Tenants Fight Back After New Landlord Sends Eviction Notices

People shop at the shops next to the entrance to the apartments at 305 1/2 Main St. Photo by Jackson Guilfoil

Update (August 8, 12:57 p.m.): Because the tenants did not pay the court fees, the case was dismissed, but Wagner said he intends to re-file the lawsuit.

Original Story (July 22, 7:58 a.m.): A group of low-income renters, including a wheelchair-bound 84-year-old woman, were told to get out of their apartments by Aug. 15, prompting a lawsuit against the landlord.

Nestled between graphic-shirt shops in one of Newport Beach’s tourist hubs, an old set of stairs leads to a dinky apartment complex with 12 rooms, each approximately 212 square feet. Newport Beach Co. LP, which bought the complex in May, issued 60-day eviction notices to every tenant in the building in June.

Carol Masterson has lived in an apartment on 305 1/2 Main St. for 26 years. She says the location is ideal for her because of the many nearby restaurants she can access with her wheelchair or have other people get food for her.

When asked where she could go if evicted, Masterson, whose windows face Newport Harbor, became very quiet. “I don’t know,” she whispered between tears. “Homeless.”

Jonathan Wagner is suing Chris Renard, Newport Beach Co.’s agent, for the reinstatement of his lease and $10,000. In court filings, Wagner said he reached that number by combining two months’ average rent for a studio apartment in Newport Beach (totaling $3,000), then adding $7,000 for distress he allegedly suffered because of the eviction notice.

On documents submitted to the courts, Keith Costanza claimed every tenant would be forced into homelessness if evicted.

According to Costanza, Renard has never visited the property and operated through Christine Lujan, whom Masterson said told them Newport Beach Co. had no plans to evict anyone just days before the renters received the notices. “[Lujan] came in here, sat in that chair and lied like crazy to me,” Masterson said. 

Both Lujan and Renard did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

In his biography for Commercial Realty Consultants, a business he co-founded, Renard says he “played a critical role in the purchasing, financing, renovating, managing and selling of many properties throughout the Western United States. . . . Many of the properties he turned around were initially mismanaged, which resulted in high vacancy, substandard tenant mix and in need for rehabilitation.”

Costanza said he believes that after evicting all the tenants, Renard plans to use the property for Airbnb rentals. But the apartments are in a commercially zoned area, and according to the city of Newport Beach, converting commercially zoned property into an Airbnb space is illegal. 

“This is our home. They have no right to just come in here, and because they want to make a quick buck off Airbnb . . . to retaliate against us,” Costanza said. “My impression is that their plan is to kick us out and do Airbnb and just ignore what the city says.”

The entrance to Carol Masterson’s apartment, where she has lived for the past 26 years. Photo by Jackson Guilfoil

According to court documents submitted by Wagner, Renard intends to rent out the apartments as Airbnb rooms; retaliate against the tenants for investigating his businesses as well as maintenance complaints; and avoid the September deadline of the retroactive state Assembly Bill 1482. If AB 1482 makes it through the California legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom signs it, Renard would not be able to evict the tenants in the manner he did because the bill is retroactive, reaching as far back as March 15.

Largely considered a rent-control law, AB 1482 features a provision that bans landlords from evicting tenants without specifying a reason, something Renard did not do. The bill would also require landlords to allow tenants time to correct evictable behavior, if it’s why the eviction notice was issued. For no-fault evictions, the landlord must provide one month’s rent to the tenant to help them relocate.

On the certificate of limited partnership paperwork for Newport Beach Co., Renard lists another of his companies, Excell Investment Group, as a general partner. Costanza says he found that detail suspicious and reported Renard to the California Attorney General’s office, which six-year resident Mike White said irritated Renard enough to retaliate against the renters.

“You’re supposed to have your name and a partner on this to fill this out,” White says. “Excell Investment Group is also his company. He’s putting his name twice on this.”

According to Wagner, the tenants set up an arbitration meeting, but Renard did not show.

Since retaliation can be difficult to prove, the tenants have a potentially arduous battle ahead of them in court, according to Alexander Harnden, a policy advocate with the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

“It can be fairly difficult for tenants to make a case for retaliation because the court would look at whether the landlord has some valid reason for evicting the tenants,” Harnden said. “If the tenants have made an official complaint about a code violation or a public health concern, they’re able to use that complaint as basically evidence and their presumption that the landlord is retaliating against them if they evict them within a certain time of making that complaint.”

In court filings, Wagner specified that the tenants had repeatedly contacted Newport Beach Co. over maintenance issues, AB 1482 and Airbnb laws on May 24, and they all received eviction notices the next month.

Inside the building, many renters share a bathroom, as some rooms do not have one of their own. “There’s wires hanging everywhere. It’s really not up to code at all,” Costanza said, referring to the maintenance complaints. “They don’t address them; they don’t do anything at all. There’s cockroaches everywhere.”

Costanza, who hopes to keep the battle in small-claims court because the renters cannot afford a lawyer, maintains that Renard could easily outspend them and hire an expensive defense lawyer to take the matter to trial, which could kill the tenants’ case.

