Tenants in surviving buildings in Altadena have faced a complex and extremely difficult set of conditions since the Eaton Fire.
Many of us have been displaced for months on end or forced to return to unsafe living conditions as landlords delay remediation and cleanup. Local government has taken months to enforce existing law, and only lawsuits have forced any movement from County officials.
If you’re an Altadena tenant in a surviving structure, we’ve gathered the best and most current information we can on your rights and how to take action.
Photo Credit: “Altadena fire cleanup reveals failures in protective equipment,” Fire & Safety Journal Americas (June 25, 2025)
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THE FACTS: KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
Two recent provisions - a notice about Rental Housing Habitability from LA County as well as a recent state law called SB610 - codify certain important rights for renters and tenants in Altadena post-Eaton Fire. It is important to know what the law says as well as what the enforcement reality on the ground is. Here are the facts about what the law says:
Your landlord is legally obligated to provide housing that is free from post-fire contamination and debris.
“California law requires owners of rental property to maintain their rental housing property and units in a manner that meets housing health and safety standards. To meet state housing health and safety standards, landlords must remediate hazardous ash, soot and smoke damage from rental housing properties and units and maintain rental housing units in a safe and habitable condition.”
-LA County Rental Housing Habitability Notice
“[F]or any structure intended for human habitation, it shall be the duty of a landlord to undertake one or both of the following actions as may be necessary to remediate any dilapidations that arise as a result of a disaster: (1) Removal of debris caused by the disaster; (2) Mitigation of hazards arising from the disaster, including, but not limited to, the presence of mold, smoke, smoke residue, smoke odor, ash, asbestos, or water damage.”
If your landlord has not remediated your housing - or has done a bad job - you have the right to file a complaint with the LA County Department of Public Health (DPH).
For those rental housing properties located in unincorporated Altadena: Public Health presumes that they have been impacted by the Eaton fire and must be mitigated. Therefore, upon receipt of a complaint from a tenant in Altadena, Public Health will inspect the rental housing property and unit.”
You have the right to an inspection of your housing by DPH (especially if you file a complaint or open a claim before December 31, 2025).
“Public Health will...order the landlords and/or rental property owners to hire certified professionals (i.e. Environmental Consultants / Industrial Hygienists) to evaluate the rental housing property for smoke, ash and soot damage, including the interior of the unit(s) and the building systems (e.g., attics, HVAC systems, insulation and ductwork); perform testing as warranted to evaluate the fire’s impact on the property; and hire certified professionals to perform necessary remediation.”
You have the right to obtain documentation of testing and remediation results and processes from your landlord, and they must notify you of actions taken in writing.
“The landlord shall comply...within a reasonable time after the property sustains damage, and shall follow any and all cleaning protocols issued by government officials, including contracting with licensed remediation companies where required. If the tenant has provided the landlord with a postal or email address, the landlord shall notify the tenant in writing that the landlord has complied with subdivision (a) and that the tenant may view and, if requested, obtain copies of any environmental studies, testing, or reports conducted..”
It’s ILLEGAL for your landlord to retaliate against you for exercising any of your rights.
“Failure to comply with Public Health orders may result in further legal action. Retaliation against a tenant for exercising their rights is prohibited by Los Angeles County Code § 8.53.180.”
The reality on the ground is that none of this is happening automatically - you will have to file a complaint and push process along. It shouldn’t be that way, but we want to be honest about what we’re hearing from other tenants going through the same steps across Altadena. So here’s what we recommend:
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
Make sure your requests for repairs/remediation are documented in writing to your landlord. If your landlord has continued to refuse your requests for remediation, the new DPH notice that was published in August 2025 may help pressure your landlord to take action (see more below). You can use our template letter as an example of this type of request.
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File a complaint with the LA County Department of Health to trigger an investigation.
DPH will NOT inspect a rental unit without a complaint. Once a complaint has been received, DPH should follow up by arranging a date and time to send an inspector to your home/unit. Note that due to the “Altadena Presumption” (i.e. the presumption that all structures in Altadena were damaged from the fire regardless of what damage is or is not visible), they should be following up with your landlord to ensure that they conduct necessary testing and professional remediation. It is VERY IMPORTANT to note that the presumption (and the DPH notice) expire on December 31, 2025, so you should make your complaint as soon as possible so that you can receive an inspection and begin the process well before the deadline.
