Building Safety Program Found to Be Ineffective

A city program that withholds rent payments from landowners who fail to comply with building and safety codes is ineffective, according to an audit that City Controller Laura Chick released Thursday.

The Rent Escrow Account Program allows tenants to pay only half their rent until the building is brought into compliance.

"We have an affordable housing crisis in Los Angeles, but we won't solve it unless programs like REAP are effective," Chick said.

The program, established in 1989, has been unsuccessful because of poor administration, among other problems, she said.