In October 2017 Yesenia Miranda Meza’s landlord sent notice that rent would increase by $300 a month — a roughly 30% increase for the Pomona apartment.
Miranda Meza a certified paralegal, had lived in the unit for about six years at that point.
With help from tenant advocacy group ACCE Action Miranda Meza organized a rent strike among fellow tenants, focusing on long-deferred maintenance and habitability issues in the building. About 18 of the 24 units withheld their rent. That experience eventually led to the formation of Pomona United for Stable Housing (PUSH). Miranda Meza drove to Los Angeles for a clinic held by ACCE, but the single parent of three wanted Pomona tenants to get help closer to home. The tenants’ rights group has spent the better part of a decade fighting for rent control in the city on Los Angeles County’s eastern border…