Grinch Who’s Stealing Tenants’ Christmas

One of the better uses of judicial discretion in recent memory came when an Orange County judge required Los Angeles slumlord Sam Menlo to spend 60 days in one of his run-down Anaheim apartments.

Judge Michael Hayes, who toured the complex before passing judgment in October, also ordered Menlo to repair at least one unit a month or face jail time.

It’s too bad Hayes couldn’t have added one more element to Menlo’s sentence: a ticket to “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” now playing in theaters.

Who knows, maybe watching the coldhearted Grinch trying to ruin Christmas for the folks in Whoville would have had an impact on Menlo, who appears to be a glutton of punishment.

That is, he seems to enjoy dispensing it to others.

Ten days ago, in a move even the Grinch would applaud, he sent eviction notices to about 30 tenants--notices they say stem from their complaints against him. Last week, Menlo sent rent-increase statements to his beleaguered tenants.

Menlo’s attorney quickly said a computer error resulted in the statements being sent inadvertently, but he didn’t rule out an increase. Besides, the mere fact the statements have been drawn up is rather suggestive of intent.

In court, Menlo was shown to be a landlord of ill repute, repeatedly in violation of housing codes over the years. While he lives in relative comfort, one supposes, next to Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles’ Hancock Park neighborhood, his tenants have complained of rat-and roach-infested apartments and inadequate repairs.

Not Always Easy to Get Out

Three weeks after being sentenced for his shoddy upkeep of the Anaheim complex, Menlo was back in court pleading guilty to similar charges for a complex he owns in Fullerton.

I have a bias here: being a slumlord is a particularly odious role to play.

My bias is that I’ve lived in rental houses or apartments most of my life. My parents never owned a home; I’ve owned two, but have rented most of my adult life, including all 14 years in California.

As a renter, you’re at the mercy of someone who is generally a stranger. If not their kindness, you at least must depend on their fairness.

Not that I’m trying to butter her up, but my landlady is a jewel. When something needs repairing, it gets repaired. If something needs replacing, it is replaced.

To some of Menlo’s tenants, who say they can’t even get broken windows repaired, that would be living in a Utopian universe.

Imagine how galling it was for them, then, as they watched new furniture brought in to Menlo’s unit after he was sentenced to it.

To my way of thinking, slumlords are the nonviolent equivalents of serial batterers. They know they have power, and they wield it mercilessly.

Sure, the “victims” can leave if they don’t like the treatment. In reality, though, it often isn’t that easy. “Just get out” sounds like great advice for an abused tenant, just as it does for abused wives.

Great advice until reality intervenes.

For starters, Orange County rents aren’t cheap, averaging more than $1,100 a month. Meanwhile, the county’s rental vacancy rate is low, right around 3%.

Get Well Soon

That equation puts someone like Menlo, who reportedly owns about 65 Southland properties worth approximately $62 million, in the catbird seat unless the tenants revolt.

In Anaheim, backed by City Hall, they did.

It’s a sad story all around. Menlo, 72, has been in a Los Angeles hospital for the last week, reportedly the victim of two strokes. In the meantime, his detention has been put on hold.

No one wishes ill health on him. In fact, just the opposite.

Just like Jim Carrey’s Grinch, we’d love to see a happy ending starring a redeemed and enlightened Sam Menlo.

*

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by writing to him at the Times’ Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com.