West Hollywood is set to launch a new initiative aimed at enhancing neighborhood livability and ensuring compliance with city housing standards. Starting in February 2024, the Neighborhood and Business Safety (NBS) Division’s Code Enforcement team will conduct systematic inspections of multifamily properties across the city, including low-income and inclusionary units.
This proactive multifamily property inspection pilot program, a first of its kind in West Hollywood, will be carried out by two dedicated Code Enforcement Officers. The program is designed to inspect rental properties every three years, ensuring they meet the standards set by the West Hollywood Municipal Code. Multifamily properties, defined as buildings with three or more units, will be the focus of these inspections.
The initial phase of the program will concentrate on the exterior conditions of properties, such as landscaping, parking areas, paint, and common areas including hallways and courtyards. In addition to these inspections, Code Enforcement Officers will investigate potential short-term rental activities at the properties they visit. Reports of vacation rental concerns outside this program will continue to be addressed promptly.
An innovative aspect of the initiative is the voluntary interior inspections of tenant units. Flyers will be posted in common areas of multifamily properties, informing tenants about scheduling these inspections. These interior checks, conducted only upon tenant request, will focus on habitability issues like plumbing, heating, electrical safety, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
The program also includes monitoring compliance with the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance (RSO) in larger multifamily properties. Officers will ensure that tenants receive necessary notices regarding emergency contacts, eviction protections, rent limits, and other RSO requirements.
Tenants wishing to have their units inspected can contact the NBS Division at (323) 450-7115 or via email at [email protected]. The proactive inspection team will operate weekdays, excluding holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For general concerns such as noise, property maintenance, or zoning issues, community members are encouraged to submit a Service Request through the City’s website at www.weho.org/servicerequest or via the West Hollywood Official App. The Code Enforcement hotline at (323) 848-6516 and email at [email protected] are also available for complaints or inquiries.
Eugene Alper, West Hollywood’s Code Enforcement Supervisor, can be contacted for more information about the pilot program at (323) 848-6432 or [email protected]. The primary objective of this and other Code Enforcement initiatives is to achieve voluntary compliance and enhance the quality of life for residents and businesses in West Hollywood.
Code under Danny Rivas is corrupt, and they routinely have off record conversations with our landlord as discovered in subpoena for an ongoing case. This is a desperate face saving effort after being accused by multiple buildings of not enforcing even the most basic housing services, especially mold. We have mold and leaks in our building. Alper says they cannot tell the landlord how to fix anything. This is untrue! Code requires corrective repairs but in our buildings case, no fines have ever been issued despite notices of violation being a year old. Mold is invasive but code turns a… Read more »
Please contact LA County Health Dept regarding mold. The will send an inspector pronto and give you the protocol to follow.
The health department closed the case after citing, as it dragged on with inaction. They falsely claimed we did not respond to phone calls, which is untrue. This happened to another tenant a few years before. Sadly no inspectors are proactive when it comes to mold. Again, unless the wall is opened when they arrive, they are unlikely to do anything about it even if your unit stinks of mold and has a corresponding mold report. We need much better mold laws at the state and local levels to ensure the health and safety of tenants. Agree re Alper though.… Read more »
When dealing w Code compliance over a serious and continuous roof leak, they were quite intractable and had a very problematic ordinance which hampered the case thus called the health dept. I recall the option of having a private company do the mold verification. Gloria Aviles was also involved as a cc insp and is now in Rent Stabilization. Perhaps you able to petition the HD to have case reopened?
Code enforcement refused expert mold inspections. HD also said they don’t use outside reports. One of the tenants chose instead to pursue the matter civilly given their health was impacted. This is what landlords count on since most cannot afford attorneys fees. Our Code and laws surrounding mold desperately need better language.
E. Alper will not likely rock his $$$$$ boat . Some things never change .😨
Sounds a lot to me like what rent control already does? Don’t the landlords have it tough enough
Seems to me we already have a massive far-reaching, overpowering, anti-landlord program like this already, it’s called rent control!
FYI – Rent control only applies to buildings constructed PRIOR TO July 1, 1979. Anything after that date is not rent controlled.
LOL. Another band-aid that will solve nothing.
A fascinating and welcome proactive enhancement to enforcement of codes in this city. Perhaps Danny Rivas was finally shamed after engaging in word salad when faced with inquiries from residents. In November I requested enforcement of a certain code and Rivas replied that the city “will perform proactive compliance inspections as resources allow.” I responded to that particular mixed salad with, “I hate to belabor word and sentence structure that comes out of the city bureaucracy, however, when I see words like ‘as resources allow’ I want to cringe. Resources allow a lot of fluff in this city and more need… Read more »
They are HORRIBLE with dealing with quality of life issues. Lots of promises, very little results. And that salary is so bloated. I had no idea he makes that much money all the while he fails to really lead the department in making sure the code is enforced. Less word salad and more meat and potatoes results please.
I read this article and see the city will have only two code enforcement persons assigned to this new initiative.Wow,they are really going to run this thin. The city needs ten compliance officers,not two, to do justice to this new program.
OK,maybe ten is too much,but after many years of falling behind,the city needs to be serious about these inspections.Come February 1,there will be a backlog and just two compliance officers won’t cut it.Whoever in the city bureaucracy came up with this number,they are dooming this project to failure.
This appears to be another feel good device that papers over years of deferred maintenance. There has been an inspector with the department for years that was deficient in handling issues at the El Palacio and Lotus historic structures that were under Mills Act requirements. Apparently moonlighting doing voice overs in the entertainment biz was more important than perfecting his supposed skills in the city and keeping our Historic Landmarks in good stead. That task in and of itself would be a full time venture for two inspectors.
Awesome venture for the city to undertake.
Bravo.
This is a new concept after having allowed 20-30 years of deferred maintenance?
Actually one of the many positives of this program is that the City will be able to discover units that are being illegally rented for “short term occupancy”, (Air BnB). Potentially hundreds of units could be restored to the housing market.
Oh please. The City, Danny Rivas and the slumlord/landlord here have known about an illegal airbnb here for over 2 years. Nothing done.
Oh, “vacation rentals“ or Airbnb is supposedly illegal in West Hollywood. Yeah, right, just like gasoline powered leaf blowers are illegal in West Hollywood. That is absurd. Airbnb is a thriving business all over West Hollywood with thousands of dollars in revenue all over the city every single month. It is the new Gen Z entrepreneurial project and it’s everywhere. If the city West Hollywood thinks they’re going to try to control that, good luck. Pathetic like everything else they do. Idiots.