[dropcap size=big]B[/dropcap]urlington Unidos, a union of tenants based at the Burlington Avenue Apartments in Westlake, collectively decided late Sunday night to end their six-month rent strike and pay September rent. The move comes even as the embattled tenants prepare for a possible class action lawsuit against the building’s owners.
After spending half a year in a chippy battle with their landlord, Lisa Ehrlich of FML Management, tenants described mixed emotions about the end of the strike. “We’re happy and sad at the same time,” said Jorge Juan, a two-year resident of the building who has a mouse infestation in his apartment.
About 87 of the complex’s units banded together to create Burlington Unidos after receiving crushing rent hikes in February. They voted to withhold rent based on years of appalling living conditions: major rodent, roach, and pigeon infestations, recurrent water penetration in units, and repeated sewage leaks in the parking garages. Under California law, tenants can withhold rent payments if a landlord does not maintain basic livability standards.
But after management made several repairs to mitigate sewage leaks and fix old water damage, the members of Burlington Unidos and their lawyer, Elena Popp of the Eviction Defense Network, are concerned they will not have a strong enough case in court to defend against eviction going forward.