The pandemic seemed to swallow many of us whole but lucky for those living in Los Angeles ;
- it touts strict eviction protections that were tightened during the pandemic.
However, for one local mom, the pandemic, and those protections failed at every turn as her and her family slipped through massive loopholes, leaving them locked out of their home of 7 years in Lakewood, California, more tragically, she's been separated from her son.
The eviction nightmare for this local Mother began nearly a year ago as she was forced through countless proceedings, unable to obtain any legal counsel and came to a swift conclusion on November 1st, 2023 when seven LA County sheriffs pounded on her door before dawn barging in without a warrant or a valid writ of execution, forcefully removing a terrified Kristen and her two dogs onto the street.
“They came in like a SWAT team,” she recalls. “I kept asking to see a warrant, but they didn’t have one. They kept alleging the notice to vacate was enough however on their website the writ of execution allowing for the notice to vacate to be posted was stated as suspended"
- Los Angeles passed one of the nation's strictest eviction moratoriums during COVID, preventing evictions except in rare cases like criminal activity. The moratorium also implemented strict documentation requirements and regulations on landlords.
But Kristen fell through massive loopholes or was she simply victim of a corrupt system With the courts and law enforcement refusing to enforce the moratorium's provisions, landlords can still find workarounds. Tactics like landlord harassment, coercing "voluntary" move-outs, and filing technical lease violations have all been used to skirt the moratorium. Most troubling, promised legal assistance never materialized, leaving Kristen to navigate a corrupt system alone. The local non-profits and legal aid groups meant to help folks like Kristen were overwhelmed and underfunded. The government agencies and elected officials she pleaded to turned a blind eye.
Kristen isn't your average evictee, and the "playbook" in which Judge's determine these matters does not apply to her case, She's a lease-holding tenant that was current on rent until her landlord was detained for violation of probation in which she found he was a serial pedophile and registered sex offender in which he never disclosed (a breach of the lease agreement/contract)
A week before notice of his detainment, Kristen caught her landlord filming down her summer sundress filming her breasts. Swiftly, she reported this to law enforcement.
Soon thereafter, This Megan's Law registered sex offender's wife began harassing, intimidating, and threatening Kristen to vacate despite not having any contractual agreement or even any legal interest in the property. Her threats and harassment only intensified after learning Kristen was cooperating with the investigators and district attorney in her husband's criminal matter.
Most troubling is that she had zero knowledge of the tenancy, She alleges she didn't even know her husband of over ten years was a pedophile sex offender, how could she have any knowledge of Kristen's tenancy?
"She's a licensed social worker in mental health and claims she had no idea, this is concerning".-K
Only once the harassment began did Kristen fall behind on rent payments yet this was only due to the fact she was uncertain of whom or how to pay rent after her landlord was imprisoned. However and perhaps most importantly, Kristen's family qualifies for LA's vaunted eviction moratorium as she had provided declarations of hardship in which she and her landlord came to some agreements which Kristen would pay as you go to remain current with her rent.
You see, Kristen’s tragedy actually began nearly two years prior when in February 2021, unbeknownst to her, her special needs son would be removed from her home, custody and care after she sought mental health services they were being deprived of due to the pandemic. When "help" came she was ultimately "tricked" and "coerced" into allowing her minor son to be escorted to the hospital for an evaluation and psychiatric hold, a hold to this day he has never returned from– a mistake she’ll never forgive
For this fact, Kristen applied for and was approved for Housing is Key rental assistance in which she applied for POST relief. She has approved of nearly 20k dollars that went missing from her mailbox at the same time her landlord's partner was harassing her in violation of her right to quiet enjoyment. Despite being brought up repeatedly to the court this was never addressed.
"20k dollars of federal funds are missing and not a single public official has stepped in."-K
If this money was not missing, Ms. Joseph surely would not be sleeping in her car with her two dogs, homeless, cold, and with nowhere to turn or go. It has been confirmed this check sits in an "escrow account" in what she believes is the Plaintiffs attorneys account, The notorious self proclaimed best eviction attorney, Dennis Block.
Dennis Block was recently sanctioned for using fraudulent case law in his pleadings. More alarming, the complaint filed against Kristen was filed by Block, however had redacted paragraphs that appear he himself redacted. When you download these documents from the court website, they're not redacted. He verified a complaint brought to him by the landlords without any evidence of interest in the property or contractual agreement with Kristen. Ultimately, the court repossessed possession of the property from Kristen granting it to a woman that had absolutely no proof of interest in the property.
"Does that mean I can file an unlawful detainer for my neighbors house and take it from them? We can try it and see"... Kristen Joked frustratingly
"I followed every rule. I notified the landlord constantly with declarations, I fell under all the protections but I wasn't even behind. I simply paid rent throughout the month," Kristen insists.
"But when there's no accountability, the courts do whatever they want."
Somehow the courts proceeded with this matter despite the names being incorrect, absent and proof whatsoever of their claims, depriving Ms. Joseph of her right to due process and a trial by jury, despite the person bringing the cause upon Ms. Joseph had no legal interest in the property or power of attorney.
"The entire matter is void on its face, but again we face the issue of accountability, there's no one to turn to- they're all in on it"-Kristen Joseph
Kristen's story reveals the dark underbelly of LA's housing policies, and the aftermath of the pandemic and lockdowns where promised protections ring hollow. With eviction rates still sky-high, how many more suffer in silence?
Kristens reluctancy t share her stories dissipated as she now has "nothing to lose"
"I want to show the public, especially with new mental health laws, what 'short-term' residential treatment really means," says Kristen.
"What unregulated systems and agencies can do to you, you family, your property"
That unregulated system swallowed her son nearly 3 years ago, with no end in sight.
"I don't even understand how they're receiving federal funding for him, the time statutes are all expired, they're not following any laws, rules, or legislation, this should be concerning to everyone"
Kristen was banned from seeing and speaking to her only son for almost 2 years with absolutely no contact. The court's reasoning? "She recorded a court hearing" Kristen reasserts "This is cruel and unusual punishment that should concern all the people, I have the God given unalienable right to raise my son and parent him as I please"
Kristen now faces living on the streets, separated from her son by an unregulated system that swallowed him years ago. But after being failed at every turn, she’s determined to expose the corruption of family and dependency courts and the injustices renters face in Los Angeles.
“As long as I have an internet connection and a coffee shop, I’m available 7 days a week,” insists Kristen. “The system is broken, and my family needs help.”
