Apartment Assoc. of Greater Los Angeles Appeals Decision in Eviction Threshold Lawsuit

Apartment Assoc. of Greater Los Angeles Appeals Decision in Eviction Threshold Lawsuit

AAGLA Previously Prevailed in Overturning One of Two Harmful City of L.A. Ordinances

Current Filing Seeks Further Review to Overturn City’s Ordinance Imposing Threshold of Past Due Rent Requirement Before Initiating Formal Collection Efforts or Eviction

The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (“AAGLA”) (www.aagla.org) announced today that it has filed a Petition for Review (“Petition”) in the California Supreme Court petitioning a decision rendered by the State of California Court of Appeals, Second District, in its lawsuit seeking to prohibit the City of Los Angeles’ enforcement of Ordinance No. 187763 (“Threshold Ordinance”). Under the Threshold Ordinance, a financial threshold of past due rent (equal to one month’s fair market rent as set by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department) must be met prior to initiating formal collection efforts or eviction proceedings.

In its latest appeal, AAGLA challenges whether the City’s Threshold Ordinance that extends the unlawful detainer (eviction) timeline is an improper procedural restriction and therefore preempted under state law, and also whether the Threshold Ordinance prevents housing providers from initiating an unlawful detainer for nonpayment of rent in violation of state law. AAGLA has publicly stated previously that to fully prosecute unlawful detainers (evictions) in California, the timeline for doing so can extend up to six months or more and obtaining a sheriff's lockout following the rendering of a court decision can take another one to three months. The Threshold Ordinance has had the effect of extending this timeline by at least an additional 30 days.