June 19, 2006
The lawsuit comes as gentrification is sweeping through once-downtrodden areas including Hollywood, downtown, Westlake and Los Feliz, resulting in conversions of apartments to condominiums as well as higher rents that squeeze out some longtime residents.
"There's a real economic incentive to get these properties and transfer them to 'market rate' units," said professor Raphael Bostic of USC's Lusk Center for Real Estate. But, he added, "you do have to clear out the original tenants to do that."