Rent Board Denies Tenant’s Request for Laundry Facilities

The West Hollywood Rent Stabilization Board last week denied a tenant’s request that laundry facilities be installed for the 11 tenants who rent apartments at Le Mondrian hotel.

Gina Rae, 48, asked for laundry facilities or a rent decrease on her unit at the 8440 Sunset Blvd. luxury hotel.

Rae said that she had lived in the building--formerly the Park Plaza Apartments--before it was sold and converted to a hotel in 1983. She said the complex had laundry facilities that were removed when the building was renovated.

Rae said she and the other tenants decided to remain in the hotel because the owners promised them that their rent would not increase. They believed that laundry facilities would be installed, Rae told the board.

Last October, just after Rae first requested the facilities, the building’s owners, Ashkenazy Enterprises, issued eviction notices to tenants. Some tenants are fighting the evictions.

The rent board Wednesday affirmed the original decision to deny the application for laundry facilities. Rent board commissioners, who voted 2 to 2, said that because there were no laundry facilities on the date the tenants moved back in after the remodeling, no laundry services had to be provided.

However, several board members agreed that the lack of laundry facilities is “an unjust situation,” and urged Rae to take her grievance to the civil courts.

“It’s an unfortunate situation, but every now and then situations come along that don’t fit into the provisions of the ordinance . . . but she could have a breach-of-contract action that doesn’t fall under our ordinance,” said Assistant City Atty. Carol Lynch.