Anaheim Motel Tenants May Have Eviction Laws Working in Their Favor

Some Anaheim motel owners and residents are planning to use state eviction laws to delay the effects of a city crackdown on long-term stays.

Citing a need to eliminate the unsafe conditions at motels housing long-term residents, the City Council in recent weeks has declared that guests at the 129-unit Lincoln Inn and the 70-unit Covered Wagon motel may stay no more than 30 days within a 90-day period. The rulings suggest that long-term guests at the two motels must leave within 30 days of the council’s Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 rulings.

But lawyers for the Legal Aid Society of Orange County, a nonprofit corporation providing legal services for the poor and elderly, say they are investigating whether that deadline may be delayed under state eviction laws.

“People who have lived there 30 days or longer arguably have a very strong position that under state law they are tenants,” said Crystal Sims, an attorney for Legal Aid. And as tenants, they may not be evicted without a lawsuit, said Roger Diamond, a Santa Monica attorney representing Buena Park motel owners dealing with a similar ordinance.

The council’s measure has created panic among some long-term motel residents. Many have lived at the Lincoln or the Covered Wagon for months or years and say they don’t know where they’ll go if evicted. They live on limited incomes and say living at a motel is a last resort.

Eviction lawsuits could take months, giving Lincoln Inn and Covered Wagon guests more time to find permanent housing. A coalition of social service organizations and the city’s housing staff will soon begin identifying the guests’ needs and resources available to them. But the coalitions admits the city and county don’t have enough housing or even transitional shelters for everyone.

Code enforcement manager John Poole agreed that the law may mean motel guests don’t have to leave immediately. Code enforcement will not prosecute owners going through the legal eviction process. However, if the owners don’t act to evict, they could lose their operating permits, he said.

Lincoln Inn owner Ben Karmelich Jr. said he will fight the city’s ruling regardless of whether his guests can stay longer. He has not yet told them to leave and said he doesn’t intend to evict anyone.

“I could lose the conditional use permit. They could fine me, put me in jail. But right now, if I cooperate, I lose 80% of my business,” he said.