U.S. Bank to Pay Almost $20,000 to SM Tenants

Four individuals who said they were pressured to move out of an apartment complex in Santa Monica will receive almost $20,000 from , the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday. The attorney's office finalized the settlement with the bank last week.

The individuals are past and present tenants of the U.S. Bank-owned property located at 1437 10th St. They claimed that, after U.S. Bank acquired the property—which had been foreclosed—representatives for the company pressured them to vacate the building on short notice.

The tenants allegedly received written notices to leave, as well as letters from the bank saying that they owed rent that was past due. A subsequent investigation showed that the claims turned out to be untrue.

The tenants also claimed they were pressured in person by manager Gret Geunther. They said the bank had hired Geunther, of Woodland Hills' AGP Asset Management, to make them vacate the property. Geunther threatened to turn off their utilities, the tenants claimed, and water at the property was allegedly turned off due to non-payment of bills.

The tenants filed their complaints with the City Attorney’s Consumer Protection Unit. Deputy City Attorney Eda Suh handled the case for the City.

Under the agreement, two tenants who still live at the property will receive $4,000 each; the two tenants who no longer live there will receive $5,700 apiece; and one tenant will be reimbursed for their attorney's fees. The bank has also agreed to an injunction against future violations of the Tenant Harassment Ordinance and, for the next three years, is subject to doubled statutory fines. Lastly, the settlement stipulates that the bank's broker and property manager finish a City-approved course on management training.

Pursuant to Santa Monica's “just cause” eviction protections, tenants can only be forced to leave for reasons such as failing to pay rent or violating the terms of their rental lease. Measure RR, which passed in November's election, extended the protections to include all multi-unit apartment complexes, not just ones under rent control.

The 1437 10th St. property is under rent control, so it is also subject to the city's Rent Control Law.

“Banks, like everyone else who owns or manages apartment buildings in Santa Monica, are subject to the Tenant Harassment Ordinance and Rent Control laws," Suh said in a statement. "They too must be held accountable for violations.

“Tenants cannot be evicted just because a bank forecloses on the property,” Suh added.