Your home is one of the most important parts of your life.  In fact, studies have shown that disruptions of one’s home have significant impact on all aspects of a person’s life.  Unfortunately, many tenants are evicted every year in violation of the law.  Despite someone’s home and apartment being critical for their wellbeing, many investors and speculators attempt to find ways to evict tenants so that they can make money.  Other times landlords evict a tenant because they have registered a complaint about the conditions of the property.

What is a Wrongful Eviction?

A wrongful eviction is the recovery of an apartment from a tenant in violation of the law.  There does not need to be an actual eviction as many times landlords use false pretenses to recover possession – fraudulent owner move in notice, notice of termination and related notices.

Are There Laws That Address Wrongful Evictions?

Thankfully there are many state and local laws that are meant to protect tenants in their homes.  California has now passed a form of rent control and eviction control strengthening tenant rights.  Many local jurisdictions including San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Santa Monica also have strict rent control laws.

In order for a landlord to evict a tenant from a rental unit covered by the Rent Ordinance, a landlord must have a “just cause” reason that is the dominant motive for pursuing the eviction.
Damages for wrongful eviction cases can easily reach into the millions of dollars due to the harm they cause.  Recoverable damages include the value of the loss of your home, emotional distress, and in some cases punitive damages.

We believe it is important to protect your home against wrongful acts.  The Hooshmand Law Group has assisted many individuals recover damages for being evicted.  Some types of eviction include:

False Owner Move in Eviction

San Francisco Rent Ordinance 37.9(a)(8) and California law both place restrictions on evictions for the use by the owner.  In San Francisco, Oakland and other Rent Controlled Jurisdictions many landlords abuse the rules to make money by ending the tenancy of a rent controlled tenant in order to replace them with a tenant that pays more rent or to sell the property vacant.  Unfortunately this causes a lot of difficulty for the tenants who are forced to find new housing, many times at a much higher rent.  HLG has prosecuted many of these cases and was even the lead attorneys in the case that greatly advanced the state of the law in this area – Delisi v. Lam.

Telling a Tenant to Leave

In many jurisdictions it is illegal to simply tell a tenant to leave.  Tenants also have the right to quiet enjoyment (Civil Code 1927, Civil Code 1955) and the right to live in an apartment that is clean and safe. (Civil Code 1941.1)

Illegal / Unpermitted Apartments

Many landlords build new apartments without obtaining a valid permit and a valid certificate of occupancy.  It is critical to have a certificate of occupancy because in order to obtain a certificate of occupancy the City must inspect the construction to make sure it is safe. This means that if the space has not been inspected that it poses a threat of danger to everyone – tenants, neighbors and guests.

HLG recovers far more for their clients than other firms since the insurance companies know that HLG is one of the few law firms that takes cases to trial.

If you have been subject to a wrongful eviction please contact us.

Why hire HLG?

  1. We have a proven track record
  2. We work harder and smarter
  3. We have the resources to win
  4. We are known in the community by defense attorneys and insurance companies
  5. On average, we recover more for our clients than other law firms

REVIEWS

IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF A LAWYER FOR ANY UNLAWFUL EVICTION, PLEASE KNOW HE IS THE BEST!!!
– Yowie S.

REVIEWS

Settled for $650,000 + $4500 in rent credit if that helps you make up your mind about using Hooshmand Law Group for your case.
– Sean M.

REVIEWS

Mr. Hooshmand has to be the most compassionate, hardworking, polite, articulate, wonderful, considerate and fair attorney I have ever met. He answers my emails with in a minute. His staff go out of their way to help and assist. I love the way they treat their clients. I recommend them highly.
– Peace B.

REVIEWS

As busy as this practice is, they have gone out of their way to check up on me. I wholeheartedly recommend this firm to any tenants in need of expertise and compassion.
– Jean C.

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Selecting the Right Attorney

Before hiring a law firm meet with them and talk with them about the process.  It is also important to understand the billing process including whether the firm works on contingency or charges hourly.  Also if you have a sizable claim your attorney should be willing to work on contingency (for a percentage of the recovery) since you should not have to pay to obtain a recovery.

Attorney Resources

When evaluating firms, choose one that has the talent and resources to see your case through trial. If the opposing attorney knows that your attorney will not take the case to trial then you will not receive proper value for your case.

Dedication to Tenant Rights

We are dedicated to tenant rights and have fought to strengthen the laws on behalf of tenants.  We believe in the importance of rent control and the importance of the law protecting all tenants from all walks of life.

