Reporting Illegal Construction in Highland Park

On Monday, the Los Angeles Times and that the City Attorney's office had filed more than 50 charges against landlord John Callaghan for alleged violations at two properties he owns in Los Angeles, one of which is located in Highland Park.

The City Attorney's Office alleges that Callaghan--without the permission of the city--converted the single family dwelling on Granada St. into 14 rental units by illegally converting the garage, basement and recreation room into habitable rooms.

In reacting to the story, several Patch readers lamented that there were many more properties in the neighborhood where illegal construction or subdivisions took place, and that the city provided inadequate avenues to report such violations.

"L.A. has ignored many apparent structural changes to homes and garages," said reader Rosario. "In my opinion, if the city truly wished to do something regarding the illegal construction and tenancy of homes, an online anonymous hot-line would already be in existence and require enforcement by Building and Safety. The paper trail would hold Building and Safety personnel accountable for enforcing City's Building and Safety Codes."

After doing some searching, we found that tip-lines exist on both the Los Angeles Department of Building & Safety (LADBS) and Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) websites, but neither are anonymous. 

Reporting through the Housing Department: 

The Los Angeles Housing Department handles inspections of properties with two or more dwelling units, including duplexes and apartment buildings.

There are two ways to report violations through LAHD. To report anonymously, you can call their hotline at 1-866-557-7368.

Online requests can be made through LAHD's website. Users will be required to submit their name and phone number in reporting a violation, which the LAHD's states is needed to "to achieve a higher level of success in resolving cases and obtaining compliance."

Reporting through the Building & Safety Department:

Los Angeles Bulding & Safety Department addresses single family residential, commercial, industrial and vacant buildings. Their online tip submission form can be found here. Like LAHD, LADBS does not accept anonymous tips online. However, both sites claim that user information will be kept confidential.

Anonymous tips can be made by phone by calling city services at 311.