Tenants in a 42-unit Linda Vista building were scared and confused after receiving eviction notices nearly three weeks ago, but the owner of the building says those were never sent.
Earlier Thursday, when tenants of the Casa Linda Apartments believed they were being evicted, they were rallying together, demanding protections that would keep them from being pushed out of their homes.
Belinda Ward is one of those tenants. She’s called Casa Linda Apartments home for a little more than two years.
“It’s been, maybe, the most peaceful and joyful two years in my life,” Ward said.
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Ward stood by fellow tenants Thursday, despite being served the notice from UIP Linda Vista LLC that tenants had to be out by January.
“Try to put yourselves in our shoes,” Ward said. “This is our home, you know? This is my safe place. This is where I come to when I get home from work and I get to rest my head, knowing that I’m safe.”
However, a representative of the LLC that owns Casa Linda told NBC7 otherwise in the following statement:
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“The property was acquired less than one month ago, and we plan to make improvements. No tenant is being evicted to make renovations, nor will there be an attempt to do so in the future. To minimize inconvenience to those tenants who voluntarily wish to move, we have offered relocation assistance. We apologize for any miscommunication suggesting otherwise.”
Upon further questioning, the representative from Venture Strategic told NBC7 there was a miscommunication and the notice the tenants received was, in fact, sent in mistake by an employee of the property.
But earlier Thursday, tenants like Carlos Rodriguez didn’t know the notices were mistakenly sent out.
”They’ve invaded our peace, our tranquility," Rodriguez said. 'They’re not even going to let us enjoy our holidays. We have to be under constant stress."
All of this comes as a ban on no-fault evictions in the city of San Diego is set to expire Friday. Without the ban, landlords can legally end leases that don’t have anything to do with scenarios like missing rent payments or even poor behavior. Tenants like Ward and Rodriguez believed that was a driving force behind their eviction notices and were calling on local leaders to support them.
”Please help us,” Ward said. “We are your constituents, we are your people, we are the people voting for you, and we need your help.”
In a news conference Thursday, San Diego City Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera addressed the ban on no-fault evictions, which he proposed in May.
”My office is working urgently to update our tenant protection in a comprehensive way that would include a strengthening of no-fault eviction protections,” Elo-Rivera sa
A representative for the LLC that owns Casa Linda said follow-up notices would be sent to the tenants, declaring they will not be evicted and can stay, even through construction and repairs.
