LOS ANGELES : City Considers Plan to Keep Up Buildings
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In an effort to control crime and other problems that arise from decaying apartments whose slumlords fail to comply with building and safety requirements, the Los Angeles City Council this week asked city officials to investigate.
The motion, introduced by City Councilman Hal Bernson and adopted by the council on Wednesday, orders the Los Angeles Housing Department, city attorney’s office and Building and Safety Department to study the creation of a receiver appointed by the courts to maintain those properties where landlords have failed within 90 days to comply with the city ordinance.
“This is an area we’ve been working on for years,” said Greig Smith, a spokesman for Bernson. “What happens is you have an increasing crime problem when nobody is watching the property and the place becomes dilapidated. This would allow the city to step in.”
As an example, Smith cited problems that have plagued several apartment complexes in Northridge.
“That’s turning into a drug dealer’s paradise,” Smith said. “When there’s no management, things just fall apart.”
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