The Altadena Presumption means that every dwelling in Altadena should be assumed to have been affected by the Eaton Fire, and therefore there is no obligation on tenants to prove that specific issues (soot, ash, smoke damage, fire debris, etc) are present. Accordin
You can submit a complaint regarding suspected smoke or ash damage from the Eaton Fire directly to Public Health at (888) 700-9995 (select option 3) or via email at DPH-RHHP@ph.lacounty.gov.
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Tell us (ATU) that you filed that complaint: Please use this Google form to let us know that you’ve submitted a complaint and to keep us updated on the results. We’re still working with Neighborhood Legal Services to track and escalate complaints that don’t go anywhere or are mishandled, so we want to know what’s happening with your situation and if you run into any issues.
The following steps are what is supposed to happen next, but we are not exactly sure (nor are we confident that the County will follow their own guidelines). We’ll be tracking what we see across Altadena, and this is why we hope to hear from tenants about what their experiences are.
04.
Undergo an inspection.
DPH should respond to your complaint and schedule a time for a DPH inspector to visit your home. Because of the presumption of damage, we believe that the inspection should largely be a formality. However, they may still be looking for visible damage. Be sure to show them any visible damage if possible (ash on windowsills, broken windows, etc), and mention previous damage, even if you’ve already cleaned it up (show photographs if you have any). Point out EVERYTHING to the inspector – make sure they look into your HVAC systems, in your attic, etc. Mention ANY physical health impacts you have been experiencing since the fire (breathing issues, headaches, etc). This is not a time to be polite or to try to give your landlord the benefit of the doubt - tell the inspector everything that has not been done since the fire and how it has impacted you. There’s no other way for them to know that information.
Landlord does testing.
The result of every inspection of unremediated housing in Altadena should result in an order to the landlord to hire a reputable and certified professional company (industrial hygienist) to conduct testing, including in building systems like HVAC, attics, and other areas. (Remember, this is only the building - your personal belongings are not covered.) Here’s what we don’t know: What qualifies as a reasonable time period? What tests are required/expected? Is there a standard set of tests that certified industrial hygienists would use? How can the tenant verify that building systems like HVAC are being tested? Are outdoor common areas that are accessible to/included in tenants’ leases also going to be tested? Fill out our form and tell us what happened in yours.
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Based on test results, landlord remediates.
Based on the results of the test, the landlord is supposed to hire a professional remediation company to undertake appropriate remediation measures. (Nothing in the notice obligates landlords to undertake post-remediation testing, unfortunately.) Again, what qualifies as a reasonable timeframe for remediation, and what recourse do tenants have if landlords are dragging their feet or not hiring qualified remediation companies? Under the terms of SB610, your landlord is required to notify you in writing of all steps taken (testing, companies hired, etc), and you have the right to request copies of all that documentation.
If you have already tried contacting the LA County Department of Public Health before this notice was posted and were told that they do not help with smoke and ash remediation, we recommend following all of the above steps, including re-submitting a new complaint.
Again, please keep us updated on what happens by filling out this Google form. You can also get in touch with us at info@altadenatenantsunion.org.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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No! The job of the Department of Public Health is to make sure your home is safe to live in. If you have concerns or if you know that remediation hasn’t happened post-fire, that’s exactly what their Rental Housing Habitability Program is for. Your tax dollars pay for it!
It’s absolutely against the law for your landlord to retaliate against you for filing a complaint (threatening eviction, harassment, sending nasty emails, raising your rent, etc.). Under California Civil Code § 1942.5, landlords are prohibited from punishing tenants for engaging in certain protected actions, including making a complaint regarding a habitability issue at your unit. Specifically, a landlord cannot, within 180 days of a protected action, do any of the following without consequence:
Raise your rent.
Serve an eviction notice.
Reduce services like utilities, parking, access to amenities, etc.
Harass, threaten, or intimidate you.
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No! DPH will provide an inspection report to you and your landlord, with required next steps (which should include testing and remediation of all building systems (like attics, insulation, HVAC, and ductwork) as well as any living and common areas. Your landlord can take that to their insurance company to get them to cover testing and remediation.
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Let us know about it. We (ATU) plus our partners at Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS LA) are tracking complaints, enforcement, and compliance, so we can help escalate or ensure that your landlord complies with the law.
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File another complaint and request a new inspection! Many tenants are reporting that multiple inspections are needed. Remember, your landlord must test and remediate all living and common areas as well as all building systems (that includes attics, insulation, ductwork, and HVAC).