In Response to Tenant Organizing, Landlord Advocacy Group Offers Bed Bug Training

Following an outcry from tenants about slumlords who refuse to eradicate bed bugs in Concord apartment buildings, the California Apartment Association is holding a presentation on bed bugs this afternoon, according to the event flyer distributed by Concord city staff. The landlord bed bug training will take place today from 3:00 pm – 5:00pm at City Council Chambers, 1950 Parkside Dr., Concord, CA.

"I’m glad we got their attention,” said Guillermo Elenes, an organizer with Tenants Together who has been working with Concord tenants. Elenes added, “I just hope their training focuses on eradicating bed bugs in a safe and effective manner, rather than trying to shift blame from landlords to tenants as so many landlords do.”

Tenants in Concord have repeatedly complained of substandard living conditions and have pleaded with city officials to get involved. In September, tenants appeared at City Council to demand action to eradicate bed bugs. City officials expressed sympathy for the tenants, urged them to sue their landlords, but still refused to cite the landlords for bed bugs claiming that is the responsibility of county health officials.

County officials counter that the responsibility lies with the City to force landlords to eradicate bed bugs.

Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights, has been working for months with tenants in numerous buildings in Concord where landlords are allowing bed bug infestations to persist. Tenants are regularly bitten as they try to sleep, resulting in bites, rashes, and sleep deprivation, among other impacts. Despite requests for abatement, the problem persists.

“The landlords refuse to make necessary repairs, and the city acts as if it is powerless here,” said Maria Carmona, a tenant in Concord suffering from bed bugs and other substandard conditions. Carmen LaRosa, a long-term tenant of the Rosemont complex on Monument Boulevard, commented: “We are tired of being ignored. We have lost thousands of dollars of furniture, and we can’t sleep at night because of these bed bugs. The landlord needs to do something.”

Moved by the tenants’ stories, one councilmember -- Edi Birsan -- personally toured some of the buildings and has been outspoken on the need for action.

Although cases have been reported from various parts of the city, the problem seems to be particularly severe in the Monument Boulevard area.

“We appreciate Councilmember Birsan’s passion on this issue,” noted Dean Preston, Executive Director of Tenants Together. “He clearly shares our horror that families are being forced to live like this. The problem is fixable. We intend to force these landlords to do what the law requires, and we hope to have the City as an ally in that process.”

Recently, a group of Tenants Together members in Concord filed a lawsuit against the owner of the Rosemont Apartments based on bed bugs and other conditions. The case, La Rosa v. Rosemont LLC, is pending.