> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# ‘Bootlegged’ apartments to receive a closer look
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/bootlegged-apartments-to-receive-a-closer-look-2/
- Published: 2003-04-24T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:05:41.000Z
- Author: John Wood
- Tags: Real Estate & Housing, Santa Monica, #archive-import

More than 1,000 “bootlegged” rentals in Santa Monica may soon become legal.

The City Council on Tuesday agreed to consider easing current standards in order to bring the rent-controlled units up to code and bring the city more money.

If the amendments pass, landlords, who are currently ducking nearly $8 million in permit revenues and various fees, will be asked to register their properties with the city, according to city documents.

The total average cost for bringing an 800-square foot, one-bedroom apartment up to code is $7,840.

But council members are not so sure that legalizing the apartments will bring in the cash.

“The goal is to have these units comply with building and safety,” said Mayor Richard Bloom, adding that some of the fees may need to be waived in order to encourage landlords to register the units.

The 1,000 bootlegged units were discovered by comparing records from the L.A. County Assessor with documents from the Santa Monica Rent Control Board, officials said.

Rosario Perry, an attorney for local landlords, asked the council to waive the fees for the landlords of bootlegged units, saying it was too expensive.

He also requested that the bootlegged units be exempt from current code. Instead, he proposed the units be subject to the code in place when they were constructed.

Perry argued that there were probably more than 3,000 bootlegged units in Santa Monica, many of them 300 square feet in size or smaller. If the landlords are forced to pay full price, the future of some of the affordable housing may be in jeopardy, he said.

“They’re real down and dirty housing for poor people in Santa Monica,” he said.

The council denied both suggestions and made a unanimous decision directing city staff to draft the amendments.

While some of the bootlegged units pose safety concerns, most lack registration because they don’t meet parking, density and set-back requirements, said Tim McCormick, the city’s building officer.

Waiving those restrictions would make the units eligible for inspection and therefore subject to standard fees and permit-ting requirements.

If the code were changed, building officials would send a notice to landlords to register their units with the city. Landlords would then have to go through the usual registration process before their properties would be considered legal, McCormick said. COMMUNITY BRIEF

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 24, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042403.pdf?ref=smdp.com)