Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman, who is running for mayor with the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America’s Los Angeles chapter, is seeking to demolish her current Silver Lake home and replace it with a house 88% larger than the one she has now.
Raman’s existing home measures 1,879 square feet. The proposed replacement would be a three-story, 3,528-square-foot house that includes a spa and a two-car garage.
DSA-LA endorsed Raman for mayor on Sept. 2. She has belonged to the organization since before her first City Council run in 2020.
The group’s Democratic Socialist Program for Los Angeles calls for “decommodified housing” removed from the private market and explicitly demands that government “expropriate privately owned housing.” Raman is a member of the organization that wrote that platform, sought its endorsement, and accepted it.
Her current home is not a teardown by necessity. It is a three-bedroom, 2.5-bath hillside property with hardwood floors, wood-beamed ceilings, a gourmet kitchen, walk-in closets, a sprawling deck and panoramic views. It is also listed as a contributing property in the Silver Lake Residential Historic District.
Raman has described Los Angeles’ housing affordability crisis as “the compounding moral crisis of our time.” She is now seeking to nearly double the size of her own home.
Los Angeles already provides a mayoral residence, Getty House, in Windsor Square near Hancock Park. If Raman wins the mayor’s race, she could move into Getty House while owning an upgraded, larger private home in Silver Lake.
Property owners have the right to renovate or rebuild homes they own, provided they follow the law and can afford the work. Raman is exercising that right for herself while running for office backed by an organization whose platform seeks to strip that same right from other homeowners.
Housing policy sits at the center of Raman’s mayoral campaign. Her decision to expand her own home while allied with a group that wants to expropriate privately owned housing is a matter voters can weigh directly against the case she is making for why she should lead the city.
