The Brief
- The City of Oakland is suing Mosser Companies after both elevators at the La Peralta apartment building were out of service for 52 consecutive days in 2025.
- This marks the first time the City Attorney has sued to enforce a 2024 ordinance requiring landlords to notify residents and provide accommodations during extended elevator outages.
- A group of seven tenants is also suing the property owner over the elevators, persistent disrepair, pest issues, and safety hazards.
OAKLAND, Calif. – The Oakland City Attorney is joining a legal battle against a downtown landlord after elderly and disabled residents were left without working elevators for weeks.
The lawsuit against Mosser Companies alleges a history of disrepair at “La Peralta,” a six-story affordable housing building with roughly 100 units. During the summer of 2025, both elevators in the building were out of service for 52 consecutive days, leaving many mobility-impaired residents trapped or forced to navigate multiple flights of stairs.
‘Nightmare’ for residents
What they’re saying:
According to residents, complaints regarding building maintenance had gone ignored for months. During elevator outages, the Oakland Fire Department responded to more than a dozen emergency calls to free residents trapped inside malfunctioning elevators.…