Forcing them out in the middle of the summer is particularly absurd, according to White. “I’m freaking out,” he said. “Anybody who’s been down here for any period of time knows you don’t try and move in August. It’s totally thronged with tourists—nowhere to park.”

White added that while he might not be made homeless by the eviction, he will have to move to parts of Orange County with cheaper rents and higher crime.

If AB 1482 passes, the tenants plan to collectively sue Renard in early September, according to Costanza.

“I figured I’d die in this chair,” Masterson said. “In this apartment, I’ve done everything myself. I’ve paid and everything; I’ve never asked them for a dime.”

8 Replies to “Tenants Fight Back After New Landlord Sends Eviction Notices”

  1. Is this a social housing project?
    Please plan for your retirement.
    Don’t plan on living in a place for 30 years.
    Let the new owner update and rerent at market rate.
    Please this is America.

    1. There is no law stating that there is a cap on how long someone can live somewhere. However there are laws to evicting someone. If the landlord wanted people out, all he had to do was not agree to resign the leases, NOT evict them which will go on all of there records for the rest of their lives. In AMERICA you follow the law, no excuses. You can be as greedy as you want without breaking the law.

  2. I feel that the manager should be help responsibly for all he is doing to his tenants just for a dollar , and it is low income no one should have to be treated that way have compassion and treat them the way you wants to be treated .. it’s not far if they are on a fixed income and can’t afford to pay out of control rent. And this high food they only get a check once a month how would anyone survive on that income , so I hope someone besides my father show favor to them , always taking from the poor to give to the rich god has the last say , so why don’t you guys stop trying to play god because when judgement day come you will be accountable for your action our blood is on you guys hands comma is something else … search your heart hope you don’t fine no piece for all your wrong doing amen …. GOD IS IN CONTROL ??????????????✋

  3. I myself 63yo notice on any& most comments made regarding homeless are
    negative -the only people who make these comments are the ones who
    have never experienced it for themselves, I myself have worked for
    more than 44yrs mostly in Orange County ,I do NOT do drugs/alcohol nor
    do I have any type of criminal record -BUT I find myself homeless due
    to Personal & Corporate Greed an selfishness brought on by High Rent
    Prices ,when people pay these exuberant rent prices they do Not
    realize that you are giving these property owners a Stamp seal of
    approval on Jacking-up as high as they can in order for them to make a
    so called Profit >ITS Called >GREED! I myself am Not Stupid to give
    inn to those {I wish more people had the Courage to do this}But -MOST
    PEOLPLE say >I HAVE TO HAVE A PLACE TO LIVE I have No Choice but to
    give in to the idiots that create high rent prices, those who are
    homeless and do these Bad behavior issues are giving me a bad image- i
    myself am being punished by those who criticize homeless-ness, anyone
    who is homeless is branded a >Druggie-alcoholic-mentally incapacitated
    or worse a Criminal>NOT TRUE! REMEBER!! DO Not JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS
    COVER, CMON PEOPLE -Wake-Up an take a stand for what is right an stop
    thinking your better than me!
    PS; How about doin a report / commentary {if you got the courage} on
    peoples Greed an personal selfishness as they are the reason and
    cause of homeless-ness by paying these exuberant high mortgage cost
    /taxes and charging as much as they want -*thinking they are goin to
    make a profit {todays society is all about money & material things wat
    a shame!} this is happening across this country , it sickens me to
    hear people are worried about there property value if even 1person
    being homeless in there neighborhood-they better expect it to happen
    when they are given in to Greed or they are stupid and blind-sided by
    there own greed ,its only gonna get worse as we have an influx of
    Illegal Migrants-immigrant’s-refugees and now influx of Caravans from
    central America -so hold on to your tail and get ready for rent prices
    to sky-rocket even higher and more American citizens to go homeless an
    longer lines-more traffic congestion and more Babies being pumped-out
    ,what bothers me even more is when the police harass the homeless
    telling us we have to move-on >WHERE? they are puppets of city council
    or county commissioners ,where do the police think we are just gonna
    magically disappear or do they wish-encourage us to commit suicide-for
    most of us that’s NOT gonna happen,

  4. Does anyone on this thread know how to use function? Just because you’re poor doesn’t mean your stupid, does it?

  5. Oh boo hoo. Grow up and move out. The property was bought and the new landlord has plans for it. Get over it.

  6. I agree with commentor…mark. This is so wrong on so many levels. How are you, @John Locke….just tell a person to move?
    Move to Where? What people don’t know is that is a public health crisis. Homeless is occurring all over the world!!!! All because of greed. Thank God the laws have changed in New York. It’s well over due. I thought I would never see the day.

  7. “If AB 1482 makes it through the California legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom signs it, Renard would not be able to evict the tenants in the manner he did because the bill is retroactive, reaching as far back as March 15.”

    Upon further review of the bill, this part of the article does not appear to be correct. The rent increase provision is indeed retroactive to 3/15. However, the “just cause” portion of the bill does not render eviction notices to be ineffective if served on or after 3/15. At least, not in the version that was sent to Senate Appropriations. We shall see what happens on 8/19 when they discuss the bill.

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