils are grassroots, resident-led groups formed by tenants—usually within a specific building, housing complex, or neighborhood—to collectively address housing issues.
Key Features of Tenants Councils:
- Local Focus: Typically operate within one building or development.
- Tenant-Led: Run by the people who live there—no landlords or management involved.
- Purpose: Organize around issues like repairs, rent increases, evictions, unsafe conditions, or harassment by landlords.
- Collective Power: Use group solidarity to negotiate with landlords or property managers.
- Not Always Legal Entities: Councils are often informal, but some may affiliate with broader organizations or unions for support.
What They Do:
- Hold meetings to discuss tenant issues.
- Draft letters or petitions to management.
- Organize protests, rent strikes, or legal action.
- Educate tenants on their rights.
Tenants councils are often the first line of defense for renters and can serve as the foundation for joining or forming a larger tenants union.n answer to this item.
A Tenants Union and a Tenants Council both aim to empower renters, but they differ in scope and structure.San Francisco Tenants Union+10tenantcouncilssandiego.org+10richmondtenantsunion.org+10
Tenants Council
A Tenants Council is typically a group of renters within the same building or complex who unite to address shared concerns, such as maintenance issues, rent increases, or landlord disputes. These councils focus on immediate, localized problems and work collectively to improve living conditions. They often serve as the foundational unit for broader tenant organizing efforts.
Tenants Union
In contrast, a Tenants Union is a larger, often citywide or regional organization that encompasses multiple tenant councils or associations. It provides a platform for coordinated action across different neighborhoods, advocating for systemic changes such as rent control policies, tenant rights legislation, and affordable housing initiatives. Tenants Unions offer resources, support, and a unified voice to influence broader housing policies.
Summary
- Tenants Council: Local group addressing specific building or complex issues.
- Tenants Union: Broader organization uniting multiple councils to advocate for widespread tenant rights and housing reforms.
Both structures are integral to tenant advocacy, with councils handling grassroots concerns and unions pushing for overarching policy changes.
You are part of both
There are many ways to get involved with California Tenants Union, such as volunteering, making a donation, or attending one of our events. Please visit our website for more information.
Skid Row California Tenants Union offers a variety of services, including work oder assistance, housing support, and more. Please visit our website for more information.
It is illegal for a landlord to lock you out, remove doors or windows, change locks, cut off utility services, or use other forms of harassment to make you move out. You can file a complaint with LAPD if your landlord locks you out or cuts off your utilities.
No, we do not work for AHF. We are dedicated volunteers who selflessly devote our time and efforts to assist the esteemed residents of AHF housing. In addition, we proudly belong to the esteemed California Tenants Union, a collective of individuals who tirelessly advocate for the rights and well-being of tenants in our beloved city. Furthermore, we are actively involved in the local chapter of the Skid Row California Tenants Union, an organization that passionately fights for the rights and dignity of those residing in the Skid Row community.
We find ourselves in a situation where our resources in terms of volunteers are quite limited. However, if any individuals staying at the neighboring hotel are interested in lending a helping hand, we would be more than grateful to have you join us. Together, we can begin our work in assisting the residents of this community. Simply reach out to the CTA, and we can coordinate the details. In the meantime, if you are facing any serious issues, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to support you and explore how we can be of assistance. It is important to note that being a part of the AHF group is a requirement for participation.
There are a few ways 1st To report a bad landlord to the Multifamily Housing Complaint Line, call toll-free at (800) MULTI-70 (800) 685-8470) / TTY (800) 432-2209. Complaints of housing discrimination are handled by the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (an office under HUD) at 1-800-669-9777.
2nd File a complaint through the Union and its Website and one the Skid Row Tenants leader will take your report and address this issue with the Headquarters of AHF.
In California, your landlord has a duty to provide you with a safe place to live free from interference or harassment. If you are experiencing poor living conditions, dealing with mold, bed bugs, rodents, or if your place needs repairs you may have grounds to sue or file a petition with the Rent Board.
