Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate
Jaime Colindres lived at the American Hotel in the 1990s and again for about five years in the 2010s. Credit: Barbara Davidson for ProPublica
Events

How LA Lost Affordable Housing to Tourists

Join ProPublica and Capital & Main to discuss the city’s failure to preserve low-cost housing and the mayor’s response to our reporting.

Art Share L.A. 801 E Fourth Place Los Angeles, CA 90013

In partnership with Capital & Main.

On her first day in office, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a housing emergency. But the housing crisis has been brewing for more than a decade, and city officials knew it.

Back in the early aughts, some of the city’s lowest-cost housing, known as residential hotels, was being rapidly converted into condos. In 2008, the City Council voted to preserve residential hotels for housing. But a recent ProPublica and Capital & Main investigation found that at least 21 residential hotels, totaling more than 800 dwelling units, have been renting rooms to tourists and openly advertising nightly rates online. It is a staggering loss considering the severity of LA’s affordable housing shortage and the homelessness crisis.

One day after our reporting, Bass ordered the Housing Department to investigate whether residential hotels are complying with the 2008 law.

Join us on September 14 to discuss LA’s dwindling affordable housing and the mayor’s response to our reporting.

Seating is limited. RSVP here to secure your spot or sign up for a reminder to watch the livestream.

This event has ended.