SLAMMING THE DRAGON ON THE INTERNET

Last october, I wrote a rent board story titled, “Another Dumb Dragon Decrease Decision,” which reviewed various dumb rent decrease decisions that the hearing examiner rendered over the years. I got quite a reaction about that Story from landlords who have been mauled by The Dragon. It turns out that my Rent Board Story was not the only source that is “slamming the Dragon.” I found out that she has been getting slammed on television and the Internet too.

The reaction that came to me from the longest distance was an E-mail from a man in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He knew about The Dragon from watching a cable TV show called “Clean House,” which is a home makeover show that airs on the Style Network. That show brings a four-person cleanup-and-renovation crew to the homes of families unable to control household clutter. One of the most popular episodes was about Hearing Examiner Dragon and her daughter. Their home looked like Hurricane Katrina blew through it before the Clean House Crew did the makeover and cleaned it up.

People are usually happy when strangers clean up their house for free. I know that I never complained about it. But when the Dragons went to inspect the clean up, Toni Dragon said she was “going to throw up” and began crying. Her reaction was so bizarre that it is described on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia's Clean House listing at as follows:

Makeover Reactions
Some family members become emotional or even angry during various segments of the show. One such case featured Court Commissioner Toni Dragon and her daughter, an episode which was featured on the E! Channel’s list of the “100 Most Outrageous Moments in Reality TV” in 2005. A county hearing officer in southern California, this woman was so mad during the “reveal” of the makeover, she began crying and yelling at the cast. She shouted, “I hate it, I hate all of it, I just want to leave!” More often than not, the participating family is weeping and happy at the final reveal of the makeover and there is a happy ending summed up with a witty close by Nash.

I have reviewed the video clip several times, and the first thing The Dragon says is, “Like, I’m gonna throw up.” Then she describes the new paint job as “puke green.” But you don’t have to take my word for it. Watch as she melts down while her daughter attempts to contain her laughter.

Click on the link below to see the Dragon in action:
Toni Dragon Meltdown Episode One

Toni Dragon Meltdown Episode Two

You can also see many comments on these shows on the MyStyle Message Boards.

Many of the messages are messages are similar to things Santa Monica landlords have been saying for the past 20 years and I have been writing about in Rent Board Stories since August 1995, with Rent Board Story Part 22 titled, “The Beige Berber Carpet Case.” In that Story a landlord completely replaced a carpet in a controlled rental unit, but Hearing Examiner Toni Dragon disallowed the entire cost because the tenant wanted gray plush carpet instead of brown berber carpet. When you review the video clips I cited above, think of how much time and expense it takes to put new carpet in an occupied rental unit and then trying to convince a hearing examiner like the Dragon that you did a good job and should get paid for your effort.

As I said at the beginning of this column, last October I wrote a Rent Board Story titled, “Another Dumb Dragon Decrease Decision.” In that decision, the tenant, doing business in a controlled rental unit as TerraBella services, got a rent decrease because her business name was not listed on the building directory, the sauna did not get hot enough and the outdoor jacuzzi was not heated for 12 hours every day (including during the winter months). Just in case you wondered what happened to that case, it is still before the Rent Board on appeal and no staff report has been issued as of the date I am writing this column.

Rent Control Law Section 1805 (d)(12) requires that all rent adjustment petitions must be completed within 120 days of the date they are filed. But the Board does not follow the requirements of the Law. The Terra Bella services petition D-4392 was filed on January 31, 2008, the Dragon issued a 99-page rent decrease decision on October 14, 2008, and the appeal is still before the Legal Staff on the date I am writing this column, (February 23, 2009). Therefore, a simple rent adjustment petition that should take 120 days takes more than a year.

I complained about the delays in this case to the Rent Board at the meeting of February 12, 2008, but only Commissioner Kronovet seemed concerned about the Board following the time limits stated in the Rent Control law. Therefore, if the Board wants to take more than a year to render decisions that should only take 120 days, I will have plenty of time to write about their decision- making process in WAM. Maybe I will file these Stories as Supplemental Appeals. That might get their attention.