An Airbnb guest dubbed “the tenant from hell” has been occupying a luxury guesthouse overlooking the Los Angeles hills for more than a year and a half, and refuses to leave unless the owner pays her a rental fee. $100,000 relocation.
Elizabeth Hirschhorn rented an extended stay at Sascha Jovanovic’s Brentwood guesthouse in September 2021 for six months at a rate of $105 per night, with fees bringing the total to $20,793, according to court documents.
But his stay at Airbnb ended in April 2022 and Hirschhorn has lived there rent-free since then.
A judge ruled that under the city’s rent stabilization ordinance, Jovanovic has no legal grounds to evict her under Los Angeles’ recently adopted Just Cause Ordinance, and would be required to pay her a relocation fee to evict her.
In an email to Jovanovic’s attorney obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Hirschhorn’s attorney, Amanda Seward, argued that “$100,000 is [Jovanovic’s] “cheapest way out of this whole terrible experience.”
“It is the tenant’s home until the landlord receives a ruling, no matter how unpleasant it may be for his client.”
Hirschhorn’s attorneys also argue that she should not pay rent and should instead be refunded the $20,793, because the city never approved the occupancy of the guest house and its shower was built without a permit.
“The owner violated the law and tried to make money by renting an illegal contraband unit,” his lawyer, Colin Walshok, told the LA Times.
A judge ruled that Jovanovic would have to pay Hirschhorn a relocation fee to get her evicted. Instagram/@drsaschajovanovic
“After he was caught, instead of doing the right thing, he resorted to intimidation, harassment, and filing frivolous lawsuits containing elaborate false stories, all in an attempt to cover his tracks.”
But Jovanovic’s lawyer, Sebastian Rucci, disagrees.
“She’s the tenant from hell,” he said of Hirschhorn. “If she’s right, the theory is that if a landlord has something that’s not allowed, then you can stay there rent-free forever.”
According to court documents obtained by the Times, Jovanovic and Hirschhorn were cordial during the first months she was in his guest house: They exchanged niceties when their paths crossed and shared tea and small talk on a terrace that separates the main house from the guest house. . Housing unit.
The problem apparently began about five months into Hirschhorn’s stay, when she complained that her electronic blinds stopped working.
When Jovanovic entered the unit to repair them, he noticed water damage and signs of mold around the sink, which he claims were not there before Hirschhorn moved in.
Elizabeth Hirschhorn rented a long-term stay at Sascha Jovanovic’s Brentwood guesthouse in September 2021: she rented it for six months at a rate of $105 per night, with rates bringing the total to $20,793.Google Maps
He offered to pay her to stay at a hotel for five days while his contractor handled repairs, either the Santa Monica Hilton or the Sure Stay Best Western in Santa Monica, noting that many of his visiting doctors stay there, according to messages revised by the times.
Jovanovic even offered Hirschhorn $1,500 for any other hotel, the messages and emails show, according to the Times.
But Hirschhorn refused, responding, “I don’t feel safe being forced to vacate due to a disability and high risks of complications from COVID-19.” He cited Los Angeles County’s COVID-19 Tenant Protection Resolution and a 2011 doctor’s note about extreme chemical sensitivities.
Apparently still trying to calm Hirschhorn down, Jovanovic offered her to stay at his house, but she turned him down too, citing extreme disability due to cat dander.
She now claims in a countersuit that Jovanovic “inappropriately invited” her to move in with him.
Jovanovic claims Hirschhorn left water damage and signs of mold around her sink. Instagram/@drsaschajovanovic
Tensions continued for the rest of his stay, and when it became clear that Hirschhorn would not leave or allow any access inside the unit, Jovanovic reluctantly agreed that he could stay until April 12 to give him time to find another place, according to a report. email in your complaint.
“She asked for more time, but I told her it wasn’t possible because I had other reservations on Airbnb,” Jovanovic told the Times. “But then I tried to be nice and give him a few more weeks.”
When she still wouldn’t budge, Jovanovic resorted to involving the city’s housing department and filing motions to evict her.
Hirschhorn, in turn, contacted the city’s Building Safety Department, which found two code violations in the unit: that it was not approved for occupancy and that it had an unpermitted shower.
She then sent a complaint to a housing investigator, alleging illegal eviction, harassment and refusal to pay relocation expenses.
The housing investigator concluded that because the unit violated city codes, Jovanovic had to withdraw his eviction notices until he could prove the boarding house was in compliance.
But Jovanovic maintains that when he tried to access the unit to make repairs, Hirschhorn would not let him enter.
He was recently fined $660 for failing to comply.
Jovanovic is now suing Hirschhorn in two different cases: a lawsuit for damages to recover $58,000 in paid rent and an appeal of the judge’s decision to dismiss the eviction case.
Jovanovic was recently fined $660 by the city’s Building Safety Department for failing to comply with building codes. Instagram/@drsaschajovanovic
“It is not about a single sentence, it is about the entire foundation,” Rucci argued. “If he’s right, you can rent an Airbnb for two days and refuse to leave on the third, unless the owner pays you to leave.”
But Hirschhorn filed a countersuit in August, accusing Jovanovic of 15 violations, including negligence, nuisance, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unlawful business practices and a violation of Los Angeles County’s COVID procedures.
She claims that he knew about the potential mold problem before she moved in, and that he harassed and intimidated her into leaving the rental by doing unnecessary construction, placing rotting garbage bags outside her door, turning off her hot water, and trespassing. to the unit.
While these cases move through the court system, Hirschhorn continues to live on Jovanovic’s property.
“It’s like a war where bullets don’t fly,” he said. “Every time I open the door, I’m afraid she’ll leave at the same time.”
“Their door is a few meters from my daughter’s bedroom,” Jovanovic said. “We don’t sleep well anymore.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn