top
Peninsula
Peninsula
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Fri Sep 11 2009 (Updated 09/12/09)
Giant Landlord Abruptly Exits Leaving East Palo Alto Tenants in Danger
Page Mill Properties Pockets Rents Instead of Making Loan Payment
East Palo Alto's biggest landlord missed a $50 million balloon payment to their bank last month, creating a situation that is both perplexing and dangerous for tenants. Page Mill Properties abruptly closed both their tony downtown Palo Alto office and their East Palo Alto offices last week, but they abandoned the tenants long before that. Tenant complaints include swimming pools covered in algae, long broken laundry facilities, and threatening "quit or pay" notices sent to tenants who were, in actuality, paid up on their rent. Tenant activists have also been harassed by Page Mill employees.

The Menlo Park Fire Department told the Palo Alto Daily News this week that of nine buildings recently inspected, only ONE of the current alarm systems is "even remotely" working. "We gave them a citation, a notice to repair, back in the June/July time frame. They have not done that," said the Fire Chief. Tenants are hoping that recent court action will bring some semblance of order to the neglected properties. On September 9, the San Mateo County Superior Court appointed Southern California based Ward Realty Advisors as receiver for the 1800 units. That company is now slated to select a property manager to take over running the buildings early next week.

On September 1 the court granted plaintiff Eric Oberle's motion for a preliminary injunction in a class action lawsuit against the giant landlord. That injunction barred Page Mill from collecting or enforcing rent increases that do not comply with East Palo Alto rent stabilization rules. Some tenants feel that this ruling may have been the final straw for the landlord whom they say not only failed to pay the bank but pocketed August and September rents as they left the properties abandoned.

Read more | EPA-tenants.org

Previous Indybay coverage: Mega-Landlord Pulls Out Suddenly, Leaving Tenants in Fire Trap | Possible Criminal Charges Against Landlord Page Mill Properties
2024-03-20 Victory! EFF Helps Indybay Resist San Francisco Police Warrant and Gag Order Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Media Activism & Independent Media | San Francisco2024-02-09 Catholic Anti-Choice Marchers Get an Earful from Abortion Rights Activists in San Francisco Front Page | Health, Housing & Public Services | Womyn | San Francisco | South Bay | U.S.2024-01-10 Wall of Shipping Containers Intended to Keep the Public Out of People's Park Front Page | Police State & Prisons | Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | East Bay | California2023-12-08 Largest Ever Pro-Palestine Marches in NorCal Demand End to US Aid for Israel's War on Gaza Front Page | Anti-War | Central Valley | San Francisco | South Bay | Peninsula | U.S. | International | Palestine | Santa Cruz Indymedia2023-10-31 Three Activists Detained at Climate Protest for Crossing Beale Air Force Base Gate Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Anti-War | Central Valley | California | U.S.2023-09-29 California Climate Justice Actions in Coordination with Massive New York City March Front Page | Environment & Forest Defense | Central Valley | California2023-08-19 Environmentalists Speak Out Against Airport Expansion as Climate Disasters Accelerate Environment & Forest Defense | East Bay2023-08-12 Starbucks Bus Tour Stops in San Francisco, Rallies with Allies to Support Unionization Labor & Workers | San Francisco | Peninsula | California | U.S.2023-07-19 Halt to Fossil Fuel Funding Demanded as Wells Fargo Operations Shut Down Environment & Forest Defense | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | San Francisco | U.S.2023-07-13 Demonstrations Wrack France, Boiling Over After Police Murder of Youth Police State & Prisons | Health, Housing & Public Services | Global Justice & Anti-Capitalism | LGBTI / Queer | International | Government & Elections | Immigrant Rights2023-07-02 A Call for Pride to Return to its Roots as a Riot in Defense of LGBTQ+ Rights Health, Housing & Public Services | LGBTI / Queer | Womyn | San Francisco
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network