Barrington Plaza tenants file lawsuit amid mass eviction

Tenants from the scarred Barrington Plaza have filed a lawsuit against its property manager after hundreds of them were served eviction notices last month.

According to their landlord Douglas Emmett, the real estate investment company plans to implement $300 million worth of safety upgrades to the old buildings over the next several years such as a fire sprinkler system. The city said Barrington Plaza is one of 55 residential high-rises in Los Angles lacking fire sprinkler systems. 

Two devastating fires ripped through the facilities within a seven-year span — one of which killed a man in 2020. The deadly fire red-tagged eight floors and the landlord has not leased any units in the past three years. 

To evict its residents, the property manager utilized the powers granted to it through the Ellis Act. According to the Los Angeles Housing Department, the Ellis Act allows California landlords to evict tenants if they plan to "go out of the rental market business."

The Coalition for Economic Survival, which is working with the law firm representing the residents, said that the evicted tenants believe the company "is improperly applying the law" and is capable of installing the safety upgrades without displacing the hundreds of people living in the buildings. 

"They want to renovate it. And they clearly want to re-rent it, and that's not what the Ellis Act is about," said Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival. 

The Coalition claimed that the developers have routinely used the law "to circumvent local eviction protections in order to oust low-income an working renters to convert the property into luxury hotels and condominiums."

Douglas Emmett said they have been following the rules outlined by the Ellis Act and local ordinances. 

"The units are being removed from the market under the terms of the Ellis Act as well as the City's implementing ordinances," a company spokesperson said in a statement. "As has been stated by the City, ownership of Barrington Plaza has been and continues to be uncertain about the ultimate disposition of the units and are preparing for a host of options, inclusive of rehabilitation of the complex to comply with all current fire and life safety requirements."

According to the Coalition for Economic Survival, most of the tenants are retirees, students and working-class as well as white-collar workers.

In May, Councilwoman Traci Park introduced a motion to ensure tenants received support. It also aimed to require the Housing Department to report on the status of relocation every 30 days. 

"The timing couldn't be worse and I am certainly sensitive to where we are with the housing crisis," she said in May. 

Some residents could receive more than $22,000 in financial assistance for relocation. Park said when these buildings come back into the market, she expects the units will still fall under the rent stabilization ordinance as they are now.   

Most tenants were given a 120-day deadline and will have to move out by September.