LA Launches Troubled Rentals Dashboard

Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia released a new public dashboard on May 15 that ranks the city’s top 100 “problem rental properties” by housing violation cases. The tool lets renters search residential addresses across Los Angeles, view a ranked list of the 100 addresses with the most reported cases, and use an interactive map to examine patterns by building. Mejia’s office said the database compiles more than a decade of records from the Los Angeles Housing Department, Los Angeles City Planning and the Los Angeles County Assessor. The release adds a new public-facing layer to records that were previously harder for tenants to search by address. ### Which properties are at the top of the list? The top-ranked address is 636 1/2 N. Hill Place in Chinatown with 192 housing violation cases, according to the controller’s dashboard as described by local reports. The second-ranked property is 11700 W. Wilshire Blvd. in Sawtelle with 166 cases, and the third is 6650 W. Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills with 113 cases. (foxla.com) LAist identified the first property as Hillside Villa in Chinatown and the second as Barrington Plaza in Sawtelle, both of which have been the focus of tenant organizing and eviction fights. LAist said Toluca Hills Apartments, a 1,150-unit complex in the Hollywood Hills, was listed third with 113 housing violation cases. (foxla.com) ### What does the dashboard actually track? The data spans December 2013 through November 2025, according to Fox 11 and LAist. The dashboard tracks reported cases involving illegal evictions, illegal rent increases, harassment and reductions of services, and also includes code violation information and ownership history. Fox 11 reported that illegal eviction was the most cited violation category in the database, with 55,018 cases. (laist.com) The same report listed 37,876 illegal rent increase cases, 32,015 reduction-of-services cases and 24,179 harassment cases. ### Why did Mejia’s office say it built this now? Kenneth Mejia said in a media release cited by KTLA that the project comes as tenants report harassment and illegal evictions under Los Angeles renter-protection laws, while “very few” complaints lead to strong enforcement or accountability. (foxla.com) He also said there had not previously been an uncomplicated way for the public to look up years of violations by address. LAist reported one example cited by the controller’s office: out of more than 23,000 tenant harassment complaints submitted to the city, only one landlord has faced criminal charges. Mejia said he hopes the new database will help renters and organizers document patterns of harm and put pressure on landlords and the city to act. (ktla.com) ### What can renters do with it now? Los Angeles renters can use the dashboard to search a building before signing a lease or to check the complaint history of their current address, according to KTLA and LAist. The public tool includes a citywide searchable database of residential addresses with reported housing violation cases, not just the top 100 list. (laist.com) Fox 11 reported that the controller’s office also traced LLCs and business names back to individual owners whenever possible to show ownership information alongside violation data. That means users can review both a property’s case history and, in some instances, the people tied to ownership. ### Where does this fit in the city’s broader housing data push? (ktla.com) Kenneth Mejia’s office has built a broader set of public dashboards on evictions, rent-stabilized units and tenant buyouts through the controller’s open-data site. The controller’s data page lists multiple housing-related dashboards, including eviction notices and rent stabilization analyses, alongside the office’s other city oversight tools. (foxla.com) The controller’s press and audit pages also show a recent focus on landlord oversight and tenant protections. In April 2025, the office released an audit of the city’s implementation of the Tenant Anti-Harassment Ordinance, and in June 2025 it released an affordable housing oversight audit that cited noncompliant properties and habitability concerns. ### What happens next for tenants and landlords? (controller.lacity.gov) The dashboard is already live through the Los Angeles City Controller’s public data site, where renters can search addresses and review mapped cases. Fox 11 said one open question is how quickly the database will be updated with newly filed complaints, while KTLA and LAist reported the current release is intended for renters, organizers and the public to use immediately. (controller.lacity.gov) The next test will be whether city agencies or property owners respond to addresses now listed publicly. For now, the concrete next step is public use: the searchable database covers records through November 2025 and is available on the controller’s site as of May 15. (foxla.com)