Meet Local Hero Nominee: Carlos Aguilar

Nominee Name: Carlos Aguilar
Title: Director of Organizing
Organization/Business: Coalition for Economic Survival
Website: Coalition for Economic Survival website
Nominator: Marco Perez

“Carlos Aguilar is a tenants’ rights advocate who tirelessly listens to people and navigates this city to address legitimate concerns. He holds city officials/departments and predatory property owners accountable. Carlos is an unsung hero working out of a tiny office while answering the call for help by hundreds of victims of unlawful practices violating their renters’ rights. He has made it his mission to assist those in need and whose traits and passion are firmly rooted in social justice.”

— Marco Perez, Nominator

About Carlos Aguilar

As Director of Organizing for The Coalition for Economic Survival (CES), Carlos Aguilar works to ensure that tenants have the right to safe, healthy and affordable housing and provides them with tools to empower them to demand that these rights be respected. Founded in 1973, CES is a grassroots, multi-ethnic, tenants’ rights organization serving low and moderate-income renters throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Aguilar listens to cases, makes home visits and offers advice based on what rights exist. Aguilar also guides people through the administrative process required to file habitability and rent violations and works with people to prepare them to speak up for themselves at any hearings. Committed to social justice, Aguilar strategically manages the organization’s outreach and education efforts, often speaking at City Council meetings and press conferences to address housing issues. On weekends he conducts tenant’s rights workshops and organizes people to help empower them. During COVID-19, Aguilar and his team have been working to ensure that tenants are not taken advantage of and are helping to make certain that any city and county enabled resources, like rent-relief and access to free legal services, are being properly applied and distributed.

More on Carlos Aguilar

• Acosta, Connie (2017) “ What are Tenant’s Rights in the Midst of LA’s Affordable Housing Crisis?” City Watch LA
• Smith, Dakota (2016) “LA leaders give more protection against shady landlords.” LA Daily News 
• “After Rent Cap Bill, LA Approves Emergency Moratorium On Evictions.” Bisnow
• Chandler, Jenna (2019) “City of Los Angeles bans ‘no fault’ evictions.” Curbed Los Angeles
• Coalition for Economic Survival Facebook page
• Watch Carlos Aguilar testify in 2019 to support an eviction moratorium in the video below.

https://youtu.be/hITjrsCtqbs

• Watch Carlos Aguilar discuss renters’ rights with the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO in this Facebook video.