The eviction of hundreds of tenants at the sprawling Westside apartment complex, Barrington Plaza, did not meet the requirements of state and local laws, a judge provisionally ruled Thursday.
The plaza's owner, Douglas Emmett Inc., attempted to evict nearly 600 tenants from the complex last year, saying fire sprinklers and other fire safety improvements needed to be installed after two large fires.
In the months since eviction notices were served, hundreds of residents have moved out. But more than 100 remained, and the tenants association filed a lawsuit, arguing that the evictions were not appropriate under the law. They framed their fight as an effort to protect a cluster of rent-controlled apartments in a neighborhood where housing costs are skyrocketing.
Under the tentative ruling issued Thursday by Superior Court Judge H. Jay Ford III, tenants will be able to stay in their homes.
The trial of the civil case took place in April in Santa Monica Court.
Two laws were at the center of the case: the state's Ellis Act, which gives landlords the right to get out of the rental business, and the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which controls rent increases and addresses how applies the Ellis Act at the local level.
In its tentative ruling, Ford said the owner failed to meet both requirements.
Under the Ellis Act, landlords can evict rent-stabilized tenants to remove units from the rental market. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Rent Stabilization Ordinance says landlords can evict if they have a good faith intention to demolish the unit or permanently remove it from rental housing use.
The judge determined that the company never intended to remove the units from the rental market when it attempted to evict the tenants. Instead, the company planned to renovate the units and re-rent them.
The company “always had a present and continuing intention to renovate the units for future use as residential rental housing,” he wrote.
During the trial, the company argued that it met the legal requirements for evictions. Lawyers for the landlords said safety precautions forced them to evict tenants to install fire sprinklers following two large fires in recent years.
The company can still file objections to the ruling, which is not final. The company did not immediately comment on the ruling. But tenants were celebrating Thursday.
“This victory is a testament to the strength, resilience and unity of our community,” the Barrington Plaza Tenants Association said in a statement following the ruling. “The court recognized our rights and ruled in our favor; this decision marks a significant victory for tenants' rights.”
