02/19/2023
La Opinión 2/15/23 by Araceli Martínez Ortega
“Restaurant Owner Denounces Harassment of Commercial tenant whom he has asked to Leave.”
Excerpts:
Owner assures protesters mistreat his clients and have caused him thousands of dollars in losses. “I feel completely frustrated, sad and intimidated because The Northeast LA Tenants Union comes weekends to drive away my customers." Protesters have entered the restaurant with insults and threats.
Marco, driven by poverty to leave Chiapas in 1998, bought the building in 2018. He offered Alicia 2 or 3 months free and a deposit and first month rent in a new location. She refused.
“They accuse me of being a racist. I am an indigenous gay immigrant, and the only thing I have done in this country is work non-stop.” “I have acted in good faith. I really want this to end peacefully, even though the damage has been done…”
Alicia states that what Marco says is not true. “He wants me to leave in 60 days, but doesn't realize that the rents are very expensive..." "I want him to pay me $12,000 for relocation and one month more than what it will cost me to rent a new locale."
Attorney Clemente Franco: “A residential tenant has more protections than a commercial tenant.”
Reporter: Should a landlord who asks a commercial tenant to vacate pay relocation expenses?
Attorney: "If there is nothing in the stipulated contract, you are not obligated to do so, and if the payment is month to month without a contract, it is sufficient for the owner to give a 30-day notice." If the commercial tenant does not want to vacate, the owner must file a lawsuit in court.
Reporter: “Does the judge take into account to deny a commercial eviction, the high cost of rent or the personal problems of the commercial tenant?”
Attorney:“The judge does not issue an opinion on the personal situation, only the decision of whether the tenant should be evicted or not”
When asked whether tenant advocacy groups can hold protests outside businesses owned by the owner of the commercial rental property, the attorney said yes, "But if there are threats, attacks or other types of problems, the matter remains in the hands of the police."