On Jan 12, 2016, Verano Place Housing (VP) sent an email to residents of units 6200-6528 informing them of scheduled heat treatment for termites spanning February 9th to June 10th, 2016, which would displace residents and their property and cause substantial expense and inconvenience.
This was announced without addressing previously expressed resident concerns about termite treatment. These concerns include issues of expense, liability, property damage, and scheduling, among others. Residents have repeatedly brought these concerns to VP management, following previous announcements of similar plans in the springs of 2013, 2014, and 2015. On Mar 17, 2015, residents delivered a petition with 122 signatures VP, demanding delay of heat treatment until these concerns have been addressed. As none of these concerns have been addressed to date, we reiterate this demand.
Specifically, we are shocked that despite resident concerns that our property will be damaged in this process, Verano still does not have any plan whatsoever for dealing with liability despite a year to come up with such a plan. This concern is even more pressing after a contractor at the resident meeting announced that “I can’t tell you there won’t be damage,” and suggested that plywood and pressboard furniture was likely to fall apart.
Despite major resident concerns last year with the lack of notice and the disruptive scheduling of the treatment plan, this year’s plan was again announced on short notice, and Verano does not appear to have made any effort to work with residents to minimize the inconvenience of the scheduling.
Despite concerns that the treatment plan unfairly displaced expenses onto residents, the new plan continues to come at major resident expense of both time and money. We are especially troubled by Verano’s refusal to provide packing supplies for the property that residents are required to move for this treatment plan, and by Verano’s refusal to cover the cost of pet care during the period that residents are displaced. We also continue to object to Verano’s lack of provision for residents with disabilities, kids, pets, transportation needs, and other needs, who will be adversely affected by this displacement.
Despite resident concerns with storage and demands for moving support, the newly announced storage plan is woefully inadequate. Storage containers are located far from resident units, and Verano continues to refuse to provide movers to assist residents with their displacement. This is a major displacement, in some cases equivalent to moving back in and out of our apartments. Moreover, the storage units Verano has said they will provide are located a much farther distance than a moving truck would be, exacerbating the unfeasibility of moving our belongings.
Despite displacing residents and their property at substantial expense to residents, and despite disrupting our “quiet possession” of our apartments for at least a week — as a contractor said we would need to begin packing our things a week in advance — Verano continues to avoid its responsibility to compensate residents or to provide rent relief for the period of disruption.
Because these concerns remain unaddressed, we reiterate our demand that Verano Place Housing’s heat treatment for termites be postponed until terms are satisfactory to the tenants.
Based on California codes and regulations (e.g. CA Civil Code Section 1927, http://www.caltenantlaw.com), as well as Orange County and City of Irvine ordinances, Verano Place has no legal authority to compel the temporary eviction of residents. Absent of showing such authority, we demand VP not move forward on the scheduled plans for heat treatment until a negotiation of terms that is satisfactory to all residents.
While we are open to working with VP on a termite treatment plan that respects our rights as tenants, the current plan places an untenable burden on us as residents of these units.
We are taking the following actions, beginning immediately:
- We are circulating a petition to residents demanding that the displacement be delayed.
- We are going door to door to all affected residences in units 6200-6528 to inform residents of their right to stay in their homes.
- We are coordinating with Verano Residents’ Council representatives about next steps for negotiation.
- We are contacting the Fair Housing Alliance and Orange County Legal Aid about this situation.
We acknowledge that the need to treat for termites is a valid concern. However, so are the rights and needs of residents. We look forward to working with you and Verano Place Housing as needed to resolve this issue to the satisfaction of all affected parties.
Verano Tenant Rights 
I was planning on staying in VP if they fumigated. I too have a wife and kids, but I’m tired of finding small piles of wood/drywall debris. So looks like I’ll be requesting to move to PV so I don’t have to deal with the self-entitled hippies who want to protest for the sake of protesting.
@annoyed: So did you read any of this? Objecting to violations of tenant rights as established by state law and county/city ordinances is nothing but the baseless protesting of “self-entitled hippies”? I know it’s finals and everything, but can you maybe tone down the misanthropy?
To the team organizing this and getting the word out: thank you! Remind me never to piss off a group of multidisciplinary intellectuals.
@annoyed: Tenant rights exist for a reason, and residents are protesting the violations of said rights because it is against the law. I have two talks to give at an important conference; the first falls on the day our fumigation is scheduled, the second, the day after. I have been scheduled to give these talks since late 2014. When given such short notice to vacate, I will likely have to cancel (due to logistical problems). This will have an unacceptably deleterious impact on my academic reputation and future career. So-such protests are not occurring in order to engage in some diffuse, unfocused act of defiance. I will suffer real consequences because Verano is breaking the law. This is absolutely unacceptable.
The concerns I have involve the short notice, the fact that they are not responding to request to clarify information, and the cost this treatment imposes on us. I support the need to get rid of termites. I just do not understand why we have been given so little notice when they knew about the problem for three years. Also, with the heat treatment it seems like we have to remove a lot of items and the list of items are not specific enough about what items need to be removed. What is included in “sensitive electrical equipment”?