(Added by Ord. No. 185,797, Eff. 11/25/18.)
The City Council finds and declares:
That harassment and retaliation against a tenant on the basis of immigration or citizenship status exists in the City of Los Angeles;
That the existence of such harassment and retaliation poses a substantial threat to the public health and welfare of large segments of the population;
That there is a shortage of decent, safe and sanitary housing in the City of Los Angeles, resulting in a critically low vacancy factor;
That such harassment and retaliation has an overall detrimental effect upon the composition of the City, that it encourages the flight of families from the City of Los Angeles, and results in the decline of stable, intergenerational neighborhoods, the preservation of family life within the City, and the reduction of social and recreational services for children and their families;
That such harassment and retaliation cuts across racial, ethnic and economic lines, and falls most heavily on minority and single parent families with children;
That it is consistent with the Housing Element of the General Plan to promote and ensure equal opportunities for all persons regardless of immigration or citizenship status in rental housing in the City;
That Section 1940.2 of the California Civil Code preserves the ability of the City of Los Angeles to regulate and enforce prohibitions on harassment and retaliation against a tenant on the basis of immigration or citizenship status; and
That because housing is a fundamental necessity of life, it is against the public policy of the City of Los Angeles to harass or retaliate against a tenant in rental housing upon the basis of immigration or citizenship status.