2 On Your Side: Tenants In Taxpayer Subsidized Housing On Skid Row Battling Unsanitary, Unsafe Living Conditions

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Residents of Section 8 housing on Skid Row said they were forced to live in filthy and dangerous conditions, despite the fact that the taxpayer-subsidized units were supposed to be a refuge for those who had been living on the streets.

Erica Sanford and others who live at St. Mark's Apartments said they thought nothing was as bad as living on the street, but with issues like a cockroach infestation, they said conditions are jus as bad, if not worse.

"When I come home, there are at least three or four dead. Sometimes they're alive and crawling in the drawers or in the closets," Sanford said.

Sanford lives in the apartments with her 3-year-old son Peter, who has down syndrome and is medically fragile.

"I keep everything as clean as possible, but still it's never enough because this building has had problems for years."

In 2019, residents sought help from CBSLA after the only elevator in the building had been down for nearly a month, confining those with mobility issues to their apartments.

"It's like being held prisoner, captive in your home," resident Steven Wiley said at the time.

After CBSLA's story aired, the owner of the building, a nonprofit called The Skid Row Housing Trust, said that the elevator was scheduled to be renovated to bring it up to code. Two and a half years later, residents said nothing has changed.

"It's just not sanitary. It's not clean. It's not safe and I don't feel safe there with my baby, just coming in and out of the room. I feel like a prisoner, like I am barricading myself when I am there," Sanford said.

CBSLA visited Sanford and her son and saw feces overflowing in the toilet and on the floor. There was trash left in the hallways and filling up the stairwell. Floors in the building were badly soiled and strained, and dirt and grime were caked onto the appliances in the communal kitchen.

There are other issues as well.

A security door at the entrance of the building wouldn't stay locked. Residents said that mentally unstable and intoxicated people will wander off Skid Row and into the building at all hours of the night, leaving behind needles and drug paraphernalia, which tenants have photographed. Resident also said there have been intruders who were naked and, other times, violent.

"I am just on alert. I am always on alert because I have to protect him," Sanford said of her son.

Inside the building, CBSLA saw mold in the showers and on the walls, peeling paint on the ceiling and windows on the fourth floor without safety screens. There were even dead rodents in the common area.

"We are all human beings. We deserve better. No one should have to live in those conditions and feel stuck," Sanford said.

Sanford was living in a homeless shelter when she was approved for a Section 8 voucher and offered housing at St. Marks back in 2015.

"They told me I could refuse it, but it would be another building in the same area. So, I just took what I could get because I couldn't take living in the Mission any longer," she said.

Bryan Smith has lived in the building for three years and said he sees a psychiatrist because of the living conditions.

"They're substandard, they're subhuman if you ask me. Nobody should be subjected to the living conditions under which we live," he said.

According to federal law, Section 8 Housing must be clean, safe and habitable. If it's not, the building can lose its funding. CBSLA contacted Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles and reported the conditions inside St. Mark's. They released the following statement:

"HACLA provides federal rental subsidy to tenants at the St. Marks and St. George apartments operated by Skid Row Housing Trust (SRHT). As a condition of receiving these rental subsidy payments on behalf of the tenants, federal regulations require that the landlord maintain the units, including common areas, in decent, safe and sanitary condition. HACLA inspects these units annually and inspected both of these buildings this week. Deficiencies were cited at each site. Most deficiencies require correction by SRHT within 25 days. Several deficiencies at the St. George require immediate correction. SRHT crews were on site at the St. Marks correcting deficiencies at the time of the inspection. If the deficiencies are not corrected by SRHT by the prescribed deadlines, rental subsidy payments will be abated, or forfeited, by SHRT until the deficiencies are corrected. SRHT has been informed of the inspection results and requirements, and HACLA is working with them to ensure compliance with the federal regulations."  

St. Mark's residents are now filing a class action tenants rights lawsuit against the Skid Row Housing Trust alleging landlord neglect.

"Where is the money going? It sort of begs the question because the government is paying, the tenants are paying...if it's not to upkeep the building, then where is it going?" Attorney Troy Pearson said.

In the meantime, Sanford said she is looking for other housing and said she is on multiple waiting lists.

"No one has contacted me, and there's no housing. I know there is something out there, but no one is helping me."

Residents told CBSLA that when they complained to management about the living conditions, nothing would come of it.

For its part, Skid Row Housing Trust told CBSLA:

"On February 14th, 2022, we were notified of an interview involving residents at one of Skid Row Housing Trust's buildings. We take seriously the well-being of our residents and act quickly to address any claims or issues brought to our attention. We are always committed to working to ensure all our residents receive the supportive housing they need and we remain committed to the communities we serve."

A spokesperson for the housing trust also said they recently had a change in upper management and that the nonprofit promises to act quickly to address any issues brought to its attention.