LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of residents at a massive multi-family apartment complex in West Los Angeles called Barrington Plaza are fighting back against eviction orders from their property manager, Douglas Emmett.

The eviction orders were posted on 577 units at the rent-controlled building. Douglas Emmett is removing all 712 units from the rental market by invoking a California housing law called the Ellis Act, which allows landlords to evict tenants if their property is exiting the rental market. Barrington Plaza’s owners say they need to evict tenants to retrofit the 1962 building with a new fire sprinkler system, after two major fires broke out at the complex in the last 10 years.

The real estate investment trust company says tenants have until Sept. 5, 2023 to move out. In response, the Barrington Plaza’s tenant association has filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming the property manager is unlawfully invoking the Ellis Act to evict them.

The evictions would displace hundreds of people who rely on affordable housing in the West LA area — including a handful of elderly residents on a fixed income who have been living at Barrington Plaza for decades.

Robert Lawrence, who works as a film and TV producer, moved into the complex in 2021 and says he values the community he’s built at the plaza.

“There’s a lot of us here who are living by ourselves, and we’ve all connected as this one big Barrington Plaza family,” he said.

Lawrence and other tenants believe the company is only evicting them as a ruse — to renovate the building while it’s off the market, then bring it back online years later at a higher rate of rent.

But Douglas Emmett says they are simply following protocol to bring the building into compliance with a new high-rise retrofit ordinance that requires fire sprinklers in some of LA’s older buildings.

Under the Ellis Act, tenants who file a notice of intent to return can be guaranteed housing at the same apartment, with their same rate of rent, if the company brings the units back on the market within two years of when the initial eviction notice was served.

If the property comes back on the market after five years, tenants would have to pay the market rate of rent but would still be guaranteed a unit before other applicants are considered.

However, if the property comes back online after 10 years, Douglas Emmett wouldn’t have to abide by these rules.

The Rent Stabilization Ordinance that applies to Barrington Plaza would remain in place — even if the landlord decided to demolish the entire complex and build it back up again.

Tenants are also guaranteed anywhere from $9,200 to $22,950 in relocation assistance when evicted under the Ellis Act.

A spokesperson for Douglas Emmett told Spectrum News that the property manager hasn’t decided yet what it plans to do with the property once the retrofitting, which will cost them $300 million and several years to complete, is done.

In a statement, Eric Rose, spokesperson for Douglas Emmett, said:

“At this time, the owners of Barrington Plaza are removing the units from the market and have options as to how those units will change, be rehabilitated through new life safety measures, or become something different. To the extent that the owner proceeds down the path of rehabilitation, that rehabilitation would take years and after that time, if the units were brought back onto the rental market, the owner would follow the obligations relative to former tenants as provided in those State and local rules.”

Meantime, Council member Traci Park, who represents most of West Los Angeles, has introduced a motion that was recently passed by the City Council, which will explore whether the city has the power to intervene.

In statement, Council member Park said:

“Any household facing an eviction through no fault of their own is unacceptable. Barrington Plaza is no exception. This is why I requested the City Attorney and Housing Department to report back on what we as a city can do to intervene in this eviction. Transparency, accountability, and the well-being of every tenant are my top priorities.”

Greg Good, a senior adviser with the Los Angeles Housing Department, said during a recent City Council meeting that, “326 tenants have received relocation determinations … only 3 of those have been appealed … meanwhile 136 units have claimed extended tenancy … lastly a key data point is 119 tenants have filed notices of intent to return … that is where essentially a tenant is putting a marker down saying if this does come back to being a rental property, they want to come back.”

Lawrence and several other tenants are pleading with Douglas Emmett to phase in the retrofitting project — by allowing residents to still live there while construction is done on each building at a time.

They say they are willing to shuffle around and move to vacant units while the work is in progress.

“Do the work that’s needed, which we all support, whether it’s putting in new fire sprinklers, whether it’s bringing other areas up to code, while we’re living here,” Lawrence said.

Douglas Emmett’s spokesperson said in response to that, “These fire and life safety improvements cannot be accomplished without vacating all three towers.

“A phased approach is not feasible,” the spokesperson continued.

“The construction work necessary to install the sprinklers and other life safety equipment is significant and results in compromises to the fire and life safety of the buildings while they are under construction.

It is not possible for residents to continue living in the towers because of this construction.”

Housing advocates say if these evictions aren’t blocked, they are concerned more landlords will follow suit, worsening LA’s shortage of affordable housing when it is needed most.