Some residents in an Arleta neighborhood have expressed their concerns after a vacant home was taken over by a squatter. But Joy Benedict of KCAL News was invited into the house, where she heard his side of the whole story.
The man, who does not want to be named, recently moved into the house after living on the street for years.
“I used to stay in the park, but I came into the abandoned house to fix it,” he told Benedict.
Despite a series of holes in the ceiling and floor, he says he really tried to spruce things up. When asked what he has done about the renovation in recent months, he said he has restored some doors, windows and floors.
Even though he has no running water or electricity, he says he can make ends meet.
“Everything I get comes from recycling,” he said.
Despite his claims, neighbors say the opposite is true and he is in fact tearing down the house and allowing it to fall further into disrepair.
“Our neighborhood needs help,” said Terri Cortez, who lives next door. “It’s terrible. The person taking drugs is up all night making noise all the time. We can’t sleep, we can’t even walk in front of that house safely.”
The man admits he struggles with a substance abuse problem, but working from home has given him something to do, which he says keeps him busy and sober.
He says his end goal is to one day use the house for his family.
Los Angeles County records show the house is still owned by a man named Craig Lalton, but he died in 2020. Since then, neighbors say a slew of squatters have temporarily occupied the house at one time or another.
One of the temporary tenants even set the building on fire in 2022.
Records show that the house defaulted on its Bank of America loan in 2023 and was thus put up for auction. City officials still post signs warning people not to enter, but that doesn’t really deter neighbors, neighbors say.
“The current person there has now removed windows. The house has been boarded up twice and the city inspectors have been here many times and have posted signs about the vacant no-occupancy order,” Cortez said.
She says the man inside simply takes the signs down when they are put back up.
Benedict asked the man what he would do if the city told him he couldn’t live there, to which he had a simple answer.
“I’m leaving,” he said.
Neighbors say the opposite is true, leaving them with fear and frustration in the places where they should feel safest.
The Los Angeles County Department of Building and Safety, the Los Angeles Police Department and the local Los Angeles City Council office have been contacted about the ordeal. But now that the owner is dead and there are no relatives to claim ownership, the process becomes more complicated.
