SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, May 27, the city of Santa Monica announced on its website that three related cases brought against a Santa Monica landlord, including one case brought by the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office under the city’s Tenant Harassment and Housing Anti-Discrimination ordinances, have settled, with the landlord agreeing to pay $685,000 to settle all lawsuits, including a stipulated judgment and injunction in the city’s case.
According to a news release from the city of Santa Monica, the city’s case alleged the landlord intentionally failed to register tenancies at his triplex with the Rent Control Board and to disclose to his tenants they had just cause eviction and rent control protections. They later harassed and intimidated them, after receiving multiple letters from the city of Santa Monica.
The city alleged that a family of four was constructively evicted after the landlord falsely claimed he was planning to owner-occupy their apartment, while nearly simultaneously purchasing a $1.4 million dollar home for his family and placing the triplex up for sale.
It is further alleged that the landlord persistently and unlawfully entered the tenants’ unit and once yelled at the tenants in front of their minor children, making them cry and removed the tenants’ access to the outdoor common area, all of which drove them to vacate in May 2023.
The tenants were forced to move to a new apartment at significantly higher rent and the landlord re-rented their apartment at a higher rent.
Immediately after a tenant in a different unit requested repairs and to replace her roommate as permitted by the Rent Control Law, the city of Santa Monica alleged that the landlord started harassing and retaliating against her, including by demanding she vacate or sign a new lease with her as the only tenant, requalify for occupancy and pay a higher rent.
The landlord took away multiple amenities, refused to make repairs and placed illegal and unreasonable conditions on roommate replacement, making the apartment unaffordable to the tenant.
The city of Santa Monica alleged the landlord intentionally discriminated against the same tenant, who is immunocompromised, on the basis of her disability, by refusing to consider her repeated requests for reasonable accommodations that he remediate mold in the unit and temporarily relocate her pending the remediation, something he was already required to do under the warranty of habitability.
He responded to her requests, stating in writing that the building is not suitable for tenants with “special conditions,” and that it is “not a wise choice for someone with respiratory issues” or for those who “require special care and attention.”
“The City Attorney’s Office strives to educate landlords about their legal obligations under Santa Monica’s tenant protection laws and to gain voluntary compliance, but when a landlord adamantly refuses to comply, as was the case here, we vigorously enforce those laws,” said City Attorney Doug Sloan.
As a part of the settlement with the city of Santa Monica and two separate settlements resolving the tenants’ lawsuits, the defendant agreed to:
-Pay $685,000 to the tenants and the city.
-No longer manage any residential rental property in Santa Monica and hire a city-approved third-party property manager to manage any residential rental property he owns in the city.
-Professionally test and remediate the mold in one unit and temporarily relocate the tenant during remediation, if necessary.
-Comply with all Santa Monica and California tenant protection and fair housing laws, including specifically, by engaging in a dialogue (the legally required “interactive process”) with a tenant who has requested reasonable accommodations, in an attempt to reach a reasonable accommodation, refraining from making discriminatory statements regarding any tenant’s disability, and refraining from refusing to rent to persons with disabilities or imposing any special conditions on occupancy by such persons.
-Attend three hours of city-approved landlord-tenant training.
-Pay a minimum penalty of $10,000 per violation if he is found to violate the agreement.
For more details on Housing Protections in Santa Monica visit: https://www.santamonica.gov/topic-explainers/housing-protection.
By Danny Jones