Easing up on ‘bootleg’ units
Amid housing crisis, L.A. smooths apartments’ legalization path
Year after year, Los Angeles has forced hundreds of illegal or “bootlegged” apartments to be shuttered, even as local politicians bemoan a housing crisis.
Now the city is easing the way to legalize such apartments, a plan long championed by an unusual alliance of landlords and tenant activists.
The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to approve a new law that smooths the way for landlords to get approval for bootlegged apartments — existing units that were created without the city’s blessing — if they guarantee affordable housing on the site.
Councilman Jose Huizar heralded it as a step that would add affordable units and bring existing housing “out of the shadows.” He stressed that the apartments still would need to
Now the city is easing the way to legalize such apartments, a plan long championed by an unusual alliance of landlords and tenant activists.
The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to approve a new law that smooths the way for landlords to get approval for bootlegged apartments — existing units that were created without the city’s blessing — if they guarantee affordable housing on the site.
Councilman Jose Huizar heralded it as a step that would add affordable units and bring existing housing “out of the shadows.” He stressed that the apartments still would need to
