Five Isla Vista tenants who filed small claims lawsuits against their landlord, Majestic Asset Management, settled their cases last week for an undisclosed amount. The tenants, who were Latino families, were evicted from their households last fall and sought assistance from the Isla Vista Tenants Union earlier this year.
At issue in the lawsuits was whether or not a county ordinance — which requires landlords to pay their tenants relocation payments under certain circumstances —had kicked in or not. Updated in 2012, the ordinance states that if owners evict tenants to majorly renovate the premises, requiring a county permit, then they must pay these benefits; it’s essentially a narrow version of a “just cause” eviction law. Part of the intent was to prohibit landlords from allowing the conditions of residences to run amok.
According to attorney Robin Unander, who has a private law firm and advises at UCSB’s Associated Students Legal Resource Center, Majestic had planned to do substantial work on the units and was not aware of this ordinance. When they discovered they could be on the hook for relocation benefits, Majestic stopped construction work and never went through with the permits, Unander said. In the end, minimal renovations such as new paint and carpet were all that were done on the units. Based on the wording of the ordinance, it’s unclear whether or not they would have had to pay benefits had the matter gone to trial, Unander added.