VENTURA : Landlord Sues for Higher Rent Hike

The owner of a Ventura mobile home park filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city, alleging that the city’s Mobile Home Rent Review Board should have granted a higher rent increase in December.

Pinnacle Holdings Inc., the owner of Imperial Ventura Mobile Estates Park, contends in its Ventura County Superior Court suit that it was entitled to more than the nearly 3% increase the board allowed at a hearing on Dec. 16, 1992.

John Slavik, president of Pinnacle, had asked for permission to raise space rents by 26%, or about $90 a month, said Mike Solomon, the city’s budget and risk manager. Residents of the park opposed the increase and packed the review board hearing. The increase approved by the board amounted to less than $10 a month.

The park, which has 372 spaces, is off Telephone Road near the Ventura Freeway. Rent for spaces in the park range from $305 to $355 a month, Solomon said. Residents of the park also are named in the court action.

The lawsuit contends that the board should have allowed a larger rent increase because of expenses to the park owner, including costs to refinance the park and water costs during 1990.