OWNER CAN EVICT TO LIVE IN HIS CONDOMINIUM

On July 15, 2002, the Honorable Julius M. Title, Judge of the Superior Court issued the Judgment after the Unlawful Detainer Trial in the case of Vandewege v. Raff. The judgment provides for the immediate eviction of the tenant, Paul Raff from the TORCA condominium unit owned and purchased by Bruk Vandewege. Mr. Vandewege purchased his condominium on March 14, 2002. This being his first condominium purchase, he was excited about moving in. He served the tenant with a 30-day notice of termination of tenancy with the offer of relocation assistance as mandated by the City of Santa Monica and the State of California.

After the 30 day period passed, however, the tenant refused to move. A very quiet man in his mid 30's to early 40's, Raff obviously didn't want to give up his rent controlled ocean view apartment in Santa Monica. It didn't matter to him that the new owner wanted to live in his own home.

Vandewege was forced to move in with friends. He truly needed help from a Law office. We agreed that since he had bought the condominium, he should have rights superior to those of a tenant. Our office filed an Unlawful Detainer action against Raff on Vandewege's behalf, determined to get Vandewege into his new condominium.

At Trial, the tenant through his attorney, Sonya Bekoff Molho, argued that a tenant can not be evicted for purposes of the owner moving into his own property because he is protected by Rent Control. We argued that Raff was not a "participating tenant," and thus did not have special rights under TORCA, but only had rights under Rent Control, which allows for the eviction. Judge Title adopted our position, noting the distinction between a participating tenant and a non-participating tenant. A participating tenant is one who was in the unit at the time that the apartment building was converted to condominiums and has rights under TORCA. A non-participating tenant is one who came along after the conversion process as a renter and does not have additional rights.

Judge Title also noted that Vandewege had properly served and prepared the 30-day notice, had complied with all of the other requirements of the City of Santa Monica, State of California, and the Rent Control Board, and is in good faith. Raff, on the other hand, has no additional rights beyond those contained in the Santa Monica Rent Control Law, and in this case, the Law allows owners to occupy their own property (precisely the reason that Vandewege purchased this condominium). In fact, there is a constitutional right to own and occupy your property. The Court ordered Raff out of the condominium.

For six months, Vandewege has had to stay in the homes of others because of Raff's obstinacy. Despite the ruling, Raff is determined to stay as long as possible, rather than take the financial allotment for relocation assistance. Because of this, Raff will probably owe Vandewege money in excess of the offered relocation.

There is no decision by Raff as to whether he will appeal the ruling. The Sheriff will perform the eviction, physically removing Raff from the property. Meanwhile, Vandewege is still anxiously awaiting the lock out by the Sheriff so that he can move in.