Complaints of Leaky Roofs Bring Charges

The Los Angeles city attorney Wednesday filed criminal charges against the owners of the Woodland Hills Tennis Club apartment complex where leaking rainwater drove dozens of elderly tenants from their units last month.

Owners of the 474-unit complex at 22122 Erwin St. were accused in a nine-count misdemeanor complaint of violating an ordinance that requires landlords to waterproof roofs and keep units in a clean, dry and safe condition, said Deputy City Atty. William Cullen.

Such a prosecution, normally aimed at slumlords, is unusual in middle-class neighborhoods like Woodland Hills.

“We’ve handled this case on an urgent basis because of the immediacy and severity of the problem and the fact that most of the affected residents are elderly,” said City Atty. James K. Hahn.

Tenant Complaints

The prosecution grows out of 61 tenant complaints about leaks, some dating back to 1985. Building inspectors learned of the complaints last fall and ordered the owners in November to repair the roofs.

“Some work subsequently was done, but it proved to be ineffective when we got the heavy rains last month,” Hahn said.

Hahn said that after he became aware of the complaints, he asked building inspectors to return to the complex and conduct new inspections.

“Inspectors found that there were leaky roof problems at all . . . buildings in the complex and that there was extensive water damage to several apartments,” he said. “Some of the residents had been forced to leave their units during the rains, and others had to cover their belongings with plastic sheets because of the severity of the leaks.”

Muriel Brown, 64, who evacuated her $668-a-month one-bedroom apartment in the complex after water began “pouring down my wall like a waterfall” during last month’s rainstorms, said Wednesday that she has moved back in. But, she complained, the owners still have not begun repairs to the roof.

“As far as I’m concerned, I’m living in a slum right now,” she said in an interview. “It smells like a sewer.”

Named as defendants are Woodland Associates Ltd., the corporate owner of the complex; Gorband Properties, which is the general partner in Woodland Associates; and three people--Steven C. Gordon, Saul Brandman and Jay Wildon, all of Beverly Hills--who do business as GBW Partners and are general partners in Gorband.

Defendant Responds

Wildon, reached at the company’s Los Angeles offices Wednesday, said the charges are “without merit.” He insisted that the owners “have done everything that they could possibly do” to make repairs, and he added, “To the best of my knowledge,” the roofs “don’t leak anymore.”

The owners spent $48,000 last year to patch the leaks, but more kept appearing, a GBW spokesman said in late April. Roofs on three of the complex’s six buildings have been replaced, and GBW plans to replace the remaining three within the next two months as part of routine maintenance, Wildon said.

Each of the nine counts carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and $1,000 fine, Cullen said.

The defendants are scheduled for arraignment May 26 in Los Angeles.

Tenants at the complex have had a stormy relationship with the owners over a surcharge that was added to their rents to pay for capital improvements, including new roofs. The surcharge was supposed to last five years but the owners sought to make it permanent. Tenants challenged the surcharge in court and won. The owners are now appealing the ruling.