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| Campaign for Housing and Economic Rights | |
|---|---|
| Name | Campaign for Housing and Economic Rights |
| Formation | 1989 |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California |
| Region served | United States |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Campaign for Housing and Economic Rights
The Campaign for Housing and Economic Rights is a Los Angeles–based tenant advocacy and legal aid organization founded in 1989 that works on affordable housing, tenants' rights, and anti-displacement initiatives. The organization operates in urban neighborhoods affected by gentrification, foreclosure, and housing insecurity, collaborating with coalitions and legal networks across California and the United States. It engages in litigation, direct services, policy advocacy, and grassroots organizing with partners from community groups to civil rights organizations.
The organization was founded in the late 1980s amid housing crises linked to shifts in real estate finance after the Savings and Loan crisis, regional demographic changes in Los Angeles County, and policy debates during the administrations of George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. Early work intersected with campaigns led by groups such as United Way, ACLU, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and neighborhood coalitions in Boyle Heights and South Central Los Angeles. In the 1990s and 2000s the organization partnered with legal clinics at UCLA School of Law, USC Gould School of Law, Bet Tzedek, and Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to challenge evictions and predatory lending tied to instruments like subprime mortgages and provisions of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Post-2008, it engaged with national networks responding to the 2008 financial crisis, coordinating with activists connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement, advocacy groups like National Low Income Housing Coalition, and municipal campaigns in San Francisco and Oakland.
The stated mission emphasizes tenant protections, anti-displacement strategies, and economic justice with goals aligned to local and statewide policy arenas such as the California Legislature, Los Angeles City Council, and federal agencies including the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Objectives include securing rent stabilization ordinances modeled after precedents in San Francisco Board of Supervisors actions, expanding legal representation rights similar to initiatives in New York City's Right to Counsel programs, and influencing regulatory frameworks like amendments to the Fair Housing Act and oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The organization frames objectives through partnerships with labor unions such as Service Employees International Union and community development entities like Enterprise Community Partners.
Governance has included a board drawing from leaders in activist networks, public interest law, and community development, with ties to figures associated with Public Counsel, LA County Board of Supervisors, and academic experts from University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California. Executive leadership historically coordinated with coalition partners including Coalition for Economic Survival, California Housing Partnership Corporation, and national advocacy groups such as Habitat for Humanity International on policy strategy. Staffing models have combined community organizers trained in methods associated with ACORN-style grassroots mobilization, paralegals from Legal Services Corporation-funded programs, and volunteers from student groups at UCLA and USC.
Major campaigns have targeted rent control expansions, anti-eviction protections during public health emergencies coordinated with directives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and foreclosure defense strategies responding to lawsuits involving Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and mortgage servicers. Activities included coalition-building with Los Angeles Tenants Union, participation in ballot measure campaigns akin to Measure S and housing initiatives in San Diego and Santa Monica, and organizing tenant strikes and demonstrations alongside unions such as UNITE HERE and community groups like East Los Angeles Community Corporation. The organization also participated in national convenings with National Housing Conference and contributed to policy white papers referenced by municipal agencies like the Los Angeles Housing Department.
The group has been involved in strategic litigation and administrative advocacy, filing amicus briefs and representing tenants in cases affecting rent stabilization, habitability standards, and foreclosure moratoria; these cases intersected with precedents from courts including the California Supreme Court and federal circuit courts like the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Policy impact includes contributions to ordinances and emergency orders modeled after measures in San Francisco and New York City, influencing local tenant protections and municipal eviction diversion programs administered with courts such as the Los Angeles Superior Court. Advocacy efforts engaged state executive offices including the Governor of California and legislative committees in the California State Assembly.
Programs have included tenant counseling clinics run in partnership with LA County Public Library branches, Know Your Rights workshops held with Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and community legal education with campus groups from California State University, Los Angeles. Services offered include eviction defense referrals coordinated with Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, foreclosure mediation support using frameworks from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and tenant organizing trainings modeled on approaches from Center for Popular Democracy and Right to the City initiatives. Outreach has extended to immigrant communities through collaborations with Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and faith-based partners such as the Interfaith Worker Justice network.
The organization has faced criticism from landlord associations including the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles and housing developers such as firms involved in downtown Los Angeles redevelopment projects, who argued that certain campaigns hindered investment and property rights defended under precedents from cases cited before the California Supreme Court. Controversies included disputes over ballot measure tactics comparable to debates seen during campaigns in San Francisco and Oakland, disagreements with municipal officials on inclusionary zoning modeled after programs in Seattle and Boston, and tensions with other nonprofit actors over allocation of funding from foundations such as Ford Foundation and W. K. Kellogg Foundation.