RCB, from page 1 Both sides accused each other of lying
A Santa Monica tenant last week was told to take a hike after a recent rent-control dispute, during which the parties involved accused each other of lying.
After a dramatic display of testimony, the Rent Control Board (RCB) last Thursday favored landlord Douglas Emmett & Co. regarding tenants Alvin and Auna Perry.
An attorney for Emmett — one of Santa Monica’s largest property management firms — argued the Perrys used their Shores apartment as a second home, qualifying it for a rental increase. The company even hired a private investigator to prove that the Perrys were using the beachfront apartment as a getaway spot.
Under Santa Monica’s Regulation No. 3304, a rent control law passed in 2003, landlords are able to increase rent when it’s been determined a unit is not the tenant’s primary residence. The law was designed to weed out renters who use their units as second homes, or for office or storage space, according to city records.
The RCB agreed with Emmett’s position. As a result, the Perrys’ rent will likely be increased from $714 to 2,329 per month.
At issue was whether the Shores unit where the Perrys lived occasionally was their primary home. According to the RCB, the evidence showed it wasn’t.
In 1991, Alvin Perry, an attorney and real estate broker, began leasing unit No. 1114 at 2700 Nelison Way for his daughter, Michele Perry, according to city records.
Alvin Perry created a bank account for his daughter with checks reflecting the unit’s address. Michele Perry signed and submitted the checks to the landlord to pay the rent, although the account was actually her father’s, according to city records.
Michele Perry married Steve Garber in 1993. She and her husband continued to live in the apartment until a few years later, when they bought a home in Woodland Hills, where Michele Garber’s parents also lived and owned a home, according to last week’s testimony.
The Garbers didn’t inform the landlord they moved out. Instead, the Perrys began using the unit as a weekend residence, according to city records. Steve Garber continued to pay the rent from the same account Michele once did, but he signed Michele’s name, not his, according to testimony.
When repairs were needed, Alvin Perry, the new occupant, would sign his daughter’s name on the written requests, according to city records. Since Michele Garber’s departure, all correspondence with the landlord was drafted by Alvin Perry and signed by him using his daughter’s name, according to city records. When Alvin Perry telephoned the landlord, he announced himself as Steve Garber.
Alvin Perry, semi-retired, told the RCB last Thursday that he and his wife’s general schedule was to spend Thursday through Sunday in the apartment and Monday through Wednesday at the Woodland Hills home.
The Woodland Hills home is fully furnished, although several rooms in the house are used as offices, according to city records.
The Perrys’ vehicles are registered in Woodland Hills, where the couple is also registered to vote. Their drivers’ licenses also list the Woodland Hills address. In 2004, when the Perrys refinanced the mortgage on their home, they stated in an occupancy clause that it was their primary residence.
To convince officials the Perrys’ apartment was in fact not their primary residence, Emmett hired a private investigator to monitor their living behavior. The P.I. collected evidence that showed the Perrys were more often in Woodland Hills than in Santa Monica, including over some weekends.
“We have video and photographs of them coming out to get their newspaper in the morning, then returning inside their Woodland Hills home,” said Don Sherwood, Emmett’s attorney. “It’s clear they are people who have no credibility, and they shouldn’t be believed.”
Alvin Perry, speaking on behalf of himself and his wife, took offense to Sherwood’s remarks and said he felt the landlord’s attempt to scorn was a sad sign of the times.
“It’s a sad day when an investment management company can come in and spy on people,” Alvin Perry said. “My wife and I have been living at the Shores for 10 years, and it’s clear he’s not telling the truth.”
However, RBC commissioners had their own interpretation of the facts, which didn’t favor Perrys’ perspective.
“You’re saying their investigator is lying, when you live in Woodland Hills?” said RCB commissioner Jeffrey Sklar. “If the landlord feels they have to hire a P.I. to get to the facts, (the landlord) will.”
RCB chair Toy Alan also agreed the facts in the case seemed to indicate a different version of the truth than the one Perry attempted to convey.
“It looks like you’ve made a series of mistakes,” Toy said. “However, the preponderance of evidence is against you.
“It sounds like you were trying to beat the system.”
Tracy Condon, a rent-control spokeswoman, said while Regulation No. 3304 has been active, 166 cases have been filed by landlords. Of those, 41 have been dismissed by a committee because there was not enough evidence to support a hearing, 26 were granted administratively because the tenant didn’t contest the rent increase, and 22 were withdrawn by the landlord.
So far, hearings have been held in 71 cases, 48 of which ultimately sided with the landlord and 24 sided with the tenant, Condon said. Five cases are pending.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 22, 2005. Read the original PDF.