We were “renovated” from our house after 22 years, even though we always paid rent – ​​the landlord called us “poor managers”.

A COUPLE were beaten up by their landlord after being evicted from the apartment they had lived in for more than two decades.

The couple faced “renovation,” an increasingly common method used by California property owners to get around a tenant protection law.

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A 2019 State Law limited the rate at which landlords could raise a tenant’s rent and required property owners to show “just cause” for an eviction, The TribuneNe reported.

But landlords can get around this new law by saying they need to do major renovations that can only be completed by evicting the tenant.

That’s what happened to Lynn and Carrie, who gave false names to The Tribune so they could speak about their experiences without privacy concerns.

CHRISTMAS CLEARANCE

Just a week before Christmas 2022, the couple was evicted from their home in San Luis Obispo County, about 200 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The announcement came shortly after the four-unit property was sold to a new owner.

“As soon as they closed escrow, they immediately did the maximum (rent) increase of 10%,” Carrie said.

“A month later they evicted us.”

The new owner, who also spoke to The Tribune on condition of anonymity, said “deferred maintenance” by the previous owner and “abuse” of the property by Carrie and Lynn necessitated the renovations.

The couple was willing to pay up to $2,000 a month in rent, but the landlord wouldn’t even talk to them about that possibility.

“The tenants had proven themselves to be poor stewards of the property to the previous owner, which automatically disqualified them from consideration upon completion,” the new owner said.

The couple denied this and said the unit was messy but safe.

The couple was paying $1,500 a month in rent before the eviction.

Now the landlord is demanding $3,500, which is significantly more than the rent increase the new owner would have been allowed to pay Carrie and Lynn under the 2019 law.

RIGHTS OF THE LANDLORD

The owner said this new rate is “market rent based on condition and location.”

They added that they plan to use one of the complex’s four units for their parents.

The new owner said he spent $200,000 to remove toxic asbestos from the ceiling of Carrie and Lynn’s former apartment.

There was also a new heating system and a completely renovated kitchen and bathroom.

“’Eviction’ has become a negative term, yet it is often the only remedy to protect the property owner’s rights,” the new landlord said.

“In this case, the right to improve my property to provide better living conditions and a return on my investment.”

“This eviction was a just cause eviction within the meaning of the (California) Tenant Protection Act.”

Carrie was not entirely unsympathetic to these arguments.

“It’s a sensitive issue,” they said.

“You should be able to renovate an apartment, but not if you’re just doing it to evict people so you can get market rates,” the tenant said.

“There is something else crazy in the housing landscape that is encouraging this behavior and hurting our economy.”