W. Hollywood Woman, 89, Claimed Impoverishment : Rent Increase for Landlady Approved

The Rent Stabilization Commission has awarded limited rent increases to Mary Simonson, an 89-year-old landlady whose attorneys argued that she is being impoverished by rents that are as low as $72 a month.

Last week’s action came after a Superior Court judge ordered the city to reconsider the case of Mary Simonson, who became a symbol for West Hollywood landlords in their struggle against rent control.

But attorneys for West Hollywood Concerned Citizens, a property owners lobbying group, said the commission’s decision will leave the cost of Simonson’s seven rental units well below market rates.

As a result, the case is expected to go back to court after the commission issues a final computation of her allowable new rents at its July 22 meeting.

“We had obviously hoped that they would increase the rents to what we showed would be a comparable level,” said Mara Bresnick, an associate of landlord attorney Christopher Harding. “The increases she was given were not satisfactory at all.”

But Richard Dorsey Muller, director of the Rent Stabilization Commission, said the decision to allow Simonson to increase her rents by about 50% was an accurate reflection of the value of her units.

The decision actually will allow Simonson to charge the rents she had asked when she increased the monthly payments of her tenants in 1984. That increase was blocked when rent control was imposed.

Adjustments to reflect increases that have been allowed to landlords since then will probably bring her maximum rent to $350, with the average rent about $250, Muller said.

He said the age of the building, built by Simonson’s husband in the 1930s, and the fact that tenants perform much of the maintenance figured in the commission’s decision.

Although commission members found that her rents were too low, Muller said, they did not believe that the rents should be increased beyond what Simonson asked for in 1984.

“They’re entitled to have that decision reviewed by the court. We feel it was a fair and equitable decision that fully complied with the court’s previous rulings, and that it will legally stand up.”

Simonson, who said she had not raised rents for 20 years before 1984, argued together with her companion, Anna Boyce, that they had to nearly double the rents to cover medical bills and apartment costs.