Tenant Rights Advocate

Tenant Rights Advocate

Full-Time | On-site | Los Angeles, CA

About Us

Inquilinos Unidos (IU) is a Los Angeles-based tenant’s rights organization with over 45 years of experience advancing safe, decent, and affordable housing for underserved tenants. We primarily serve low-income, immigrant, and Spanish-speaking communities in neighborhoods including Pico-Union, Westlake, Koreatown, Mid-Wilshire, and central Los Angeles, communities with some of the highest concentrations of renters in the city.

Our work spans direct tenant services, community education, organizing, and policy advocacy. We help tenants understand and exercise their rights under local and state housing law, connect them with legal assistance, and mobilize them to advocate for stronger tenant protections. IU is widely recognized for its deep roots in immigrant and Spanish-speaking communities.

We are a small, dedicated team doing meaningful work at the intersection of direct services and community power-building. As we grow, new team members will have the opportunity to contribute across multiple program areas and develop deep expertise in tenant rights and housing policy.

Position Summary

The Tenant Rights Advocate serves as a frontline defender of tenant rights—providing direct tenant services, conducting community outreach, leading tenant education workshops, and engaging public agencies to ensure tenant protections are enforced. This work requires someone who can hold space for tenants in crisis, engage with a trauma-informed lens, and remain steady in tense and high-pressure situations. All while empowering tenants with the knowledge and tools to stand up for themselves.

We walk alongside tenants as they learn to understand and assert their rights, equipping them to advocate for themselves and their communities. We are looking for someone deeply committed to housing justice, mission-driven, and dedicated to growing their expertise in tenant rights and housing policy, building strong community partnerships, and treating every tenant with dignity and respect.

Core Responsibilities

Direct Tenant Services & Empowerment

• Manage an active caseload of tenant cases across assigned communities.
• Conduct thorough tenant intakes and assess the urgency of each situation.
• Empowers tenants by guiding them through complex housing systems with a trauma-informed approach, building their knowledge, confidence, and capacity to advocate for themselves at every step.
• Develop service plans and provide consistent follow-up until resolution or appropriate referral.
• Communicate with relevant public agencies and service providers on behalf of tenants.
• Connect tenants to appropriate internal team members and external referral partners.
• Stay current on tenant protection ordinances, housing policies, and available community resources with a commitment to developing deep subject matter expertise.

Outreach, Field Engagement & Coalition Participation

• Conduct in-person outreach, including door-knocking, canvassing, and property visits.
• Conduct phone banking and text banking campaigns to engage tenants.
• Recruit tenants for workshops, clinics, and organizing efforts.
• Represent IU at tabling events, community fairs, and public gatherings to raise awareness of tenant rights and connect tenants to IU’s services.
• Maintain a visible and professional presence in the community.
• Proactively identify, cultivate, and maintain partnerships with community organizations, legal services providers, and public agencies to expand IU’s resource library and referral network.
• Represent IU at coalition meetings, community convenings, and interagency tables, participating assertively, advancing IU’s positions, and ensuring the communities we serve have a strong voice in relevant spaces.
• Stay current on coalition priorities, policy developments, and opportunities for IU’s engagement.
• Track and document outreach activities, coalition participation, and tenant engagement metrics.

Workshop Leadership & Public Education

• Design and facilitate tenant rights workshops and educational presentations rooted in popular education principles, centering tenants’ own knowledge and experiences as the foundation for learning and collective action.
• Prepare workshop materials and ensure sign-in tracking.
• Provide clear, accessible, and culturally competent information on tenant protections.
• Follow up with workshop participants as needed.

Documentation & Deliverables

• Maintain accurate and timely case notes in the organization’s database.
• Document outreach activities, recruitment efforts, and workshop participation.
• Track deliverables related to tenant engagement and contract requirements.
• Submit documentation with established internal timelines.

Core Competencies

Initiative, Ownership, & Problem-Solving

• A self-directed professional who takes full ownership of their work, makes sound decisions independently, and is comfortable being accountable for results.
• Demonstrates equally strong capacity for collaborative problem-solving, working effectively with coalition partners, community organizations, and colleagues to develop shared strategies and advance common goals.
• Identifies gaps, proposes improvements, and acts, driven by an investment in the organization's effectiveness and mission.
• Pursues ongoing learning and professional development.

Community Engagement & Relationship Building

• Communicates in a way that is clear, culturally resonant, and affirming, leaving tenants feeling informed and capable of taking action.
• Naturally builds trust and rapport with community members, turning individual interactions into lasting connections with IU and the broader tenant rights movement.
• Able to motivate and spark genuine interest in tenant rights, empowering tenants to get involved, attend workshops, and share what they’ve learned with their neighbors.
• Remain calm, grounded, and professional in tense or high-pressure situations.
• Cultivates and sustains partnerships with external organizations and agencies.

Critical Thinking, Judgment & Time Management

• Assesses tenant situations thoughtfully and determines appropriate referrals or interventions.
• Recognizes when a tenant’s situation requires legal intervention, agency referral, or additional resources, and acts on it promptly.
• Manages time effectively across a varied workload, prioritizing and re-prioritizing tasks as needs shift, deadlines change, and urgent situations arise.

Continuous Learning & Growth

• Approaches feedback as a tool for growth, receptive to input, and willing to adjust course when needed.
• Thrives in a dynamic environment, able to shift gears, manage competing demands, and reprioritize fluidly as the work evolves.
• Continuously looks for ways to improve the quality and impact of their work.

Essential Job Functions

• Consistent and dependable attendance.
• Ability to work evenings and occasional weekends.
• Valid driver’s license and proof of auto insurance required.
• Ability to travel locally for outreach and site visits.
• Ability to manage multiple active cases in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfortable working independently in community settings.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of experience in tenant advocacy, housing justice, legal services, community organizing, social services, or related field preferred.
• Experience working with communities in crisis or applying trauma-informed care approaches strongly preferred.
• Bilingual Spanish/ English required.
• Experience managing an active caseload.
• Strong documentation and organizational skills.
• Demonstrated commitment to tenant protections and housing equity.
• Demonstrated ability or genuine willingness to develop subject matter expertise in tenant rights and local housing policy.
• Comfortable with standard computer programs and proficient in, or able to quickly learn, CRM platforms, and database systems for case documentation and data entry.

Compensation & Benefits

Compensation: $27.00-$29.00 per hour, commensurate with experience.

We offer a competitive benefits package including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid time off and holidays

How to Apply

Please submit your resume and cover letter describing your commitment to housing justice and your relevant experience to Karla Perez at kperez@inquilinosunidos.org. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please include the position title in the subject line.

For more information, visit www.inquilinosunidos.org

Equal Opportunity Employer

Inquilinos Unidos is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. We strongly encourage applications from individuals with lived experience in the communities we serve.

Bilingual English & Spanish.