-
Listen Listen
David Wagner
What I cover
I cover housing in Southern California, a place where ever-rising rents and a persistent lack of affordable housing have led to many living on the edge of homelessness.
My background
I’ve been helping people understand their rights, housing market trends, policy changes and the solutions being proposed to fix the region’s housing crisis for more than five years.
My goals
I want my coverage to help renters, landlords and anyone else affected by L.A.’s affordability issues navigate the region’s ongoing housing crisis.
Best way to reach me
I would love to hear from you if you have questions or concerns related to housing in Southern California. You can reach out by email. I'm at dwagner@laist.com. Or, if you have a tip you’d like to share more privately, you can reach me on Signal. My username is @reporterdavidwagner.38. For instructions on getting started with Signal, see the app's support page.
-
The city stopped taking applications for rent relief in April. Advocates and lawmakers are pushing to reopen the program.
-
Months after the county cited a property for roaches, holes in the walls and lack of hot water, tenants say problems haven’t been fixed. Activists say it’s just one example of a larger problem.
-
As L.A. tenants anxiously wait for rent relief, hundreds of millions of dollars remain unspent. The city of L.A. has distributed just 7% of available funding.
-
The L.A. City Council passed rules that let tenants sue landlords who physically threaten them, refuse to accept rent or don't perform repairs.
-
Some companies plan to let their L.A. employees keep working from home. But the businesses that cater to those workers need them to come back to the office.
-
In 2017, the city created a program designed to preserve affordable — but unpermitted — apartments by bringing them up to code. Four years later, only 39 units have been approved.
-
Our analysis found unpermitted housing citations plummeted by more than two-thirds in 2020. Here’s what that meant for tenants in bootleg apartments.
-
The saga of tenants at one dilapidated Mid-City housing complex is emblematic of a citywide problem that got worse during the pandemic.
-
Parent company Kroger blames its closure of a Ralphs and a Food 4 Less on the city's decision to pass a temporary $4-per-hour pay bump for grocery workers.
-
A Ralphs and a Food 4 Less are set to close permanently, with parent company Kroger blaming the city’s elected leaders for passing a temporary $4-per-hour pay bump.
-
If you lost work and collected California unemployment benefits last year, here are some tips to help you survive tax season.
-
Paying your taxes is one ritual the pandemic hasn't disrupted. If you lost work and collected unemployment benefits last year, here's how to file.