Statistics on Owner Move in Evictions

Please see NBC’s detailed investigation into false Owner Move in Evictions in the Bay Area.

Hooshmand Law Group’s success stories include:

  • HLG and tenants win jury verdict of nearly $600,000
  • HLG and tenants secure settlement of $510,000 for wrongful eviction based on owner move in
  • $1 million settlement for wrongful eviction of tenant by landlord for false owner move in
    We obtained a $1 million settlement for a tenant wrongfully evicted as part of an owner move in eviction. We obtained significant evidence that the landlord was motivated by financial gain rather than desiring to truly live in the unit.
  • $670,000 judgment following jury verdict for wrongful eviction based on false owner move in
  • $460,000 judgment following jury verdict for wrongful eviction based on false owner move in
  • $2.9 million settlement for habitability conditions
  • $1.5 million settlement for habitability conditions
  • Lawsuit vs. Landlord — on behalf of 80 + residents of apartment building affected by substandard conditions
  • Lawsuit vs. Landlord – False Owner Move in (OMI) where landlord allegedly evicted tenants under false Owner Move in so that they can perform Short Term Rentals
  • Marymount Gateway Apartments – Class Certification for conversion of Apartment Building in Pacifica

Mark Hooshmand Featured In The Fall 2018 Issue Of “the Trial Lawyer”

Mark Hooshmand was featured in the Fall 2018 issue of The Trial Lawyer, writing on four ways San Francisco landlords take advantage of tenants. Click on the following link to access the full article — Four Ways San Francisco Landlords Take Advantage of Tenants

SF City Attorney joins fight against landlords that rented 20 illegal units in laundromat basement

San Francisco’s city attorney is suing the owner and occupant of a building where he says 20 people were living in squalid, unsafe conditions in the basement of a commercial laundromat. Hooshmand Law Group represents the tenants in a separate lawsuit filed in February. More details — SF Lawsuit Claims 20 Lived in Laundromat Basement ‘Death Trap’  (NBC Bay Area News)

San Francisco approves improved laws regarding fraudulent owner move in evictions

The Board of Supervisors has approved important legislation meant to address fraudulent owner move in evictions. These changes include:

  • Landlords are required to provide a declaration under penalty of perjury stating that they intend to reside in the unit for at least 36 consecutive months
  • For five years after the OMI, Rent Board is required to annually notify the current unit occupant of the maximum allowable rent
  • For five years after the OMI, the landlord must offer the unit first to the displaced tenant
  • Statute of limitations increased from three to five years
  • Allows non-profits whose primary mission is protecting the tenant rights in San Francisco to bring a civil action against a landlord for wrongful eviction.
    • Must first provide 30 days notice of intent to initiate civil proceedings by serving a draft complaint on the City Attorney’s Office, and any known address of the affected tenant.
    • SOL 5 years

Thank you to the Tenants’ Union and the Housing Rights Committee for leading the charge on strengthening tenant protections.

Hooshmand Law Group Wins Jury Verdict In Favor Of Tenants In Fraudulent Relative Move-in Eviction

The Hooshmand Law Group has obtained a judgment in excess of $460,000 for a public school teacher who was wrongfully evicted pursuant to the Owner and Relative Move-In (OMI/RMI) provision of the San Francisco Rent Ordinance (statute below).  After a two-week trial the jury found that the landlords, who had recently purchased the 4-unit building in San Francisco, had acted in bad faith and knowing disregard of the law when they terminated the Plaintiff’s tenancy on the pretext that their brother would be moving into the unit.  The San Francisco Rent Ordinance requires that a landlord or relative for whom a unit is vacated must have a good faith intent to occupy the unit for a period of thirty-six consecutive months.  Often, however, the owner or relative never move in and instead the Landlord rents the unit out at a much higher price. Read more….

 

Have you been served with a 60-Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy for an Owner or Relative Move-In (“OMI”)?

Contact the Hooshmand Law Group to speak with an attorney for a free and confidential evaluation of your rights.  Use our online submission form to upload the 60-Day Notice and we will contact you to discuss your case.  According to NBC Bay Area, 1 in 4 Owner Move-In Evictions may be fraudulent.  The Hooshmand Law Group recently obtained two significant jury verdicts in fraudulent Owner Move In and Relative Move In trials in San Francisco and we are actively working to protect tenants in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

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