A new survey from the Southern California Rental Housing Association finds that violence and threats are a growing concern for housing providers across the region, following a string of recent violent incidents at San Diego apartment communities.
Police said a man was killed this week while trying to break up a fight between neighbors at an apartment complex in the Mount Hope neighborhood. Days earlier, police said a man was arrested after shooting at officers and setting fire to his apartment in National City.
The incidents come months after a Chula Vista homicide in which a landlord’s daughter was killed by a tenant, according to investigators.
That case prompted SCRHA to survey its members, said Molly Kirkland, SCRHA director of public affairs.
“What happened in Chula Vista is every housing provider’s worst nightmare,” Kirkland said.
The survey drew 133 responses from SCRHA member businesses, primarily in San Diego County, with additional responses from Riverside and Imperial counties. It found that 65% of respondents reported an increase in hostile or threatening behavior from tenants over the past five years.
Overall, 76% of respondents said they experienced threats, harassment, intimidation, violence or other safety concerns on their properties in the last five years. Verbal threats were the most common type of incident, occurring in 93% of cases, while a quarter of incidents involved physical violence, according to the survey.
Emilia Provencio, who has worked in property management in San Diego County for 15 years, said she has noticed a shift in tenant behavior in recent years.
“I’ve experienced more harassment in the last few years, feeling threatened when I’m either showing property or when I’m faced with tenants,” Provencio said.
California Courts guidance says landlords may issue a three-day notice to quit for serious health or safety problems, but the notice must describe the alleged violation and, when the Tenant Protection Act applies, tenants generally must first receive an opportunity to correct it.
The survey also found that 74% of respondents said legal or regulatory requirements delayed the removal of a tenant whose behavior raised safety concerns.
Kirkland said the association wants to see a faster process for removing tenants who pose safety risks, while preserving due process protections.
“There does need to be some quicker process, if you will, for removing bad actors,” Kirkland said. “But of course, everybody’s entitled to due process.”
State Assemblymember David Alvarez, who represents the South Bay and has been active on housing policy, responded to the survey in a statement, saying he is committed to working with housing providers, tenants and community groups to find solutions that keep people safe.
SCRHA said it is now developing safety guidelines and resources for rental housing providers in response to the survey’s findings.
Provencio said she hopes for more collaboration between tenants and housing providers going forward.
“I would love to see us be more engaged with one another to be able to make this a safer place for all of us, tenants and housing providers,” she said.