Vazquez, et al. v. 7th & Witmer, L.P., et al.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2025
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FORMERLY HOMELESS TENANTS SUE OVER DANGEROUS CONDITIONS AT
LOS ANGELES PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING BUILDING
Lawsuit Alleges Neglect, Health Hazards, and Harassment at Downtown PSH Building
Los Angeles, CA – Today, twenty-three current and former tenants of a permanent supportive housing (PSH) building located at 697 S. Witmer Street, just west of Downtown Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit against the building’s owners and operators for severe habitability violations, unsafe living conditions, and ongoing harassment.
The Witmer building opened in 2020 to provide long-term, stable housing and in-house supportive services for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness. In a few short years, however, tenants say the defendants—despite receiving millions in taxpayer money—allowed the building to fall into disrepair and neglect, creating conditions described as inhumane, unsafe, and degrading.
“They told us this building was going to be a fresh start—a safe place with a lot of support,” said Nereida Vazquez, who moved into the building in June 2020. “Instead, it’s been a nightmare. Sometimes I think the street would be better.”
The complaint, filed this morning in Los Angeles Superior Court, details a lengthy history of housing code violations, from cockroach infestations and mold contamination to elevator outages lasting weeks or months at a time, leaving disabled tenants stranded on upper floors or forcing them to traverse poorly maintained stairwells without assistance.
“When that elevator goes out, I have to drag myself and my chair up and down five flights of stairs every day to go to the doctor and get groceries,” explained Andrew Amer, who lives on the fifth floor and uses a wheelchair due to the loss of one of his legs. “The people that run this place don’t care. It’s dehumanizing. It makes you feel like an animal.”
According to the lawsuit, the property was also left unsecured for months at a time, with broken or missing door handles on doors that opened directly onto the street, leading to fires and graffiti in stairwells, multiple break-ins and burglaries, and even a shooting death directly in front of tenants’ units.
“I opened my door and there was a dead body lying right there in front of me,” said Alisha Lucero. “I’ve feared for my safety here every day after that.”
Attached to the complaint are more than a dozen government orders from the Los Angeles Housing Department and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which repeatedly cited the building’s owners and operators for housing and health code violations. The tenants say these orders were often ignored.
“The way this property has been run is not only immoral, it’s also a complete betrayal of the public trust,” said Josh Nuni of The People’s Law Project: Los Angeles, which represents the tenants in partnership with Capstone Law APC. “The defendants here received millions in public money for a brand-new building and then let it completely fall apart.”
The case—one of the first of its kind—raises concerns about oversight and accountability in Los Angeles’ homelessness services system, particularly as the City, County, and State continue to invest in permanent supportive housing as a solution to the ongoing homelessness crisis.
“Permanent supportive housing is critical, and we need a lot more of it,” Nuni continued, “but no one should be forced to live like this. I hope this case puts other PSH operators on notice: if you don’t take your basic obligations as a landlord seriously, you are opening yourself up to significant liability.”
The lawsuit also alleges a pattern of harassment by the defendants, including verbal and physical aggression, threats of eviction, and theft of donated food and other items intended for the tenants.
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The tenants seek compensation for physical and emotional damages and a court order to force the building’s owners and managers to make long-overdue repairs and comply with California’s health and housing laws.
“The people that run this place thought we’d never stand up for our rights,” Vazquez concluded. “Well, I guess today they’re going to find out they were wrong.”
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