The Santa Monica City Attorney's Office has obtained final judgments against two landlords who failed to pay mandatory temporary relocation benefits to displaced tenants.
Through the judgments, tenants will receive more than $50,000 in unpaid relocation fees, and landlords will pay over $40,000 in penalties and attorneys' fees to the city.
Both cases were brought under the city's Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance, which requires landlords to pay temporary relocation benefits to tenants displaced due to health and safety concerns.
In the case against landlord Eric Goldie, the city alleged he failed to pay benefits to a mother of four and her daughters after unpermitted construction rendered their unit uninhabitable. The court ordered Goldie to pay $16,119 in unpaid benefits plus interest to the tenant, a $500 civil penalty and $40,700 in attorneys' fees to the city.
In a settlement with landlord Christopher Charles "Bo" Drake and affiliated companies, the defendants agreed to pay $35,929 in unpaid benefits plus interest to two tenants whose units were deemed uninhabitable due to red-tagged heaters, along with $1,000 in civil penalties.
"The city's relocation ordinance provides stability and security to renters forced to leave their homes through no fault of their own," Deputy City Attorney Denise McGranahan said. "When necessary, the City Attorney's Office will enforce the ordinance in court."
Edited by SMDP Staff