Berman v. Downing

184 Cal.App.3d 1545 (1986) 229 Cal. Rptr. 660 MARIANNE BERMAN, Plaintiff and Appellant,

v.

CAROLYN DOWNING et al., Defendants and Respondents.

Docket No. 16938. Court of Appeals of California, Appellate Department, Superior Court, Los Angeles.

July 8, 1986. COUNSEL

Martin B. Berman for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Carolyn Downing and Patrick Tracy, in pro. per., for Defendants and Respondents.

Michael Jenkins, City Attorney, Richards, Watson, Dreyfuss & Gershon and Rochelle Browne as Amici Curiae. Page Supp. 3

OPINION

SOVEN, J.

Plaintiff Marianne Berman appeals from a judgment in an unlawful detainer action in favor of defendant tenants Carolyn Downing and Patrick Tracy. We affirm.

FACTS

Plaintiff owns a building located in West Hollywood. On November 28, 1984, plaintiff and defendants entered into a one-year written lease for an apartment in plaintiff's building, the tenancy to commence on November 28, 1984, at a monthly rental of $700. On November 29, the City of West Hollywood enacted an ordinance establishing a moratorium regulating rents and evictions. The ordinance by its terms expired May 1, 1985, and provided, as relevant, for a rent rollback which limited landlords, starting November 29, to the rent in effect on August 6, 1984.

The West Hollywood City Council found that there existed a "critical shortage of rental housing" in West Hollywood, that before the formation of the City of West Hollywood, rents for some but not all housing within the City were controlled by a Los Angeles County ordinance which would soon expire, that a comprehensive rent regulation ordinance was needed for the city and that "if a temporary moratorium is not now imposed, substantial rent increases are likely to occur," which would defeat the intent and purpose of the proposed ordinance. The moratorium ordinance was declared to be necessary to "protect the public peace, health, safety and welfare...."

Before the enactment of the West Hollywood ordinance, a Los Angeles County ordinance, first enacted in 1979, governed rental housing in West Hollywood.