“Tenant from Hell” Doesn’t Pay Rent for 544 Days

Over the weekend you may have read or heard about the Airbnb guest in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood, who’s been staying in a luxury Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) for 18 months and refuses to pay rent or leave.

Elizabeth Hirschon had been a short-term rental guest in the multi-million dollar property. When her stay ended in April, 2022, she refused to leave.

Called the “tenant from hell” by numerous media outlets, as a Minneapolis or St Paul housing provider you may be wondering why the owner, Dr. Sascha Jovanovic, couldn’t just kick her out.

Turns out the shower in the unit was constructed without a permit, and the city had never approved the unit for occupancy. So, because there were code violations, the city said Jovanovic couldn’t evict her until he corrected the code violations. He’d be glad to, except Hirschon won’t let him into the property to make the corrections.

It gets worse.

Because Hirschon has lived in the unit for at least six months, she qualifies for L.A.’s recently implemented Just Cause Ordinance, which prohibits evictions unless the tenant has violated the rules of the lease in any number of manners, including non-payment of rent. However, if the tenant has not violated the lease, they are entitled to substantial compensation to be forced to move.

Furthermore, the city’s investigator also concluded the unit was subject to the county’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which offers her even more legal protections.

Because the ADU was not approved by the city as a rental unit, the landlord may not pay her to relocate under the city’s guidelines for relocation assistance.

Hirschon stated, however, that she would agree to move if the dentist paid her $100,000. Needless to say, that’s significantly more than the city-mandated fees.

You may be wondering why I would write an article about something happening to a housing provider in an affluent neighborhood in California.

Remember, the city of St Paul has both Rent Stabilization and Just Cause ordinances. Minneapolis has a Just Cause ordinance, and if the composition of the city council changes in November, will likely have a rent control ordinance of its own.

Elections matter. Vote.