WOODLAND HILLS—GHP Management Corp. filed a lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles over its COVID-19 eviction moratorium, claiming to have lost tens of millions of dollars, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday, August 9.
Geoffrey Palmer, the owner of GHP stated in the lawsuit that he expects the number of financial losses to triple by the time the moratorium is set to expire. Several other companies owned by Palmer have also joined the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims to have lost $3.9 million at Summit at Warner Center in Woodland Hills, $2.8 million at Da Vinci, and $2.7 million at Palmer’s Medici project in Downtown Los Angeles.
The California Rental Housing Association (CALRHA), along with 537,000 rental units, has also filed a lawsuit against the state of California challenging the constitutionality of the statewide moratorium on evictions for nonpayment of rent. The suit alleges that the moratorium impairs existing rental agreements and leases, which give owners the contract right to repossess their units for non-payment of rent and unconstitutionally violates rental housing owners’ property rights.
“We tried working with our legislators and the governor to reach an agreement that would recognize the financial burdens faced by both rental housing providers and renters. They chose to ignore the financial burdens of small and medium rental property providers. The courts are our last resort. Rental housing providers across the state are suffering severe economic distress and losses directly caused by the State of California’s ongoing overreaching eviction moratorium,” said Christine Kevane LaMarca, CalRHA President.
“The state continues to extend the eviction moratorium with no distinction between residents who cannot afford to pay due to the pandemic and residents who can afford to pay their rent, but are using the moratorium to violate their rental agreements. Rental housing providers continue to provide housing, and in some cases, for no compensation which leaves us with no recourse. Small and medium rental housing providers rely on rental income to pay their mortgages and maintenance expenses, while supporting their own families. We wake up every day thinking about how to house people — that is what we want to do — and government action is interfering with our ability to effectively do so. This lawsuit is intended to restore our rights and allow us to enforce rental contracts that have been unnecessarily expropriated for the past 16-plus months.”
The Apartment Association of Greater L.A. also filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles challenging the eviction moratorium.