According to the California Civil Code (1940-1954.05), the landlord has the right to collect rent, withhold security deposit return in case of property damages, evictions in case of agreement breaches, and many more.
In the case NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., the Supreme Court first articulated the right to request a union representative at an investigatory interview. This right applies when a tenant has a reasonable belief that the investigation may result in Evection, discipline, write-up, or other adverse consequences to their living status or conditions. The right to a union representative applies to investigatory questioning that is written as well as oral.
For example, a tenant can request a tenant union representative at a meeting with the landlord if the discussion could lead to evection, discipline, write-up, or other adverse consequences, or have any effect on their living conditions. Landlords must remain in attendance at meetings of the full tenant association until the end of the meeting (up to two hours).
Tenants have the right to self-organization, including joining, meeting, and assisting one another, and conferring through representatives of their choosing with a landlord/owner. They should also have the right to participate in decision-making processes through their organizations. This includes the terms and conditions of their tenancy as well as activities related to housing and community development.
A tenant union generally does not affect a landlord's legal rights. It typically only changes how landlords communicate with tenants, resolve problems, and make changes to leases or the property.
THEREFORE, ALWAYS ENSURE YOUR UNION REPRESENTATIVE ACCOMPANIES YOU WHENEVER YOU ENGAGE IN DISCUSSIONS WITH YOUR LANDLORD OR ANY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL.
Whole or deep worker organizing is key to working-class rights and solidarity. Like workers and labour unions, we organize to alter the power relations between landlords and tenants. We understand that tenant movements play a critical role in the politicizing of the working class historically, and if wages and the exploitation of workers is a political matter then clearly and definitively rent and housing conditions are too. In the early 1970s, the Vancouver Tenants Council (VTC) brought a resolution before the 18th BC Federation of Labour convention to demand that renters in BC have the right to collectively bargain with landlords. Now, more than ever, individual tenants are being left to negotiate safe housing on their own while landlords often have multi-million-dollar corporations behind them. In understanding that exploitation does not end at the door of the workplace, we are asking provincial district labour councils, unions, and the BC Federation of Labour to step up for workers who are renters. We ask for unions in the home and in the workplace!
Collective bargaining rights would mean that tenants are able to form tenant unions under a legislative framework in order to legitimize the fears of tenants and to protect tenants from landlord retaliation. Tenants already engage in forms of collective action today. Petitions, for example, are a form of bargaining, without the need for a formal negotiating process. A supermajority of tenants signing a petition in solidarity with one another can create major changes in their buildings. We know of examples where cable TV was reconnected, pest control was requested and received, and laundry facilities were installed. Tenants have also worked together through petitioning to regain access to common areas where tenants' building associations were able to meet. Our campaign seeks to support and expand these efforts.
We want the right to fairly and collectively negotiate with landlords with the right to grieve if rental terms are violated. Our campaign envisions several different structures for the bargaining units that are not only limited to apartment buildings. We also expect that our collective bargaining model will need to be applied to buildings where different relationships exist between tenants, the building, and the landlord. For example, we are working to develop a model that is useful for tenants living in the same building with the same landlord, tenants living in the same building but with different landlords, tenants living in different buildings owned by the same landlord, and finally tenants who live in different buildings with entirely different landlords.
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Copyright © 2025 California Tenants Assocation - All Rights Reserved.
1122 E 7th Street
PO Box 21061
Los Angeles, CA 90021-21061
(323) 996-1055
Pursuant to 24 CFR § 245.100 & Los Angeles County Code 8.52.130
Pursuant to 24 CFR § 245.100 of Federal Code, the removal of such material in a federally-funded building is a violation of the law. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, tenants have “the right to organize as residents without obstruction, harassment, or retaliation from property owners or management; the right to poster materials in common areas and provide leaflets informing other residents of their rights; the right to use appropriate common space or meeting facilities to organize.”
Los Angeles County Code 8.52.130 stipulates that no landlord, property manager, or employee may “interfere with the right of Tenants to: distribute and post literature informing other Tenants of their rights and opportunities to involve themselves.”
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-Nash