The “Million Dollar Trade Show and Landlording Conference” held at Los Angeles’s convention center last Wednesday featured talks titled “Is the Eviction Moratorium Over? Can We Take Back Our Property?”, “The Difference Between No-Fault and At-Fault Eviction”, given by the founder of EZ Eviction, Inc., and “Evictions and Tenant Protections: Where Do Landlords Stand?” featuring “new strategies to remove unwanted tenants.” The landlord conference is free, but the suggested donation was “a can for the Union Rescue Mission’s ‘Feed the Homeless Program.’”
The convention was thrown by a group called the Apartment Owners Association of California, Inc., which has opposed proposed legislation that would increase California’s property taxes, opposed COVID eviction moratoriums, and advertises evictions and collections services for its members. The group has lobbied all over the state to oppose rent control, teaches its members to minimize taxes, has “tenant screening” seminars, and offers sample eviction and payment demand forms, as well as forms designed to tell tenants that their rent is going to be increased. It also offers a service to help landlords collect debts: “Did your tenant skip out owing you money? Let us help you collect that debt and report them to all three major credit bureaus,” it says on its website.
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The conference is one of many landlord conventions around the country, but is notable in part because it directly asks attendees to bring food for the homeless, which is ironic considering the conference had so many sessions focused on evictions: “Apartment owners have been especially kind in supporting the Union Rescue Mission at every AOA Trade Show with their donations,” the conference’s information page says.
“You can help make a difference!” The conference suggests attendees bring cans of “black beans, chicken noodle soup, or canned vegetables.”
Studies have shown that specific pandemic-era policies, like the eviction moratorium, had a direct impact on preventing people from experiencing homelessness. COVID-era eviction protections expired this spring.
The Apartment Owners Association did not respond to a request for comment. Union Rescue Mission, a Christian organization that works to end homelessness, told Motherboard that it has partnered with the AOA for more than a decade.
“Our Union Rescue Mission Gift in Kind Department has been working with this group for 15 years. Twice yearly they give URM a booth at the AOA conference to talk about our mission and collect donations. We also do another in Nov, and they collect toys. According to [sic] we have never had any concerns or issues, and they have been a generous donor,” the spokesperson said. “We receive support from many groups with diverse opinions.”
Los Angeles is currently experiencing a homelessness crisis. New mayor Karen Bass has asked for $250 million in additional funding for her “Inside Safe” program, which seeks to move people out of homeless encampments. In her first State of the City speech, she begged landlords to please accept housing vouchers.
The Director of the Greater L.A. Apartment Association, another landlord group, told The Real Deal that they should not be blamed for homelessness.
“The city needs to improve its abhorrent administration of its voucher program before owners will participate,” said Dan Yukelson, executive director of the Greater L.A. Apartment Association. “They need to stop trying to sweep the [unhoused] problem under a rug by blaming housing providers. … This is another mayoral administration that is on the wrong track and going to pour money down the drain on ineffective programs.”
