Landlords in Rent Strike Told to Fix Defects, or Else

The Santa Ana City Council on Monday gave the owners of a 10-unit apartment building involved in a rent strike 60 days to renovate stairs and a balcony or face having the property declared a public nuisance and repaired by the city--at their expense.

Nick O’Malley, an attorney for landlords James B. Isbill and Bonnie P. Isbill, said his clients intend to begin repairs as soon as they receive building permits from the city.

The two-story building at 607 E. Washington Ave. has four units vacant and six occupied by low-income families. All of the residents might have been forced to move had the city declared the building a nuisance.

In August, an attorney appointed by the city declared that the outside stairs and balcony were so rotten that the building posed a danger to residents.

Attorney Calls Building Unsafe

In a report to the council, attorney Keith C. Monroe said the apartment building is unsafe.

“Credible evidence demonstrated,” Monroe wrote, “that the stairs located on the front of the building . . . are and have been for some time badly dry-rotted and deteriorated. They are dangerous for residents and others to use.”

Because of the conditions, tenants have been withholding rent from the owners since 1985 as part of a countywide rent strike movement. The tenants filed a suit against various landlords, demanding better conditions.

O’Malley said the owners of the East Washington Avenue building have not made repairs or renovations because of the lack of rent income.

O’Malley said the owners had intended to demolish the building in 1984 but could not proceed with the demolition because of the strike.