“Madeline Howard, senior attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty, said communities of color have often been the target of corporate real estate investors, leading to gentrification and displacement. Since most tenants do not have lawyers, Howard said, “It’s particularly important to enforce tenant protections when the property owner is a corporation.”

The pandemic has sharpened the need for enforcement, she said. “There’s such a direct connection between tenants rights and homelessness.”

Moms 4 Housing property owner agrees to $3.5 million settlement