EVICTION VOTE SET FOR TONIGHT COUNCIL TO CONSIDER LANDLORD RESTRAINTS.

Byline: Nick Grudin Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Tenants could be on their way to more protection from retaliatory evictions, as the City Council votes tonight on an ordinance that would make it more difficult for landlords to kick out renters.

But apartment owners have mounted a campaign against the proposed ``just cause'' ordinance since its introduction Aug. 13, and they will make their case in front of the council when it meets at 6 p.m.

Under the new ordinance, landlords who evict tenants within six months of their filing a formal complaint would have to prove during a hearing that their intent was not retaliatory, said City Attorney Scott Howard, who drafted the ordinance.

State law currently requires the tenant to prove that the eviction was retaliatory. The ordinance would shift that burden of proof to the landlord, Howard said.

Apartment owners around Glendale worry that the new law would make it difficult to evict nuisance renters for legitimate reasons.

Howard thinks landlords are overreacting and that the new ordinance would have no effect on ``good landlords.''

``This ordinance is not some groundbreaking new law,'' Howard said. ``This has worked in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, West Hollywood and other places around California. ... It's just a first for Glendale.''

Glendale Apartment Association President Herbert Molano did not return phone calls Monday.

Tenant complaints about unfair evictions sparked this issue about a year ago.

Renters complain that they are being unfairly evicted at the whim of greedy, irresponsible landlords. Tenant groups say retaliatory evictions are commonplace in Glendale, that renters cannot make a routine complaint about living conditions without fearing eviction.

And with a market high on demand and short on supply, landlords are not being kept in check by natural market pressures.

``Unscrupulous landlords can keep rent high and still make money,'' Councilman Dave Weaver said.

At last week's meeting, Councilman Bob Yousefian introduced the ordinance to a highly supportive council that seemed primed to pass the new law.

But since the introduction, landlords around the city have been pleading their case, voicing the potential downsides of the new law.

On Monday, Weaver questioned the fairness of the proposal and acknowledged that his initial support for the new ordinance has faded after hearing the landlords' complaints.

`'It's a two-way street,'' Weaver said. ``It's one thing to protect a tenant's rights from an unscrupulous landlord, but the landlord needs to have a right to deal with the problem tenants, too.''

``It's a scale of justice; I don't want to shift the balance all the way from one side to the other,'' Weaver added.

According to Howard, there would be a shift in the balance, but it would only be perceivable in cases that go as far as eviction hearings in court.

``The bottom line is that this ordinance gives the tenant a little more protection when he or she walks into the courtroom ... for the good landlord, it wouldn't cause a problem at all.'' Howard said.

Landlords who are proved to have used eviction as retaliation could face fines and even jail time, Howard added.